EYN Director of Women’s Ministry, Suzan Mark and her assistant. (photo by Carl Hill)
The Women’s Ministry of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN) is beginning a special project for the many widows that are the result of the Boko Haram violence in Northeast Nigeria. The project is funded by Nigeria Crisis Funds. Over 5000 widows have been identified in the EYN church. Being a widow is very difficult in Nigeria; and since many of the widows are young; they do not have children who can support them. In fact most of them have young children of their own that they are struggling to provide for.
Widows wait for relief materials (photo by Donna Parcell at a CCEPI distribution)
The project will teach 50 widows a skill so that they can start their own business. Also 35 of their children will be given scholarships for school fees. The director of a relief organization in Nigeria reported the following about education, “611 teachers have died as a result of the terrorism in the north east; 19,000 teachers have been displaced, 1500 schools have closed down, and 950,000 children have been denied the opportunity of accessing education.”
Orphans at Favored Sisters School (photo by Donna Parcell)
The problem is so big and there are so many widows to help, it may seem like we are not doing much, but like the story of the starfish, we are making an incredible difference for some. Imagine hearing the stories of so many and having to select only 50 to help.
Here are some facts about a few of the women chosen.
Rejoice David from DCC Gwoza, a widow at camp in Maiduguri. Her husband was taken away by Boko Haram to Sambiza, but was slaughtered there when he refused to deny his faith. He left behind 6 children 4 girls and 2 boys as follows: Emmanuel David 18 years, Elizabeth David 15 years, James David 13 years, Sarah David 11 years, Juliana David 8 years, Lilian David 4 years Rejoice was selected for training in sewing and Elizabeth was chosen for assistance in payment of school fees
Widows (photo by Donna Parcell)
Sarah John a 27 years old widow at DCC Maiduguri was a Muslim convert who was married to a Christian named John. Her husband was killed after 6 years of marriage by Boko Haram leaving her with 2 children, a boy and a girl. She has been in camp for some years now. Both her parents and that of the husband refused to take care of her because their faith is not the same. We considered her case as special so her two children, (Ayuba John 5 years old and Rifkatu John 3 years old) were selected for scholarship and Sarah requested to join training for sewing, which was granted.
Hannatu Haruna 9 years and Racheal Haruna 7 years are complete orphans. Boko Haram killed both parents and they are now staying with their old grandmother at Kiffi. They were selected for school fees scholarships.
I cannot imagine the terrible (and sad) decisions that our Nigerian brothers and sisters have to deal with day after day. It’s so sad when they have to decide which child can go to school or not. Even worse, so many of them are out of school altogether. This will affect the rest of their lives.
Even sadder is knowing that so many of our Churches of the Brethren have been burned and that thousands of Christians (including our members) are displaced. It seems as though the world is on a merry-go-round for survival.
The best we can do is pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and help them as best as we can. I really appreciate the Church of the Brethren, which is helping them begin again. In doing so, we mirror Jesus, who succinctly reminds us when we pray to say, “God, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven”.