Through a zoom meeting, we talk to the head of the Danish European Mission's projects in Sri Lanka.
High inflation brings with it many challenges
He talks about the difficult situation in the country after COVID-19 and the economic crisis it brought. Sri Lanka has experienced a sky-high inflation rate in the year 2022 of 70%. This has made a huge dent in people's standard of living, and thus also in the income of churches, which is a huge challenge for society and for the church.
However, he says the situation is slightly better in rural areas because people are self-sufficient in food. But the high price of fuel is still a problem for people and the standard of living has also gone down a lot. Tourism also continues to be hit hard.
The problems and challenges for the church are not only low income, but also the fact that many people choose to leave Sri Lanka and go abroad. Many young people are leaving the country, including wealthy businessmen and many Christians in ministry, because they find it difficult to see a future in Sri Lanka.
Pastor Adrian was helped to help himself
One of those who has received self-help is a pastor named Adrian.
Through email correspondence, he explains what the help has meant to him and his church:
“Ever since Covid and the recent economic crisis, Church members have been going through a terrible time. Many of them are struggling as they have been fired from their jobs and have lost their income. I was also under a lot of pressure as I was not able to support my church financially. This whole situation has greatly tested our faith and made us trust in God.
Through the support I've received from the project, I've planted paprika. I will have a harvest in two months and I hope to make a profit on this income, which I will spend on replanting. This allows the harvest to continue. I have contact with 5 families who are struggling. I hope to help them with the profits. I am very grateful for the help because it gives me an opportunity to bless others. In the current situation, there are no words to describe the extent to which this support has blessed us. May God bless you."
Projects in Sri Lanka
Danish European Mission has 3 projects in Sri Lanka that donors and improvers can support.
The first project involves helping poor pastors to help themselves. In Sri Lanka, the priests live off the church's income, which, as mentioned, has fallen in line with the country's difficult situation. The project aims to give the priests an income so that they can become more self-sufficient. Many pastors have been given animals so they can start a farm. Others have been helped to set up a small shop where they can sell goods. In addition, they receive training on how to run their business and become more skilled at their work.
The second project involves financial support for Bible distribution. Bibles are legal to print in Sri Lanka, but they are very expensive. This gives new believers the opportunity to get a Bible.
The third project is a new church planting project where pastors are specially trained to do relief and development work in their local area. They follow the CDE concept: Community Development Education, which consists of training church communities to solve some of the problems they face in society. As well as how to discover their own problems, find solutions and transform their own resources.
