By David Sollenberger
The Global Mission and Service office has released a new DVD which updates the Church of the Brethren about the Nigeria Crisis Response for 2016. The video called “The Long Journey Home” outlines what has been accomplished with funds raised by the church and mission partners during 2015, and provides a blueprint for the church’s support of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) for 2016.
It was filmed during a February 2016 trip I made to Nigeria along with Carl and Roxane Hill, co-directors of the Nigeria Crisis Response. The video provides footage of some areas of Nigeria not seen since the terror group Boko Haram overran much of the northeast of the country, forcing hundreds of thousands of Nigerians–including many EYN members–to flee their homes and communities.
The new DVD shares how some EYN members have since returned to their ravaged communities and are trying to rebuild their lives, with the help of the Church of the Brethren and the Nigeria Crisis Fund.
The DVD of “The Long Journey Home” is being mailed to each congregation in the Source packet, along with a poster report also called The Long Journey Home. Both are available through the Brethren Disaster Ministries office. The video program also is available on the Church of the Brethren Vimeo page at https://vimeo.com/162219031 .
It is hoped that churches will share this program with their members, as a reminder that while the 2016 response has changed somewhat, the crisis in Nigeria is far from over. Funds are urgently needed to provide seeds and fertilizer, housing, trauma healing workshops, education, and support for the thousands of women and children who have been widowed and orphaned by the deadly violence in Nigeria. The full video is 12 minutes long, but the DVD also includes a 6-minute version, as well as a 4-minute “quick look” at the Nigeria Crisis Response goals for 2016.
— David Sollenberger is a Church of the Brethren videographer.