South African Women Organise World Prayer Day

|TOP|Women from South Africa are busy with preparations for this year’s World Day of Prayer which takes place on March 3.

According to Margarete Moritz, a member on the executive board of the German World Day of Prayer Committee, the largest worldwide ecumenical movement for women is calling on Christian sisters around the world to take a stand against pressing issues such as numerous unjust consequences of globalisation and AIDS.

She added that the women of the World Day of Prayer understand the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994 as a sign of the mercy of God and that the years of struggle against the unfair segregation between whites and blacks in the country had contributed to women around the world becoming more politically active and involved in protests.

The sermons currently being prepared by the women for the worldwide campaign aim to bring social injustice to the fore, as well as give women across the globe new energy through Jesus Christ.

|AD|Margarete Eger said that in South Africa a large gulf exists between rich and poor despite the new Constitution which promises the same rights to all people. The country is also struggling to curb its 40 per cent unemployment rate as well as high crime rate.

She highlighted that women in the country are the ones who continue to suffer the most as a result of violence and the fast-spreading AIDS and that not all have found contentment after the fall of apartheid.

The South African women are hoping to use the funds collected from this year’s World Day of Prayer to support women in the tackling the issues that restrict them in their daily lives.

The past few years have seen a drop in the amount being donated for World Day of Prayer by around 10 per cent to 2.6 million euros.

World Day of Prayer is planning to spend 3.4 million euros on 284 projects covering support and education for women, as well as projects against violence and the spread of AIDS. The planned projects will be run across 92 countries during the next year.