Nigerian refugees at a camp in Cameroon gather to worship with leaders of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).
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By Carl and Roxane Hill
Leaders of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) and the manager of the EYN Disaster Team traveled to Cameroon last week to visit and support Nigerian refugees who have fled across the border into the neighboring country. This camp hosts more than 30,000 refugees mainly from Gwoza Local Government Area.
Travel through this very dangerous area required cars, buses, motorcycles, and lots of prayer.
EYN was able to take more than five million Naira ($25,000) to give to camp officials to help support all those at the camp, both Christians and Muslims. The camp is run by the United Nations, but there is never enough to help everyone. These funds will help purchase supplies, food, and shelter in Cameroon. In this situation, transporting cash was the only effective way to provide support to these refugees.
On Sunday a church service was held in an open space with over 10,000 EYN members in Minawawo Camp in Maroua Province of Cameroon.
— Carl and Roxane Hill are co-directors of the Church of the Brethren’s Nigeria Crisis Response. For more about the crisis response effort in cooperation with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, go to www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis .