South Africa: 1,462 come to faith through prayer
650 people gave their lives to Jesus during a week of 24-7 prayer in South Africa which culminated on New Years Eve. And that was just the beginning of an incredible January for Peter Sekhonyane who mobilises prayer in giant tents around the South African townships. ‘Speak about the power of prayer,’ he says. A few days later they launched three nights of prayer in Johannesburg, and these continued for two weeks! ‘Out of that time of prayer we ended up with 812 conversions and no single shop was attacked,’ says Peter. Such stories demonstrate, once again, the powerful transformational relationship between prayer, mission (more than a 1000 people saved in January alone through prayer meetings), and justice (protection on businesses in a deprived and volatile part of the world). More about Peter Sekhonyane's remarkable story in this video on the ‘More’ link.
50% of British children don't eat veg each day
More than half of British children don't eat a single portion of vegetables a day, according to Newsround's food survey. The Government recommends that everyone should have at least five portions of fruit and veg a day. But the survey shows 52 in every 100 children don't have any veg, and 44 in 100 have no fruit on a daily basis. What we're eating is a big issue at the moment because one in three children in the UK is obese or overweight. That figure has trebled in the last 25 years. The survey was of 1,432 boys and girls, aged 7 to 12, across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also showed that lots of children are trying to make positive changes to their diet. It suggested that eight in 10 children have made changes like drinking more water and eating more fruit and vegetables recently.
Housing costs prevent young people from starting families
The cost of housing is preventing nearly a quarter of 24 to-39 year-olds from starting a family, new research shows. Figures from the housing and homelessness charity Shelter and YouGov show that prospective parents across the UK are putting off having children because housing is so expensive, with 57 per cent waiting for up to five years to start a family. The survey also revealed that 16 per cent of people know someone who has moved in with a partner quicker than they would have liked to during the past year, because they could not afford to live alone. One in 10 of those surveyed admitted that they would like to leave their partner but have not done so because they could not afford another place to live. Shelter has called on politicians of all parties to commit to building more affordable homes, so that young people have the chance to start a family in a safe and stable home.
Up to 500 West Midlands children 'at risk of sex exploitation'
Almost 500 children across the West Midlands were victims of, or vulnerable to, sexual exploitation in the first half of last year, figures have revealed. A report found some children were trafficked by gangs and often passed between offenders. It is thought to be the first time data has been compiled for the whole region. Stephen Rimmer, a senior civil servant who led the project, said it would help improve support for children. He said it provided ‘a proper picture for the first time of the scale and nature’ of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the area. ‘I think society has been slow to recognise that child sexual exploitation is insidious, it's spread right across the country - victims are often terrified and they will not be comfortable working with police and other agencies,’ he said.
