Friday, the women of First United Methodist Church in Picayune hosted the 2016 annual World Day of Prayer.
According to the World Day of Prayer website, the movement unites Christian women of many traditions and denominations to observe a common day of prayer each year.
The celebration is held in 170 countries and regions, is always celebrated the first Friday in March and the motto of WDP is “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action,” the website states.
Dozens attended Friday’s interdenominational service and after the prayer and a scripture reading, heard a presentation given by Teresa Manning, wife of Rev. Harold Manning, about the missions program Little Dresses for Africa.
“Every day, little girls ages 3 to 5 in Africa, mainly the Sudan area, are sexually assaulted by men in the village,” Manning said. “They walk around without clothing. If they have clothing on, the assaults are greatly reduced.”
According to www.littledressesforafrica.org, The LDfA was founded in 2008 by Rachel O’Neill. They send donated dresses through mission teams to verified communities in Africa.
Manning discovered the mission group three years through a friend and approached the women of the church about a year ago with the idea of sewing these dresses.
However, members of LDfA do more than just send dresses, Manning said. They also try to change behaviors.
“Some of the children have to travel to unsafe places to obtain clean water,” she said. “LDfA builds wells and offers safe water. They also teach basic school lessons and build a place for community gatherings.”
Beginning Monday, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the women of First United Methodist Church will meet to cut out dress patterns and sew them. However, they hope by sharing this news with others that soon the whole city of Picayune will be sewing dresses, Manning said.
“Our prayer is that they will go back to their other churches and tell them about it,” Linda Hancock, UMW general membership president said. “Teresa found out about it and laid it on our hearts. We’re so excited to have this hands-on opportunity and not just send money.”
Manning asked the crowd to think about how much a dress would mean to one of these little girls.
“If you can change the life of one 4-year-old, then you’ve made a difference,” she said.
Learn more about LDfA at www.litttledressesforafrica.org.