EYN leaders visit refugee camps, pilot relocation project starts
Photo courtesy of EYN staffDisplaced people from the Michika area have gathered in Yola
In the area around Maiduguri--a large city in northeast Nigeria--Boko Haram seizure of several communities and the ensuing fierce fighting between the Nigerian army and the insurgents have caused many thousands of people to seek refugee in Maiduguri. A recent statement from the Catholic Archbishop of Maiduguri also indicated food shortages there.Violence in recent weeks has centered around Michika, north of the city of Mubi close to the border with Cameroon, forcing thousands to flee to the town of Yola where EYN leaders have reported makeshift camps of thousands of displaced people and a desperate food situation.
Also reported by EYN leaders via Facebook posts and photos, was a meeting last week in the capital city Abuja aimed at interfaith cooperation and conversation with Muslim leaders as well as the wider Christian ecumenical community.
EYN staff have been among those losing loved ones in the violence of recent days. Family members of one EYN staff person were killed in a Boko Haram attack on a hospital, and after coming out of hiding to find food. Another EYN leader lost a nephew who had been in the army and was part of the fighting near Maiduguri.
Progress on pilot relocation project
EYN staff liaison Markus Gamache has reported progress in the pilot project to purchase land to relocate displaced people in central Nigeria. As of last week, a fenced plot of land had been given to construct metal houses for temporary use.
Photo courtesy of EYN/Markus GamacheA view of the site for the pilot relocation project that is beginning to receive displaced people in central Nigeria. The project is getting funding through Brethren Disaster Ministries and the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund.
“More of these metal housing is needed now since mud blocks are not possible because of rain,” Gamache wrote. “We cannot serve all people, only the lucky ones get in here. We have identified orphans and widows from Gwoza up to Michika who are ready to occupy this kind of facility. Families are joining other families in the bush to wait until when construction is done for them.”
In his most recent update on the project, received late last week, Gamache reported:
“The relocation project is necessary to give people hope and little rest [from] running every day. Helps from different sources [are] still not sufficient. The relocation project is just starting but it seems the help needs to be expanded because of the pressure from families that want to completely leave the entire North East....
“Our biggest challenge at the moment is how to reach the most in need camps. Some of these camps are not easy to access being surrounded by BH [Boko Haram]. Children are dying of different ailments, old people left at home and those that were on sick bed before the attack are also dying one after the other. Families that are separated are worried [about] their families members, more especially mothers are much worried of their young children that might have fallowed another family and no connection to know about their well being. Some people are being killed in the process of moving from one camp to another in order to trace their younger ones.”
For more about the Church of the Brethren mission in Nigeria and about EYN, go towww.brethren.org/nigeria . To help contribute to the relief effort, give to the Global Mission and Service program through the donate button on the Nigeria page of the website, or give to the Emergency Disaster Fund at www.brethren.org/edf .
Global Mission executive returns from visit to Democratic Republic of Congo
Global Mission and Service executive director Jay Wittmeyer spent several days visiting the fledgling Brethren group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), returning on Sept. 18. Wittmeyer flew into Bujumbura, Burundi, and then traveled overland into the Congo, first to Uvira in South Kivu and then south to Fizi and Ngovi.
During his visit to central Africa, Wittmeyer and Lubongo also visited some Quaker congregations and leaders in Rwanda and Burundi. These groups and leaders have been partnering in peacemaking and agriculture initiatives that focus on Twa (pygmy) people and have been supported by the Church of the Brethren.He reported that the self-identified Brethren group in the DRC now has grown to include seven congregations, under the overall leadership of Ron Lubungo. Wittmeyer participated in a two-day strategic planning workshop that helped the community identify its needs and list out its priorities over the next three years.
A high point of the trip, Wittmeyer said, was participating in the baptism of five new church members in Lake Tanganyika.
A link to an online photo album from the trip will be made available in an upcoming issue of Newsline.
Brethren Disaster Ministries is directing a grant of $100,000 to the relocation of displaced people and other needs in Nigeria, where members of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) as well as families of EYN denominational staff are among the thousands of people who have fled violence.
The grant comes from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF). Gifts to support this disaster relief effort can be made online atwww.brethren.org/edf . Gifts to support the Nigeria mission of the Church of the Brethren can be made at www.brethren.org/nigeria .
In related news, some EYN denominational staff reportedly have been returning to the area of the EYN headquarters, which was mostly evacuated more than three weeks ago when Boko Haram insurgents made swift advances to secure territory. Recently, EYN leaders have been visiting makeshift refugee camps where thousands of church members have fled seeking safety.
This week, news reports from Nigeria are quoting Nigerian army claims to have killed the Boko Haram leader and hundreds of insurgents in fierce fighting near Maiduguri. There also are claims that hundreds of Boko Haram fighters have surrendered. A BBC report, however, warns “the claims are impossible to verify.” In the meantime, other reports indicate continued insurgent attacks and killings in communities in both Nigeria and Cameroon.
Grant extends aid to thousands of displaced
The grant of $100,000 continues the Church of the Brethren response to the relentless violence in northeast Nigeria, where people have suffered displacement, killings, kidnappings and property destruction.
“As the largest church body in this area, Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria leadership report that more EYN churches and members have been impacted than any other denomination,” said the grant request. “This now includes 7 of the 51 EYN districts and parts of other districts that are no longer functioning as they and have been overrun by Boko Haram. As a result of this violence, over 650,000 people are displaced, including as many as 45,000 EYN members.”
In addition, “the stories of more horrific atrocities are being reported,” the document said. “Many have fled to the mountains for refuge, while in other settings as many as 70 people are living in one temporary shelter intended for two families.”
