08 08 Project Hannah Prayer diary
This month, the world’s eyes have been on China as it hosts the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. At the same time, the media is full of news reports about China’s economy, earthquakes, pollution and growth. But what about the untold stories?
China’s universities are full of young women hoping for a better future. They face a drastically different world than their parents did. Many struggle to find jobs that usually go to Han men. Even women with university degrees often accept positions beneath their training or must provide ’services’ to their boss to keep their jobs. Their strong desire to prove that money their parents spent on a daughter’s education was not wasted sometimes leads them to do drastic things.
Abortion is widely accepted as a positive birth control method for young women pursuing their education or career. It is often the only option given to unmarried pregnant girls, as having a child outside of marriage shames the mother and leaves the child without an identity. Migrant workers, including mothers, seek their fortune in China’s fast-industrializing cities. Because of this, many children live with elderly grandparents in villages while their parents seek jobs in the cities. Some are even left alone.
These choices women make many times lead them to despair. Suicide is the cause of death in almost a third of China’s rural women between ages 15 and 34, with suicide rates for women being 25 percent higher than for men. Chinese women need to know that God values them and their daughters. Offering hope and friendship, Project Hannah’s Women of Hope program gives sisterly advice on practical issues in their lives,
and reveals enriching truths from God’s Word.
