20th March 2026

In Kenya drought is a taking place once again, with 23 of Kenya’s 47 counties affected. An estimated 3.4 million people do not have enough to eat, at least 800,000 children show signs of malnutrition, and livestock – the backbone of pastoral life – are dying. In Turkana alone, 350,000 households are on the brink of starvation.  Oxfam say that drought is affecting a vast swathe of East Africa, with 26 million people "facing extreme hunger" in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. "We have only little food, which cannot reach all people in need," Rukia Abubakar, the Turkana coordinator for the Kenya Red Cross, told BBC reporters. "That's why we are asking partners and well-wishers to come and support the people."

The UK's Foreign Secretary has set out aid budget cuts that will affect some of the world’s poorest countries.  The UK’s bilateral aid to African countries will be reduced by almost £900m by 2028-29 – a 56% cut – as part of more than £6bn in cuts which are funding an increase in defence spending. Aid agencies said these will be the deepest cuts in humanitarian aid across the G7, leaving “the UK’s reputation in tatters, and a poorer, more unequal and unstable world for us all”. A year ago this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of programmes by USAid.  Other countries also cut their aid budgets. Between 2025 and 2026, total global humanitarian aid funding fell from around €23.97 billion ($27.60 billion) to approximately €7.34 billion ($8 billion).

Loving God, we place into your care our neighbours in Kenya and East Africa living with drought, anxious about how to feed their families and livestock. Help us to be good neighbours to people in need. Help us to remember that what we do for the least of people we do for Christ himself. The earth belongs to you O God. The harvests of the earth sustain us all, and you provide bounteously if only we would share what we have. Move among the world's governments to act for the common good; to favour people not profits. May all who yearn for clean water and lush green crops have their quenched and their joy refreshed. May all who thirst for change and a more just world have their cup overflow. In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.

Workers at Scottish Water completed the 100-mile cycle ride on Friday, February 13 raising funds for WaterAid to support clean water and sanitation projects in Malawi and Rwanda. They cycled from Loch Bradan in Ayrshire to Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, following the route of Scottish Water’s £235 million pipeline investment.  The route covered more than 2200 metres of climbing and took the team through Ayrshire, the south of Glasgow, and past reservoirs and pumping stations. On their 11 hour journey they experienced rain, hail, and multiple punctures. Paul Sexton, enterprise lead in capital investment at Scottish Water, said: "The generosity of all the sponsors kept us motivated throughout, and it was fantastic to follow a route linking so many parts of our new resilience pipeline." Scottish Water’s Mission Water fundraising programme, aims to raise £500,000 for WaterAid in this financial year. The funds will help provide clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

God of love,

all praise, glory, honour, majesty, power and might be to you.

 Creator God, 

we thank you for this new day

and for the opportunities it provides

to give you thanks and praise. 

We thank you for your Word,

made known to us in Jesus Christ. 

 We thank you for your love and care

for every person.

 We thank you for the living hope

you have given us through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We thank you that by faith in him

we are worthy of the name 'children of God'. 

 We thank you that you love us so much

that you have opened wide the gates of heaven

and enabled us to share in your inheritance of eternal life.

God of love,

all praise, glory, honour, majesty, power and might be to you. Amen.