Children sat watching, under a shady tree. Women in colorful Nigerian dress, carrying babies on their backs, wandered by to greet us. The sound of hammers filled the air at the building site, shortly after I arrived in Nigeria in late March. Men were nailing sheets of metal roofing on the three-room houses that would make up the Gurku Interfaith Camp for families who fled the violence of Boko Haram and lost everything.
Brethren Disaster Ministries
EYN Teams Available to Visit Churches This Summer, Choir Tour Itinerary Is Updated
Nigerian Brethren teams will be available to visit churches this summer, in addition to the tour by the EYN Women’s Fellowship (ZME) Choir and the BEST group, according to the EYN Planning Committee. The committee is made up of members of three Pennsylvania congregations–Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Mountville Churches of the Brethren–and is chaired by former Nigeria mission worker Monroe Good.
Emergency Disaster Fund Grants Support Shalom in Burundi, CWS Aid to Haitian Dominicans
The Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed two grants from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster (EDF) to support the Shalom ministry’s work with Burundi refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and to the work of Church World Service to assist Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.
Children’s Disaster Services Cares for Children Affected by Texas Storms, Flooding
“Our Children’s Disaster Services team in Houston is keeping busy,” reported Kathy Fry-Miller, associate director of Children’s Disaster Services (CDS). A CDS volunteer team has been caring for children and families affected by the storms that have hit Texas recently, causing tornados and also widespread flooding in north-central areas of the state.
Trauma Healing in Nigeria: A Cathedral of Tears and Forgiveness
Musa* grew up in a close-knit family that did not change even as they became adults. The siblings looked out for each other and their parents. When Boko Haram insurgent activity increased in 2014, the family became concerned for the welfare of their parents and tried to get them to move to a safer place. The parents refused, saying that at their age, they had no interest in running away from home.
Nigeria Crisis Response Staff Provide Details of the Relief Effort
Church of the Brethren staff working with the Nigeria Crisis Response have provided financial details and accounting of the relief effort in Nigeria, which responds to needs of those affected by the violent Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country. The crisis response is a cooperative effort of the Church of the Brethren and Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).
Church of the Brethren General Secretary Attends EYN Annual Conference
Church of the Brethren general secretary Stanley J. Noffsinger traveled to Nigeria on May 3-11 to attend the Majalisa of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Noffsinger was billed as the guest speaker for EYN’s 68th annual meeting. Roxane and Carl Hill, co-directors of the Nigeria Crisis Response, accompanied the general secretary to Nigeria and were also given an opportunity to share before this large gathering.
CDS Volunteers Serve Children and Families Affected by Tornadoes in Oklahoma
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) set up a children’s center in a Multi Agency Resource Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., this past weekend, in response to the tornadoes and floods in the area. CDS is a part of Brethren Disaster Ministries.
Brethren Disaster Ministries Directs $70,000 to Joint Response in Nepal, Among Other Grants
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed a grant of $70,000 from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to help fund a joint response in Nepal with Church World Service (CWS) and Lutheran World Relief, Heifer International, and local partners.
Armenian Genocide Sparked 100 Years of Brethren Response to Disaster and Conflict
The commemoration of 100 years since the beginning of the Armenian genocide in 1915 also marks nearly a century of Church of the Brethren compassionate response to those affected by disasters and conflicts. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in the genocide that occurred from 1915 to 1923. Brethren began responding to the needs of Armenian survivors and refugees beginning in 1917.