Brethren Disaster Ministries and Global Mission and Service staff have outlined a three-stage response to this ongoing violence, but a swiftly changing and fluid situation has caused changes to plans made just a few weeks ago. For example, a grant of $20,000 given at the end of the summer was intended to support a pilot relocation project. However, with realization that the ongoing violence requires a more rapid response, the large $100,000 grant has been given sooner than expected in order to move forward.
Details of the large-scale disaster response plan and some implementing partners continue to be developed, but the following phases have been announced:
-- Phase 1: Emergency Response, focuses on providing for basic human survival in the midst of the emergency. This may include the building of care centers for displaced families, temporary shelters, rent or purchase of land, providing of household supplies, emergency food rations, tools for agriculture, transportation, and development of risk management/security for EYN focused on violence avoidance through effective planning and early evacuation.
-- Phase 2: Recovery, focuses on the emotional and spiritual needs of Nigerian leadership and families, and peace building efforts within churches and communities. This may include helping to expand the EYN Peace Program, providing trauma and resiliency training to pastors and church leaders, financial support for displaced pastors, spiritual care and worship opportunities in Care Centers and other locations where families are displaced.
-- Phase 3: Rebuilding Communities, will focus on long-term recovery and helping families become self-supporting again. At this point in the conflict it is difficult to know the full scope of needs for rebuilding, but this may include transitioning temporary Care Centers into permanent communities, or rebuilding of homes, churches, water sources, and other community needs in damaged hometowns.
Gifts to support the disaster relief effort in Nigeria are received at www.brethren.org/edf or may be mailed to the Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Gifts to support the Nigeria mission of the Church of the Brethren are received at www.brethren.org/nigeria or may be mailed to Church of the Brethren, Attn: Global Mission and Service, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.
During his visit to central Africa, Wittmeyer and Lubongo also visited some Quaker congregations and leaders in Rwanda and Burundi. These groups and leaders have been partnering in peacemaking and agriculture initiatives that focus on Twa (pygmy) people and have been supported by the Church of the Brethren.He reported that the self-identified Brethren group in the DRC now has grown to include seven congregations, under the overall leadership of Ron Lubungo. Wittmeyer participated in a two-day strategic planning workshop that helped the community identify its needs and list out its priorities over the next three years.
A high point of the trip, Wittmeyer said, was participating in the baptism of five new church members in Lake Tanganyika.
A link to an online photo album from the trip will be made available in an upcoming issue of Newsline.
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Disaster grant of $100,000 is directed to Nigeria
Photo courtesy of EYN/Markus GamacheEYN staff visit the land for a pilot project site, where a Care Center is being built for refugees
For the latest Brethren news go to the main Newsline page
In related news, some EYN denominational staff reportedly have been returning to the area of the EYN headquarters, which was mostly evacuated more than three weeks ago when Boko Haram insurgents made swift advances to secure territory. Recently, EYN leaders have been visiting makeshift refugee camps where thousands of church members have fled seeking safety.
This week, news reports from Nigeria are quoting Nigerian army claims to have killed the Boko Haram leader and hundreds of insurgents in fierce fighting near Maiduguri. There also are claims that hundreds of Boko Haram fighters have surrendered. A BBC report, however, warns “the claims are impossible to verify.” In the meantime, other reports indicate continued insurgent attacks and killings in communities in both Nigeria and Cameroon.
Grant extends aid to thousands of displaced
The grant of $100,000 continues the Church of the Brethren response to the relentless violence in northeast Nigeria, where people have suffered displacement, killings, kidnappings and property destruction.
“As the largest church body in this area, Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria leadership report that more EYN churches and members have been impacted than any other denomination,” said the grant request. “This now includes 7 of the 51 EYN districts and parts of other districts that are no longer functioning as they and have been overrun by Boko Haram. As a result of this violence, over 650,000 people are displaced, including as many as 45,000 EYN members.”
In addition, “the stories of more horrific atrocities are being reported,” the document said. “Many have fled to the mountains for refuge, while in other settings as many as 70 people are living in one temporary shelter intended for two families.”
Photo courtesy of Rebecca DaliA displaced family in Nigeria, with Rebecca Dali who has been one of the Nigerian Brethren visiting the makeshift camps where people have fled the violence in northeast Nigeria. Dali writes on Facebook that this rough shelter is the place where a woman and her four children are making their home at the moment.
Details of the large-scale disaster response plan and some implementing partners continue to be developed, but the following phases have been announced:
-- Phase 1: Emergency Response, focuses on providing for basic human survival in the midst of the emergency. This may include the building of care centers for displaced families, temporary shelters, rent or purchase of land, providing of household supplies, emergency food rations, tools for agriculture, transportation, and development of risk management/security for EYN focused on violence avoidance through effective planning and early evacuation.
-- Phase 2: Recovery, focuses on the emotional and spiritual needs of Nigerian leadership and families, and peace building efforts within churches and communities. This may include helping to expand the EYN Peace Program, providing trauma and resiliency training to pastors and church leaders, financial support for displaced pastors, spiritual care and worship opportunities in Care Centers and other locations where families are displaced.
-- Phase 3: Rebuilding Communities, will focus on long-term recovery and helping families become self-supporting again. At this point in the conflict it is difficult to know the full scope of needs for rebuilding, but this may include transitioning temporary Care Centers into permanent communities, or rebuilding of homes, churches, water sources, and other community needs in damaged hometowns.
Gifts to support the disaster relief effort in Nigeria are received at www.brethren.org/edf or may be mailed to the Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Gifts to support the Nigeria mission of the Church of the Brethren are received at www.brethren.org/nigeria or may be mailed to Church of the Brethren, Attn: Global Mission and Service, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.
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