PRAYING FOR WOMEN IN ANGOLA AND MOZAMBIQUE

Project Hannah’s prayer ministry in Angola started in 2001. Prayer groups quickly grew and women’s lives changed as they began to see God working in their homes, communities, and churches. In 2005, women in Mozambique began prayer groups, and they, too, saw God work miracles in their lives. These women face many obstacles (extreme poverty, war, limited health care, lack of education, child marriage, drug and liquor addiction, drought and flooding, and major sanitation problems). However, they know that God hears their prayers and that there is power in walking with him through the horrible injustices they live with each day.

Diamonds and oil have made Angola the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is estimated that 70 percent of its population survives on less than $2 a day. The capital city, Luanda, is considered the most expensive city in the world for foreign residents; however, more than 70 percent of its people live in slums. Maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world. About 1 child in 5 dies before the age of 5, which is the second-highest rate in the world. Fewer than 54 percent of females can read.

The discovery of gas off Mozambique's coast in 2011 has done little to transform the economy of one of the world's poorest nations. More than half of Mozambique's 24 million people continue to live below the poverty line. Almost half the population does not drink water from safe sources. Mozambique has the seventh-highest rate of child marriages in the world.

Flooding in northern Mozambique this year has affected more than 32,000 people and has destroyed 4,991 houses and 303 classrooms. At the same time, southern Mozambique is experiencing the driest rainfall season in the last 35 years. An estimated 1.5 million people are suffering from lack of food. Agricultural areas in southern Angola are also suffering from severe drought.