The staff at Brethren Disaster Ministries have requested an additional allocation of $300,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to cover remaining program expenses for the Nigeria Crisis Response program for 2020 and to carry the response through March 2021.
Since 2014, the Nigeria Crisis Response has provided more than $5 million in ministry resources to five response partners, has helped stabilize Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), and provided extensive humanitarian aid and recovery for some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
The response was begun after Boko Haram insurgent violence and lack of security heavily affected EYN and Nigerian Brethren in northeast Nigeria. The violence continues to affect EYN and recent attacks have come within 50 miles of the EYN Headquarters in Kwarhi. The killing of a district secretary of EYN in January and a devastating attack on the town of Garkida, where EYN began, highlight how vulnerable the EYN members and churches continue to be.
The 2020 response plans, developed in coordination with EYN and partner organization Mission 21, continue key ministries at a reduced level of funding, due to a planned scaling down of the program and reduced donations. Primary focus areas include home repair, peace building and trauma recovery, agriculture, livelihood support, education, food, medical and home supplies, EYN security along with recovery and capacity building, support for US volunteers and staff, and emergency relief.
Prior EDF grants for the Nigeria Crisis Response total $5,100,000.
Find out more about the Nigeria Crisis Response, a joint effort of EYN and the Church of the Brethren, at www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis .