The story of the Chibok girls has gone around the world to make many people aware of the brutal activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria.
The very name conjures fear and conveys their conviction that Western (or Christian) education is wicked. Education standards in the area had been in decline because of the low priority given to schools. The outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009 gave a further deadly blow to the little that was left of education in the region. Most schools in Borno State have remained closed since 2013 with many of the children in stop-gap camps or in the homes of relatives across different parts of the country as internally displaced persons.
Attacks and threats
The climax of the disdain for Western education (especially for girls) was demonstrated in 2014 when the final-year students of most of the schools in southern Borno were recalled to sit their Senior Secondary School exams. On the night of 14th April a total of 276 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram from Government Secondary School Chibok. While some escaped or have been released, the painful reality is that the majority are still in captivity.
Boko Haram remains a threat, benefiting from ransom funds and also from high youth unemployment. An estimated 1 million children have been displaced and a reported 1,500 schools have been closed as a result of Boko Haram attacks or threats. Today they continue to harass communities and entice recruits with the offer of easy money and sex slaves. Their threat will not go away any time soon. The church must continue to pray for the various security and economic challenges facing Nigeria as a country.
Compassion
But part of our response as Christians must also be to show compassion to the needy, especially the children. A wide range of NGOs is involved in offering food and medical assistance. Several that we know have been very faithful and courageous in distribution of assistance. But corruption means that much aid does not reach those who need it most. This is where we are delighted to hear about the work of the Education Must Continue Initiative, whose founders are equally concerned for the educational and spiritual needs of children. Children must go to school and learn to read. But what will they read?
Caring for the children
During my recent visit to Nigeria I was able to interview Becky and Paul Gadzama, the founders of the Education Must Continue Initiative (EMCI), in their home in Jos. They are members of the Church of the Brethren (EYN) denomination and have worked in the past with the Great Commission Movement (linked to Campus Crusade for Christ). They are both from Lassa, Borno State, Nigeria, not far from Chibok and the Sambisa Forest which continues to be a hub for Boko Haram. After witnessing the destruction of many homes, including their own family home, as well as churches and schools, and the desperate conditions facing refugees, they started ECMI. They took some of the escaped Chibok girls into their home and altogether, in several centres in Borno and Adamawa, they have almost 2,000 children in their care, many of them orphaned by Boko Haram and three quarters of them below secondary level.
Bibles and books
The Gadzamas have requested Africa Christian Textbooks (ACTS) to assist them with the great need for Bibles and other Bible story books. ACTS, with 25 years’ experience in providing theological books for Africa, has a good relationship with publishers and can get books at bargain prices. Thousands of children in the care of ECMI and other trusted partners can be helped. If you would like to assist with books or finance, please contact Mission Africa missionary and former director of ACTS, the Revd Dr Sid Garland sidjgarland@gmail.com Tel: 077 8595 2028 or Mr Ken Callaghan acts@ignite.it Tel: +447866557783.
