Fatherless, but not Hopeless

In Nigeria, Christians make up half of the population. Yet Islamist groups have vowed to destroy Christians and impose Sharia (Islamic law) on the country.

In 2022, more than 5,000 Christians were brutally killed in Nigeria. This is more than all other countries combined. Nearly every week, if not more, Christians are attacked.

Many families are left broken and destitute. Children are left fatherless and orphaned. The future may seem bleak. But God’s perspective is longer than ours. He sees tomorrow. He has a plan for His children. And He gives hope for their future.

And now we have an opportunity to help Christian children—the next generation of Christians in Nigeria—to be prepared to live out God’s plan for their lives.

Here is the serious situation…and a way we can help children who have lost their fathers from Islamists’ violent attacks on Christians.

What is happening in Nigeria?

Islamist groups such as Boko-Haram, militant Fulani herdsmen, and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) are among the deadliest terrorist groups in the world. They have vowed to establish an Islamic state and they viciously attack Christian communities, slaughtering people and destroying churches and homes.

Just this year, a wave of attacks in one county in May claimed at least 300 lives.

One lady said of the attackers, “They are our neighbors. Our house is just beside theirs. They called my son by name.”

What happens to the survivors?

When Christian men are killed, their families grieve their beloved husbands and fathers, and lose their breadwinners. Their wives and children run from their towns and live in camps as “internally displaced people” (IDP), like refugees within their own country.

When I was in Nigeria, I met with survivors to find practical ways that we can help. Since that time, Christian Freedom International has provided trainings for widows to start small businesses, trauma healing workshops for teens, and farming supplies for families who survived Islamists’ attacks.

It was through these workshops that our partners discovered a critical need. The children—who are eager to learn—may be forced to leave school. Their widowed mothers, who can barely provide for their families, cannot afford the fees.

This is more than heartbreaking for the kids. It perpetuates the persecution into the next generation of Christians.

Psalm 68:5 says, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows, is God in His holy habitation.”

Surely, God has a larger plan for their good. They belong to Him, and He cares for them.

Rebuilding Lives

How are Christians responding to these horrific attacks?

While Islamists try to destroy Christians, Christian leaders are encouraging their people to strengthen their faith in God…and focus on building a better future.

“This is our encouragement to you—don’t be afraid,” said a pastor to Christians who fled to camps after a recent attack. “You are alive, this is not the time to fear. The Lord will be with you.”

“Pray for protection, restoration and healing for your communities and for the local churches,” Pastor Amos Mahzo said. “Let us not put our hope on how much weapons we can get to defend ourselves, because our weapon is in Christ.”

This sparked a question for us: How can we help not only for today, but for their tomorrow?

Thankfully, there is a way that we can step in and help the next generation of Christians in Nigeria.

With your support, Christian Freedom International has provided practical support for Christian widows, youth, and communities who survived Islamists’ violence.

Now we are launching a new opportunity to bless the children who are left fatherless—and equip them to reach their goals to help others— through child sponsorships.

Our child sponsorships provide monthly support for a Christian child who lives under persecution. By sponsoring a Christian child in Nigeria, your monthly donation of $35 will support a survivor of Islamists’ genocide and give them a better chance for a brighter future. It will provide for their school fees and other expenses to help them get an education.

Sponsoring a child does more than provide for school fees, as important as that is. It can forge a relationship that will impact eternity. Your prayers specifically for your sponsored child, and your encouraging letters will pour love into your sponsored child’s life. Your sponsored child’s letters to you will give you insight into their lives.

Each of the children in our sponsorship program in Nigeria lost their fathers from Islamists’ violence against Christians. Their fathers were mercilessly killed in attacks on Christians or were Christian soldiers who died in the fight against Islamists. Their widowed mothers are struggling to provide for their families.

Yet these children are not defined by this tragedy. Instead, it gives them a passion to care for their families and help others who need healing and justice.

God placed these children in this place and this time. He has a purpose for them.

And they have hopes and dreams for their future. When the children signed up to be sponsored, they listed their goals. They want to become doctors, nurses, nutritionists, lawyers, soldiers, and engineers.

Do you notice something extraordinary about these careers? They want to bring healing and justice…and protect and build their communities to be better than before.

Nigeria needs Christian doctors, engineers, lawyers, and other professionals. We can plant seeds today for this future…by helping these children go to school.

By sponsoring a child in Nigeria, you will be joining with them as they build their lives for a promising future and bring relief to their mothers who struggle to provide for them.

You can also support them and other persecuted Christians with a one-time or monthly gift, without sponsoring. Christian Freedom International is helping these children and many others with additional expenses and other needs. Your gifts make this possible.

More importantly, your prayers give persecuted Christians tremendous encouragement to keep persevering through the hardships toward their goals.

• Will you pray with these children for their future–and the future of Nigeria?
• Will you pray for God to equip them to live up to their full potential?
• Will you encourage them to follow Jesus and His plan for their lives?

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement for Christian children as they press forward, past the persecution to their greater calling in Christ.

 

God bless you,

Wendy Wright

President

 

P.S. Christian children in Nigeria, left fatherless by Islamists’ violence, dream of a better future for their families. But today, to reach that goal, they need help just to go to school as their widowed mothers struggle to provide for them.

Will you encourage them— the next generation of Christians—and other persecuted Christians as they strive toward God’s higher calling in their lives?

 

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Christian Children in Nigeria

In Nigeria, each child in our sponsorship program has lost his or her father to Islamist terrorists. Now their mothers struggle to provide for their families and cannot afford their school fees and other expenses.

These children have a vision to bring healing, justice, and a better life for others. Surely, God has a great plan for their good.

Profiles of Children in Need of Sponsors

A.

My father was a farmer and carpenter. He was killed by the Fulani Herdsmen. My mother can barely feed us, let alone send us to school. I want to be a nurse in the future to take care of the sick. Pray for my family and all the Christians in Nigeria to remain strong in Christ.

B.

My father was killed in 2017 because of his faith. My grandmother is our major support even though she doesn’t have much herself. It has been difficult for her and we have been praying that God will open another source of help for us so that we can be able to go to school and be great in the future. I have 5 siblings and we are all living with my grandmother who is a small-scale farmer. Pray for my grandmother who is taking care of us that God will strengthen her and provide for her that she can provide our needs.

C.

My father is no more and the financial burden on my mother is too much. I want to be a military officer to serve my country by providing security to the vulnerable and to make my father proud.

D.

My father was military personnel. He was killed at special service against Boko Haram in 2014 and since then, things have not been easy on us. My mother wanted to start a business to help us but there is not enough capital, so she decided to work as a nanny to feed us. It has been very hard to pay my school fees and that of my siblings. My prayer is that God will keep us alive and send a helper that will wipe my mother’s tears away. Also, help I and my siblings to have a bright future.

E.

My father was the breadwinner of the family before his demise. Since his death, part of his benefits as a military officer was taken by our extended family as it is the tradition in my tribe. Mum is left to struggle with catering for us and she is not working. I want to be a nutritionist to educate people on the essence of eating right for better growth and best health. Pray for me to stay true to God and serve him always.

F.

I want to be a doctor to treat ill people or those who are injured and don’t have money to pay. My prayer is that God will give me resources, knowledge and understanding to complete my studies to become a doctor.

G.

Since my father’s death, we have been suffering from inadequate food, lack of money to pay our school fees and get some basic needs. I want to be a lawyer because I want to fight for justice. Pray that I will serve God always and to finish my school in good time, get a good job and help my mother take care of my younger ones.

H.

I lost my dad in 2017 and things have become difficult for us at home. My mother had a business before my father’s death. But the business collapsed because she used the small money she invested in the business to pay our school fees. Now, we don’t know where she will get our next term fees from.

Sponsored children at school.

 

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” — James 1:27