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| It's estimated that 4 million people - 75% of Sierra Leone's population - have been left traumatised by what happened during 11 years of conflict. 70% of women who came into contact with rebels were raped. Fifty thousand people were killed. |
| Tear Times, Winter 2003. |
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Extreme poverty affects about 1.2 billion people that is, those who survive on less than a dollar a day.
At the same time, nearly 840 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat.
Some 300 million people live in absolute poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and millions of children continue to die unnecessarily each year for the lack of health care, clean water, decent housing or adequate nutrition.
The Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000 by UN Member States, set 2015 as the year when these numbers will be halved.
The first observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was in 1987, spearheaded by ATD Fourth World, an international NGO dedicated to overcoming extreme poverty. |
| Scottish Catholic Observer, Friday October 24th 2003. |
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The number of people working past the current statutory retirement age of 65 is expected to increase dramatically in coming years.
One in three workers will be aged 50 or over by the year 2020. This represents 10 million workers an increase from 6.9 million people in 2002 and 5.4 million in 1992. |
| The War Cry, 22nd Nov 2003. |
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According to the BBC, staff at one Red Cross shop were told to remove a christmas tree because;" we wern't allowed to have anything like that, or anything that was to do with Christmas or Christians...because we were told that the Red Cross doesn't want to offend Muslims".
The Daily Mail says one shopper was told that staff; "could not call them Christmas cards because they dont want to offend anyone". |
| Christian Herald,22nd Nov 2003. |
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| Dylan explained; Jesus tapped me on the shoulder said "Bob, why are you resisting me?" I said "I'm not resisting you!" He said;"You gunna follow me?" I said; "Well, I never thought of that before". |
| The War Cry, 15th November 2003. |
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At the annual conference of Christian Ecology Link (CEL) this weekend, Paul bodenham, the co-ordinator of the Operation Noah campaign, stressed that doing nothing is not an option.
"The effects of climate change will be catastrophic, particularly for the poor, unless our leaders find the courage to restrain our use of fossil fuels," he said. "A few more years of the current apathy, and our grandchildren will not forgive us."
According to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, the UK must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050, and ultimately by 80%, yet the Kyoto Protocol requires nations to make cuts averaging only 5%, which is yet to take effect. |
| The Church of England Newspaper, November 6th 2003. |
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On August 28, after 18 months of investigations, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its report into 20 years of political violence in Peru. The results were staggering. In these 20 years nearly 70,000 people were killed due to actions by the army and by militia groups such as the Sendero Luminoso (shining Path). A staggering 7,000 people disappeared and over half a million were displaced from their land. In a crackdown by the government, starting when President Fujimori came to power in 1992, thousands of people were detained and over 18,000 people were unjustly thrown into prison.
Those who suffered most were the rural poor. The main churches in these rural areas are the evangelical churches and they often bore the brunt of violence. |
| The Church of England Newspaper, Nov 6 2003. |
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| Britain is a soft touch for asylum seekers. NOT REALLY. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work or claim mainstream welfare benefits. When they are destitute, they can apply to the government s National Asylum Support Service. A single adult has to survive on £37.77 a week, 30% below the poverty line. A joint study of asylum seekers by Oxfam and the Refugee Council revealed that 85% experience hunger, 95% cannot afford to buy clothes or shoes and 80% fall into bad health after arriving in Britain. The UK routinely detains more of them than other EU countries, and without a maximum time limit. |
| Catholic South West, Nov 2003. |
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| he popularity of Roman Catholic bishops has slumped to an all-time low. Following child abuse scandals that rocked the denomination in America, a poll of more than 1,000 Roman Catholics found that more than half give their bishops a fair or poor rating. The percentage of Catholics who disapprove of their bishops has tripled since 2001. One pollster said, " If the bishops faced re-election today, they'd be in serious trouble. |
| The Church of England Newspaper, Nov 2003. |
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There were 10,000 incidents of gun crime in England and Wales in the 12 months to march 2003 - the equivalent of more than one an hour, according to Home Office figures.
In nearly 7,000 cases, a gun was used as a threat, and in 17% of incidents, someone was shot and injured. Gun murders fell but are still far higher than a decade ago as guns have become the latest gang-land personal accesory.
The rise in offences, at 3% was lower than the 35% year on year rise last year, and the Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears said that fatal shooting in England and Wales is still one of the lowest in the world. |
| Christianity and renewal, Dec 2003. |
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| A survey of 9,200 13-15 year olds has found that 22% claim to be members of the Anglican Church in Wales. The report, written by Professor Leslie Francis of University of Wales, Bangor, states that although many do not attend regularly, they still regard themselves as belonging, an encouraging sign given the general trends in the wider U.K church. However, those belonging to a particular church, is far less at 9% and many of these (70%) feel they have no voice on decisions made within the church, leading Francis to conclude that, with an aging profile, the church in Wales has a battle on to keep its young people. |
| Christianity and Renewal, Dec 2003. |
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Indonesia is the world's most heavily populated Muslim country.
-Population Aprox.212 million
-People, Major people groups-Malay 94%, Chinese 4%,Irianese/Papuan peoples 1.2%,Arabs,Indians,Europeans,Mixed race 0.8%
-Religion Muslim 79.4 to 82.9%,Animist 1%, Hindu 1.9%, Buddhist/Chinese religions 1%, Christian 12.5% |
| Christianity and Renewal, Dec 2003. |
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The number of marrage courses running around the world has more than doubled in the last 10 months.
In february there were a total of 143 registered Marrage Courses running around the world, 103 of them in the U.K. By October, the total figure had risen to 300, with 211 of them in the U.K- a 110%increase. |
| The Marrage Course Newsletter, Nov 2003- Feb 2004 |
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20% of the adult population of Great Britain can now identify Alpha as a Christian course, a 3% increase on last year and more than twice as many as three years ago.
It suggests that between 9.5 and 10 million adults across the UK now know about Alpha and the numbers are rising. Around 1.5 million people are estimated to have completed an Alpha course in the UK. |
| Alpha News Nov 2003 - Feb 2004. |
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| 37,000 more satellite dishes were installed in the UK during August bringing the number of homes able to receive radio via satellite to, 2.3 million. |
| The Radio Magazine, 15th Nov 2003. |
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