Sri Lanka (MNN) — The Sri Lankan government has cracked down on protests. Last year, crowds stormed the home of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and forced him to flee the country.
Rajeeve Sathianathan with Christian World Outreach says, “The government uses the military to control the protests a lot. They arrested so many people. So that has gone down. They have allocated certain spots in the capitol for people to go and protest. So those are the only places that they’re allowed to do.”
Economy
Economically, people continue to suffer. The government has allowed fertilizer back into the country so that farmers can grow food. But those crops have not yielded yet.
Severe fuel shortages continue as well. Sathianathan says, “My father has a vehicle, a car, and he can get only 20 liters a week. That’s it. And our CWO mission person has a motorbike. He is allowed to take only four liters a week.”
“The price has gone up, but people did not get any increase in their pay, right? Their pay is still the same.”
Many kids can’t go to school because even though schooling is free, textbooks and other supplies are not.
CWO work
Sathianathan says CWO reaches out to kids in the villages they serve. “We are helping them with books and their school stationery. That is a huge thing. Also, a lot of kids cannot go to school. So we help them after hours, teaching them to read and write.”
CWO works in remote Sri Lankan villages, and getting there is a challenge. One ministry worker waits hours to catch a bus.
In the coming months, CWO hopes to start growing food for the impoverished people they serve.
CWO also helps local Christian communities with discipleship and leadership training. They work in villages throughout the country. Ask God to touch many lives.
Protestors in Sri Lanka’s capital on July 9, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Supun D Hewage/Pexels)
