Yemen (MNN) — In 2019, a Yemeni child under the age of five died every 12 minutes because of the conflict. Today, it’s every five minutes. According to the latest United Nations report, the conflict’s total death toll rose 60-percent in the last three years.
The Norwegian Refugee Council recently surveyed vulnerable families in southern Yemen, where living costs reached an all-time high last year. Nearly half reduced their number of daily meals in 2021 because they could no longer afford food. Two-thirds now have to use firewood for cooking because propane is too expensive.
The fighting in the Hodeidah governorate forced Ridha Saleh, 35, and her ten family members to flee to the Lahj governorate, where there are other displaced families. Ridha has been struggling to provide her family with enough food as the prices are unaffordable.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Norwegian Refugee Council)
Despair haunts every household in Yemen, but the Lord is working here, too. God continues to reconcile Yemenis to Himself, and He’s uniting entire households with a shared faith in Christ.
One man, whose wife is not a believer yet, says he woke up early one morning to read Ephesians. The man thought his wife was sleepwalking when she approached him, but then she asked what he was reading. He read some of the Scripture to her, and she exploded with questions, wanting to know more. Now, they’ve started reading the Bible together.
Pray this woman will place her faith in Christ as she learns the Gospel message. Pray for a deep work of reconciliation in Yemen that will pave a pathway for peace across bitter dividing lines.
Header and story image courtesy of Norwegian Refugee Council.
