Giving to Nigeria Crisis Fund Tops $1 Million, Staff Provide Summary of Accomplishments

Courtesy of EYN
EYN president Dr. Samuel Dali (left) helps distribute relief goods in Nigeria.

Donations of more than $1,061,400 have been posted to the Nigeria Crisis Fund, from October 2014 through part of Feb. 2015, received from individuals, congregations, and other groups”

This does not include the $1.5 million committed to the effort by the Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board in Oct. 2014: the matching challenge of $500,000, a commitment of $500,000 from reserves, and an allocation $500,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund.

EYN also has received more than $75,000 in assistance from private individuals and other church denominations within Nigeria including a large donation from Hillcrest School, according to Nigeria Crisis Response co-directors Carl and Roxane Hill.

Summary of response effort

Photo courtesy of EYN
Nigerians involved in the crisis response pose with a new bore hole at one of the “care centers” being built for people displaced by the violence.

The Nigeria Crisis Response is a collaborative effort of the Church of the Brethren with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). The response is focused on providing assistance and relief to EYN and its members, and other Nigerians affected by violence–most of which is perpetrated by Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist insurgent group that has declared an Islamic caliphate in the northeast of Nigeria.

The following summary of accomplishments of the effort was provided by Carl and Roxane Hill:

The EYN Crisis Management Team has:

— Distributed food and blankets for thousands of displaced Nigerians
— Purchased two vehicles for delivering emergency supplies
— Supported EYN leadership to set up temporary headquarters in central Nigeria
— Helped support displaced pastors

Photo courtesy of EYN
Distribution of relief goods by CCEPI, one of the non-governmental organizations in Nigeria that are helping out with the crisis response, and are receiving funding aid from the Church of the Brethren. CCEPI is headed up by Rebecca Dali (standing, in the purple cap), who also represented EYN at last year’s Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren.

— Acquired warehouse space to store food and construction supplies
— Purchased and cleared land for new care-centers for displaced Nigerians
— Held trauma healing workshops for over 100 leaders
— Transported thousands of people to safer areas of the country
— Drilled wells at care-centers to provide a safe water supply
— Printed and distributed EYN devotional materials to displaced members

Other non-government organizations (NGO’s) in Nigeria have:

— Supplied hundreds of people with emergency supplies including food, blankets, clothing
— Supported more than 350 children to re-enroll in school
— Purchased 80 sewing machines and 70 start-ups for bean cake businesses, and provided training sessions for sustainable employment for displaced women
— Established a skills acquisition center
— Established a safe interfaith community where 70 homes have been built and clean water has been provided for Christians and Muslims

For more information about the Nigeria Crisis Response to go www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis .

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