Please stand with us and our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 250 people.
Release partners say that Sri Lankan believers are ‘deeply distressed’ by Sunday’s co-ordinated attacks. They also appealed for calm yesterday as mass funerals took place on a national day of mourning. Further devices were discovered and defused.
Please continue to pray for all those affected: for those who are in mourning and for the more than 500 people who were injured.
Our partners in Sri Lanka are working hard to support the victims of persecution and the recent bombings.
Most of the persecution in Sri Lanka occurs in the rural areas where believers are often harassed by state authorities who misapply the law to curb church activities. Additionally Christians can be wrongfully accused by other local villagers who believe that to be Sri Lankan is to be Buddhist. They are not able to defend themselves in court due to the costs involved.
Release has supported practical assistance to victims of persecution, including legal aid and advocacy. We have also supported encouragement camps for scattered churches, paid for repairing or rebuilding demolished churches and paid for scholarships for children of persecuted pastors.
The recent bombings have occurred in more prosperous areas of the country. Our partner reports that the needs arising from the bombings will be different and additional to what they are used to, and that the need will be enormous and ongoing as they seek to support the orphans caused by the bombings, the parents who have lost their children and the injured - many of whom will require intensive medical support.
Our partners in Sri Lanka, who care for those who have been persecuted, are working hard to support the families of those injured or martyred in the bombings. If you would like to make a donation to our work supporting martyrs’ families in Sri Lanka and around the world, please click the Donate Now button.
You can keep up to date with all the news regarding the bombings in Sri Lanka by visiting the Latest News section of our website here.