Weekly devotion: Empowering at-risk girls in northern Israel

International Christian Committee in Israel

Above: The walled city of Acre (Credit: Mony Misheal, via Unsplash).

Acre is a historic port city in northwest Israel, home to a mixed population of Jewish and Arab citizens. Yet despite its history and its location on the Mediterranean coast, life is not easy for many Arab Israeli girls living within the Old City. Many families there are economically vulnerable, and live in crowded conditions with multiple children. This has a knock-on effect on educational attainment, as many teenage girls lack privacy and space to study at home.

Our partner, the International Christian Committee in Israel (ICCI), reports that many girls in Acre drop out of school, often in order to seek work or get married. They add that girls in this community have continually voiced a ‘need for help, emotional support, a sense of community, belonging, and help in doing daily homework’.

In response, the ICCI has set up a centre in the heart of the Old City of Acre. The centre is a welcoming space for girls at-risk to come together socially, and also receive support with education and family challenges. The ICCI also works closely with the parents to improve their awareness about the challenges their daughters face, and ensure they have the necessary skills to support them.

Bible reading

‘For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.’

Galatians 3: 26-28

Thought

Women and men are of equal worth and value in God’s sight. Yet, sadly, gender inequality is still prevalent in 2024. The UN Secretary General has stated that ‘achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world’.

Our partner, the ICCI, is practically responding to these great structural challenges through its grassroots project. Through this project, it is making a tangible difference to the lives of the girls and families it serves in Acre.

Ask yourself: Take some moments to reflect on the structural challenges or inequalities that trouble you. Are there any practical steps you can take to respond?

Prayer

Loving God,

We praise you that you are a God whose love encompasses all people.

We pray for women across the world who face discrimination, prejudice and inequality.

We especially pray for the teenage girls in Acre, who are being supported by the ICCI. May they know their worth in your sight, and may they be empowered to take hold of opportunities to realise their potential.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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