Tearfund

‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ (Matthew 5:16) 📸 Jonas Yameogo/Tearfund

Nine out of ten communities who receive our innovative training go on to improve or build facilities like water points, schools, and health clinics. Around the world, Tearfund’s Transforming Communities training programme continues to help families like John and Helen’s take steps out of poverty, equipping them to rewrite their own stories and build a future filled with hope and opportunity. Help us change lives! Your gift of £6 a month could enable nine people like John and Helen to join Transforming Communities training, helping them take the steps they need to leave poverty behind – for themselves and their children. https://brnw.ch/21wRfHo

Our team in Latin America and the Caribbean has shared a few prayer requests from their region. They ask for prayer for churches to be hope and light in the face of violence and inequality. Comment 🙏 if you are joining these regions in prayer.

International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the inherent worth and value of women. When women and girls realise their God-given potential, they help create thriving communities. But we also have to recognise and address the biases and barriers they face that prevent this from happening. Gender equality, a fundamental human right, remains a distant goal despite some progress. These short prayers will help you lift up women and girls around the world who are being denied their voices and rights. Click here to find our prayer guide: https://brnw.ch/21wRc8l 📸 Peter Caton/Tearfund

In communities like Constance's around the world, women of faith play a vital role in peacebuilding, promoting religious freedom, and advancing women’s rights. They are at the centre of conflict transformation. The 2025 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) marks 30 years since the Beijing Declaration of women’s rights. It’s the moment on the UN agenda to address gender inequality, reflecting on what has been achieved and acknowledging the work that still needs to be done. Click here to read incredible stories of women bringing peace to their communities ahead of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. https://brnw.ch/21wRaN9

John and Helen are from Amuria District, Uganda, where the climate crisis has caused extreme weather including cycles of drought and flooding. They were trapped so firmly in extreme poverty that John felt there was, ‘no good life ahead of me’. A series of crises had hit them hard. ‘My plants were destroyed by hailstones,’ says John. ‘The water tank fell down. [My son] got sick. He was admitted to hospital... I couldn’t do anything but pray to God, just as Job did.’ Then John heard about Tearfund’s Transforming Communities training, run at his local church. ‘As I attended those meetings, I started realising that, if I could take in this information and use it, I might change my situation.’ Will you help more people take the steps they need to leave poverty? Donate to our Lent Appeal today. https://brnw.ch/21wR7YV

For more than 50 years, your compassion has enabled Tearfund to respond to emergencies worldwide, saving lives and helping families rebuild. Working through local churches, we follow Jesus where the need is greatest, equipping communities to overcome poverty. As Jesus teaches in the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 17), even a little faith can move mountains. With a gift in your will, you can bring about lasting transformation through God’s love. Find out more: https://brnw.ch/21wR5x1

‘They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.’ (Isaiah 61:3)

The UK Government has published a new climate plan with higher targets for cutting fossil fuels. However, its commitment to 'consult' on new oil and gas licenses does not guarantee an end to new drilling. But why do UK oil and gas licenses matter to communities living in poverty? While UK oil and gas licenses might feel detached from communities living in poverty around the world, our ongoing reliance on and extraction of fossil fuels ultimately contributes to harming the health, homes, and livelihoods of those in poverty. You're invited to join us on Wednesday 5 March for a co-hosted Ash Wednesday service in St John's Waterloo at 11am, followed by a prayer vigil outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in London. If you can’t join us in person then we'd love you to join us in prayer using our 'Praying for our climate' resource to pray local prayers for a global crisis. https://brnw.ch/21wR2um

Responding to the resignation of the International Development Minister, Anneliese Dodds, Nigel Harris, Chief Executive at Tearfund, said: ‘I strongly support Anneliese Dodds’ principled resignation as International Development Minister following the largest UK aid cut in history. She has recognised the disastrous impact the UK aid cuts will have, and the strategic flaw in withdrawing from its commitments around the world at this time of global instability. Dodds’ decision shows courage, standing in solidarity with the communities who will be most affected. The British people have a proud history of compassion and generosity through international aid, which Dodds has admirably chosen to uphold - I pray that her successor will continue this legacy. UK leadership in development is more important now than ever. It is time that the Prime Minister reverses his decision to cut UK aid to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) and honours the manifesto commitments he made during the election. The increase in defence spending must be funded by other means and development recognised as equally vital for international stability.’ To find out more about the impact of UK aid cuts and how you can respond, click here: https://brnw.ch/21wR1x9