The light of hope
Pray that we may all be signs of hope in the world.
Nine-year-old Worqi loves the vegetables that her mum Lokho grows
“They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
The vision in today’s reading from Isaiah is a joyful one. There will be no more weeping, all people will live well into old age, having planted their crops and eaten their fruit.
This is a world that we would love to see for everyone, a world where all of us can truly flourish.
Lokho and her community in northern Kenya are growing spinach, tomatoes and peppers and other delicious vegetables. Her daughter Worqi says: “My favourite food is vegetables, the ones my mum grows. I like rice with onions and tomatoes and potatoes.”
Selling the surplus produce means Lokho also has money to spend on other things the family needs, like paying for the children’s schooling.
Since starting their group and the garden, the women also support each other with additional projects, as Lokho explains,
“We’ve started helping one another in doing some other domestic activities, like erecting shelters, fetching the water, fetching firewood… The bond between the women is so strong. We are very flexible; we can adjust to any changes.”
Around the world so many communities are working in very difficult conditions to create safer homes for themselves and their families and to provide the food that they need to thrive.
Let us work alongside them with our support and our prayers as we seek together to make Isaiah’s hopeful vision a reality. A better world needs all of us.
Prayer
God of life, be with us as we work together to build a world that reflects your glory, where all people may flourish. Amen.
Act
Please give this Lent.