Dear Friends,
I wanted to send you this brief update on the Christian refugees in Sri Lanka.
If you read the June issue of our magazine, you will probably recall an article there about the recent refugee crises created by Sri Lanka’s civil war. That war has officially ended in just the last few weeks as government forces finally defeated Tamil rebels. But tens of thousands of people have been internally displaced who fled from the war zone.
Partnering with our personal friends who head the Foursquare Churches of Sri Lanka, the nation’s second largest evangelical denomination, we have been aiding believers with essential food and clothing who have been forced to live in IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. The Sri Lankan government has promised to resettle everyone within six months, but that is unlikely because so many villages have been destroyed, and land mines the must be cleared and so on. So most of the 250,000 displaced people have resigned themselves to many months of continuing to live in the IDP camps.
Although the media was forbidden to gain access or take photos inside Sri Lankan IDP camps, because of our assistance in one camp, our partners were permitted to take a few photographs there, which I just recently received. I have added a few of them below for you:
6,000 people live in this tent city, and this is just one part of the tent city
Water distribution
Some of our family there
The “front porch” of his tent
Daily bath ritual
Not a happy camper!
We hope to keep you informed periodically as the CRF Fund is only highlighted in our monthly magazine a few times a year, but your contributions are often hard at work assisting Christian refugees.
On behalf of those who are benefitting from your compassion, thanks so much.
David Servant
Heaven’s Family Director