Showing Solidarity: Chin Christians Respond to Kachin Refugee Crisis
24 September 2011: In a show of solidarity with the displaced populations in northern Burma, nearly 1000 churches in Chin State are set to observe a prayer day on 16 October and to raise fund for the Kachins.
The Zomi Baptist Convention (ZBC), the largest Christian organizaiton in Chin State with a membership of 899 individual churches, is also to meet with leaders of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in Myitkyina, Kachin State on 18-20 October.
Rev. Dennis Ngun Thawng Mang, ZBC General Secretary said, “Let’s pray together and lend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters who are in need of urgent help in Kachin State.”
Meanwhile, leaders of Chin Christian communities worldwide are calling on churches and individuals to have special prayer service and to contribute towards helping Kachin displaced population in northen Burma.
Dr. Chum Awi, General Secretary of the Global Chin Christian Fellowship (GCCF), said: “I want to request all of us to pray for the spiritual and physical well-beings of displaced Kachins.”
“This is a great opportunity for all of us to make contributions for the caring, healing, and saving of our brothers, Kachin people, who are in a very dangerous life situation.”
More than 25,000 people in Kachin State have been internally displaced along the China-Burma border as a result of the ongoing armed attacks on KIA (Kachin Independence Army) by Burma Army.
Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
