03/16/2024 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – The colorful tents packed in like sardines stretched to the horizon, home to far too many women and children who have endured unbearable emotional and physical scars.
In this overcrowded and under-resourced IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) camp in Nigeria is enough suffering the world over. Remnants of Christian souls that were inexplicably uprooted by attackers who stole their lives, homes, and often husbands.
International Christian Concern (ICC) staffers visited several IDP camps in Nigeria in late 2023. What struck them were the overcrowded, dismal conditions – one government-run enclave was set up for hundreds yet housed thousands. The team, however, met resilient, joyful women who proudly showed off their meager abodes. A thin nylon canopy separated the families and their treasures from the elements, a fitting reminder of the fragility of this place. They still clung to Christ and the camaraderie and care for each other.
More than three million Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt have been displaced by radical Fulani militants over the past 20 years. Many are widows, their husbands killed in attacks on villages they were forced to abandon. School-aged children play games and wander the streets. The women are sometimes desperate and trade their bodies for food or are raped. Crime is rampant. Yet ICC and other nonprofits are serving as a lifeline for necessities, helping the widows regain an economic foothold and use their skills to survive.
“These women and children have endured incredible suffering,” said an ICC staffer. “Many have lost their husbands, and the children their fathers. Yet we see the hand of the Lord in big and small ways, and it’s a privilege to come along side these amazing Christians. God sustains them, and we do what we can to supply fuel for their lives.”
ICC has supported IDP camps in Nigeria and Kenya with food packets and water, clothing, and school uniforms and supplies for children.
ICC launched a Hope House Academy within one Nigeria IDP camp last year, supplying biblical schooling and more for children.
While the heart-wrenching needs are overwhelming, the recipients express their gratitude for the believers who cared for them from an ocean away.
RUTH
“I am truly glad to receive this food package, funds for buying new uniform and shoes for my children, and extra money to take care of my 2-year-old baby. We have been living in very deplorable conditions since our homes were destroyed by the al-Shabab people. Life at the IDP camp is very difficult, and sometimes we go without food. The government brings very small quantities of food, and the families subdivide amongst them. We are over 400 families in the camp, and so you can imagine what we are going through. Our farms have been destroyed by animals because we have left them. Your assistance today will go a long way in sustaining us for a few days as look for ways of providing for our families. May the Lord bless you.”
ADISON
“Today we have witnessed a miracle. I am saying this because we haven’t seen such an amount of food items given to the people affected directly by the recent attacks on Christian villages. The truth of the matter is that if the affected community was Islamic, support would be coming daily from fellow Muslims. But you have defied all odds and brought us relief at a time when everybody here was having nothing for the family. Children have been going to school without proper uniform since everything was burnt inside the houses. But today you have given us money to go and buy new school uniform for them. We also have money to buy daily supplies. Your act of kindness will never go unnoticed, and we pray that the Lord expands your ability to continue reaching to more suffering believers.”
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