Poverty and Hope Appeal 2017 Sunday School Resources (an updated version of the 2016 pack) Preparation Flipchart paper and pens The Parable of the Five Talents: Matthew 25: 14-30 Map of the World (below) Jean Michel s story (below) Summaries of the five Poverty and Hope Appeal projects for 2017 (attachment, or down load brochure from http://www.rochester.anglican.org/diocese/poverty-amp-hope/ ) Rice and eight small bowls or coloured wool or thread for the prayers Introduction Explain that across the world, some people have plenty while others have very little on which to survive. When people don t have enough to meet their basic needs of food and shelter they are said to be living in poverty. What do we think about poverty? Set up two opposite sides of the room as Agree and Disagree, with Not Sure in the middle. Agree or disagree statements to find out the group s views. Ask them to move to either the Agree side, the Disagree side, or the Not Sure spot in the centre of the room in response to each of the following statements. Each time, ask one or two children to explain their response. After listening to other views, some may want to change their mind and move. 1 There isn t any poverty in the UK. 2 Poverty is about living on less than 1 a day. 3 Living in poverty means you can t always afford to eat. 4 Poverty isn t just about money, it s about other things too. 5 Poverty isn t natural, it s caused by people. 6 I can do something to reduce the number of people living in poverty. 7 People who live in poverty have fewer choices and opportunities in life. 8 There are fewer people in the world living in poverty now than there were 30 years ago NB See notes on poverty at the end of the document Poverty and Hope Around a quarter of the world s population lives in extreme poverty, generally through no fault of their own. Sometimes as a result of extreme weather, which destroys their crops, or the result of war, or because of the greed of the people in charge of their countries. And sometimes because of all these reasons at once. When people are living in poverty, it is often difficult for them to stay healthy or to get a decent education, and so things get worse for them.
There are many organisations around the world working to change things and The Poverty and Hope Appeal helps to raise money each year to support some of these and their projects. And we can all be part of this support and change in the world. As a group, read the Parable of the Five Talents Matthew 25: 14-30 Give out a summary of Jean Michel s story (or read it to the whole group). Feeding families in Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso, around 9 million people (almost half of the whole population) live in poverty. After almost 4 decades of drought, small amounts of water have made it impossible for many people to grow enough food to earn a living and many often go hungry. People like Pauline, whose husband died has been left to provide for her children all alone and was struggling to feed them. The Poverty and Hope Appeal supports Christian Aid s partner ODE, which provides support for people to help provide for themselves, Pauline now has a plot to grow rice, and she s received seeds, tools and training. Pauline says that she no longer buys all of her food in the market because her family are able to eat the rice that they ve grown. Last season was the first time Pauline had grown rice, but she still harvested an amazing 250kg! Divide the group into smaller groups and give each a copy of Pauline's story. Use the map to find where Burkina Faso is. Ask the groups to find out how Pauline has used her talents to help herself and her family climb out of poverty and support themselves. Who helped them at the start? How was she helped? How has she helped herself? How can we help? How can the Sunday School group as a whole use their talents to support people like Pauline and others highlighted in the Poverty and Hope Appeal. Raising money Give each group a large sheet of paper and a marker pen, and ask them to write down ideas of how they could use their talents to raise money for the Poverty and Hope Appeal, either as individuals or as a Sunday School group. Share the ideas and decide which, if any, the group would like to do. Praying Rice prayer Put out eight small bowls: seven full of dry rice and one empty. Explain that, today, one in eight people on the planet is hungry. Give people time to run their fingers through the rice and to take a grain. Think about the people who grew it, and the millions of people around the world who depend on it for survival. More than 3 billion people eat rice as their staple food every day. Think about people like Pauline in Burkina Faso, where the climate often causes crops to fail, who struggle to find food. Pray for a world in which everybody has enough. OR Friendship prayer Cut up the Poverty and Hope brochures into the separate projects and have enough for each person to have one project summary. Knot three strands of coloured
thread together at one end and use tape to stick the knotted end to a table or surface. (You will need a set of threads for every person that wants to pray.) Each person takes a project summary and spends a few moments thinking about the individuals. They then take their three threads and, as they pray, begin to plait them slowly: pray for all the people in the Poverty and Hope projects who are working hard for a just world pray for ourselves, that God will help us use our talents to act for a world full of love and justice pray for understanding about how intertwined our lives are with our global neighbours. Wear the plait as a bracelet or keep it as a reminder of our prayers. Notes on poverty for the Agree/Disagree activity Poverty in the UK: The UK is the world's sixth largest economy, yet 1 in 5 of the UK population lives below our official poverty line, meaning that they experience life as a daily struggle. (Oxfam) Percentage of global population living in extreme poverty is falling taking action does have an effect, including lobbying government, supporting organisations and appeals, such as the Poverty and Hope Appeal, raising awareness amongst friends and family, etc.
Feeding families in Burkina Faso Life is hard in drought-ridden Burkina Faso, with many families experiencing hunger on a daily basis. But thanks to your support over the past two years, lives are being transformed. Nine out of 10 people in Burkina Faso rely on farming both as their main source of income but also for the food that they eat. Due to almost four decades of drought, dwindling water supplies have caused widespread suffering and hardship. The project you ve been supporting has helped 45 villages to overcome these terrible conditions and to thrive. Pauline faced an uphill struggle to feed her family. After her husband died, she was left to provide for her children on her own. This would be a difficult task for anyone, but even more so for a women living in rural Burkina Faso. Women rely on their husbands as the main breadwinners. Without this income, Pauline and her children faced a bleak future. However, thanks to Christian Aid s partner Office de Développement Eglises Evangéliques (ODE), Pauline now has a plot to grow rice, and she s received seeds, tools and training. Pauline says that she no longer buys all of her food in the market because her family are able to eat the rice that they ve grown. Last season was the first time Pauline had grown rice, but she still harvested an amazing 250kg! I sincerely thank all of you who support the project, Pauline says. May God reward your kindness. May you be able to continue to help other people in difficult situations. And with your help, that is exactly what we ll do! By supporting this year s Poverty and Hope Appeal, you will enable Christian Aid partners in Burkina Faso to help even more people to respond to challenging weather conditions. Thank you so much for enabling more people in Burkina Faso to thrive, not just survive. Please pray with us: Pray for Burkina Faso, where severe droughts have made it very difficult for communities to grow enough food. Pray for the safety of Christian Aid partners and farmers who survive off the land, particularly in the face of ongoing security issues across the country. Pray for a bountiful harvest and that local people will be blessed. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Christian Aid and the Diocese of Rochester and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Photo: Christian Aid UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525. christianaid.org.uk