Outcry
What we do
All over the world, young people are affected by religious persecution on a daily basis.
In parts of northern Vietnam, ethnic minority churches are being prevented from holding youth meetings, and young people under the age of 18 are prohibited from
attending church.
In Nigeria, young Christians are often threatened with abduction and forcible conversion. 20-year-old Rakiya, from Kano State, was forced to marry a Muslim who subsequently raped her; while 18-year-old Cynthia Ago was abducted at the age of 15, forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim. Their stories barely scratch the surface of the abduction cases happening in Nigeria.
In Burma, over 70,000 children have been conscripted by force into the Burma Army. KZ, a 14-year-old child soldier from Thtwo Kyan district near Rangoon was taken from a bus stop by soldiers in the Burma Army. He said, “It is not good for a child to be a soldier. Tell the international community to speak to the regime, to tell them not to grab children and force them to be soldiers.”
In Belarus, a university student and youth democracy activist named Zmitser Dashkevich was arrested and sentenced to eighteen months in prison for his participation in a youth pro-reform movement, “Young Front,” which is founded on Christian principles. He celebrated his 26th birthday in prison.
At CSW we encourage Christians of all ages to support their persecuted family, resourcing and equipping them to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. And as our work increasingly involves young people such as Rakiya, Cynthia, KZ and Zmitser, we feel the time has come to mobilise young people in the UK to get involved in our work.
Our aim is to encourage young people to campaign for their brothers and sisters, to feel excited about the real and positive change that their actions can make, and to make their prayer lives more socially aware as they intercede on behalf of other young people who are persecuted for their faith.
And this is exactly what CSW’s new youth programme, Outcry, is all about: engaging young people throughout the UK to become a voice for our persecuted family.
If you would like to receive youth resources and updates on the Outcry programme, sign up today
Office Address:
PO Box 99
New Malden
Surrey
KT3 3YF