In Niger, child marriage on rise due to hunger.
In Hawkantaki, it is the rhythm of the land that shapes the cycle of life, including the time of marriage.
The size of the harvest determines not only if a father can feed his family, but also if he can afford to keep his daughter under his roof.
Even at the best of times, one out of every three girls in Niger marries before her 15th birthday, a rate of child marriage among the highest in the world…Now this custom is being layered on top of a crisis. At times of severe drought, parents pushed to the wall by poverty and hunger are marrying their daughters at even younger ages.
A girl married off is one less mouth to feed, and the dowry money she brings in goes to feed others.
‘Families are using child marriage, as an alternative, as a survival strategy to the food insecurity,’
In his letter, James explains what pure religion is: visiting orphans in their affliction.
Helping orphans has far reaching benefits
Ministries, such as Sixty Feet have found that visiting orphans in their affliction becomes more than just visiting the orphan.
Why Sixty Feed?
At the turn of the 20th century, Winston Churchill described Uganda as “the Pearl of Africa”. He was illustrating the beauty of the land. Indeed, in this lush African country, there is no shortage of water. Yet much of the water in Uganda is polluted. Experts tell us, often less than 60 feet down, they find crystal clear, clean water that changes these peoples’ lives forever.Less than sixty feet below the dusty little feet of these orphans is the purest water they could ever drink…waiting for the children… just out of their reach.
For us this is not even close to being just about water. We have big dreams for these children that if we told you, you might think we are crazy. We know God loves these orphan children at “M”. Everything does seem just out of their reach, but we are doing something about it.It doesn’t take much to go sixty feet.
Sixty Feet is about changing lives forever.
Many cultures and people see orphans as the least of these (Matthew 25:34ff). In fact, when Sixty Feet comes on the scene to help the orphans, they must also help the village at large;
For to help the orphans, they must help the village
Creating access to fresh, pure water to the orphan means bringing fresh, pure water to the village, because you cannot do one without the other. Lessening the drought also provides access to food that was not possible otherwise.
And parents would not need to be “pushed to the wall by their poverty and hunger” as much, and the proclamation of the Gospel may be more readily received.
What do you think?