Arms and Zimbabwe

Each week through Lent we have an inward focus grounded in Psalm 139 verse 14 which affirms that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. To help us reflect on this statement we have a life size skeleton in the church for Lent and each week we have been thinking about the bones found in a particular part of the body. This week we remember and give thanks for the bones of, and related to, our arms: clavicle, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, meta carpals and phalanges.

Our outward focus this week is the African country we know as Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's total population is 12 million. According to the World Health Organisation, the life expectancy for men is 37 years and the life expectancy for women is 34 years of age, the lowest in the world in 2006. The HIV infection rate in Zimbabwe was estimated to be 20.1% for people aged 15–49 in 2006.

Shona, Ndebele and English are the principal languages of Zimbabwe, English being the official language. Less than 2.5%, mainly the white and mixed race minorities, consider English their native language. The rest of the population speak Shona (76%) and Ndebele (18%).

The economic meltdown and repressive political measures in Zimbabwe have led to a flood of refugees into neighbouring countries. An estimated 3.4 million Zimbabweans, a quarter of the population, had fled abroad by mid 2007. Some 3 million of these have gone to South Africa.

Please pray for the people of Zimbabwe.