Disability affects hundreds of millions of families in developing countries, where poverty and economic isolation are the norm. Statistics currently tell us that approximately 10% of the total world’s populations, or roughly 740 million people, live with a disability. Of these, it is estimated that 75 million require a wheelchair yet cannot afford one.
We know that these numbers continue to increase. Much of the physical injury and disability found in the developing world is caused by violence. Children are often victimized by the effects of warfare; many are left injured or with a permanent form of disability.
As the population ages, these figures are only expected to increase. The number of elderly individuals with disabilities who are dependent upon their children and grandchildren grows and taxes younger generations who are, subsequently, unable to work or go to school.
Suffering with the pain, inconvenience and exclusion of a physical disability, many people are forced to crawl on the ground or wait to be carried by loved ones to reach their most basic of needs. They are subjected to danger and disease. Many succumb to hopelessness. Safety nets are few, and available social services are scarce.
Prayer Points:
- For comfort and mercy for those with disabilities and the poor.
- For compassion for the needy.
- For strength to defend the rights of those with disabilities.
Deuteronomy 15:11, Psalm 40:17, Proverbs 31:9
