Promise Kept

Promise Kept

Promise Kept: U.S. Aid Bypassing UN to Help Christian Victims of ISIS - CBN News

Millions of dollars in U.S. assistance are now flowing to desperate Christian, Yazidi and other minority refugees in northern Iraq. It's a fulfillment of Vice President Mike Pence's promise last year to "stop funding ineffective relief efforts at the United Nations" and "provide support directly to persecuted communities through USAID (the United States Agency for International Development)." USAID says $55 million in aid money will now go to addressing minority groups in areas of northern Iraq retaken from ISIS.

In a speech last year at the 'In Defense of Christians' annual Solidarity Dinner for Christians in the Middle East, Pence called out the U.N.'s failure to help religious minorities, especially Christians, in Iraq. "Those days are over," he said. "Our fellow Christians and all who are persecuted in the Middle East should not have to rely on multinational institutions when America can help them directly." An unnamed White House official told Fox News, "We are very confident that not only will U.S. funds go more directly toward assisting persecuted religious minorities, the U.N. is also stepping up to the plate to further fund effective programs that directly go to communities, particularly in Iraq."

Father, we pray this aid will bring hope and restoration to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray Your angels will watch over the aid and direct it where You desire.

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name," Psalm 91:14.