Urbanisation

For the first time in history more people now live in cities around the world than in rural areas. This trend of urbanisation shows no sign of abating. While it took the UK 120 years for the urban population to rise from 20% to 40%, in the 20th century this same increase took just 22 years in China.

Historically, cities have developed slowly in line with local supplies of food and labour and have therefore been relatively self-sufficient. Today the story is rather different with the growth of cities often outstripping their ability to provide housing, services and employment.

An estimated 1 billion people now live in slums. Perhaps even more startling is the fact that this figure is expected to double by 2030.

People move to the cities in search of jobs and because of the perceived higher standard of living. However the reality is often quite different, with many slums having poor sanitation, little access to clean water, high incidences of communicable diseases, few job opportunities and poor working conditions.

Another major problem is that because people in slums do not have ownership of their land their houses can, and frequently are, torn down by local authorities. This situation was highlighted in the news earlier in 2009 when the home of a child actor in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire was torn down by authorities in Mumbai.

Slum areas in many countries have a reputation for violence. As well as being triggered by factors such as alcohol and drug abuse, this crime often arises out of a sense of injustice and helplessness due to the enormous disparity in wealth.

While missions have traditionally tended to work in rural areas the vast needs of the shanty towns are causing many to re-evaluate their primary focus. However, this also presents problems – where do the missionaries live, where do they get the resources needed for the provision of basic medical or educational services, and how can they show the love of Christ to people whose physical needs can be overwhelming.

Pray for more workers and that they would be able to practically demonstrate the love of God to people who feel abandoned and without hope.