by Carl Hill

Thanks to you the Nigeria Crisis Response is moving forward

What your Contributions are Doing for Our Nigerian Families

So far, because of the generosity of Churches like yours, more than 20,000 displaced persons have received emergency food and basic materials from the EYN Disaster Team.

Three large tracts of land have been purchased by Church of the Brethren Nigeria (EYN) for the building of Care Centers for displaced people. At these Care Centers people are removed from the most dangerous areas of NE Nigeria. The large tracts of land will provide space where farming can begin and people will be able to resume “normal” life again.

Church of the Brethren is not only supporting EYN in our Crisis Response but also four NGOs (Non-Governmental Agencies). One of them is providing livelihoods for people who have lost everything.

The leaders of the NGOs are proving to be people who really care. Sewing machines, bean cake making supplies and grinding machines are giving desperate people hope by setting them up with a business of their own.

Another important area as part of the recovery program is trauma and reconciliation work. Together with Mennonite Central Committee we are training trainers for these restorative workshops. After the training, these Nigerians will be able to minister to those most affected by trauma associated with the terrible violence perpetrated by the Boko Haram. This area of the recovery is critical for Nigeria to move forward peacefully.

Education is another area that needs our help in order to meet the needs of the many children who have been adversely affected by the violence in the Northeast. Another of our NGOs is concentrating on getting children back into school. Most of the schools in the Northeast have been closed down for over a year (some for two years).

Because you care, young students are able to enroll in existing schools. We are currently supporting one elementary school in Jos (200 students) and one in Bui (300 students).

Our other NGOs are also doing great things for the people of Nigeria. Dr. Rebecca Dali, wife of EYN president, Samuel Dali, heads up an NGO that acts as a first responder to people in need. Not only has she distributed food and supplies to many of her people she is keeping detailed records of those that have been displaced and  those that have been killed as a result of the violence. Our fourth NGO has built a camp near the capitol city of Abuja (out of harm’s way) that is populated by both Christians and Muslims. This unique experiment is seen as a model for reconciliation between the faith groups. Markus Gamache, recently toured the western states speaking about the crisis and how his NGO has responded thanks to the people of the United States.

Lastly, our efforts have assisted EYN in their attempts to continue operations by supporting their Majalisa (Annual Conference) and other conferences that are normally held on an annual basis.