“I pray that God will bless you and your families.”
When we met Ayuba, he and his siblings were living in hiding. After their father’s death at the hands of Boko Haram, Ayuba soon found himself on the Islamic extremist group’s hit list. Ayuba’s pastor suggested that he and his sibling attend Open Doors-supported trauma care; he was holding on to a great deal of anger and vengeance towards his father’s killers and those in the community who shared where his father was hiding.
Trauma care changed Ayuba’s life. He shares, “I decided to let go of my anger and have peace. God brought me here to heal me. Honestly, if I had not come for this seminar, I don’t know how I would have ended up.”
Thanks to your big-hearted support in 2023, Ayuba had the care he desperately needed after facing horrific trauma. He is one of the 8,007,547 persecuted Christians you have impacted this past year.
HOW YOU HELPED
Ayuba received a sum of money from Open Doors to address his family’s most urgent needs. Since his father’s death, Ayuba had become the sole provider and carer of his siblings. He took on menial jobs in construction, but the money he brought home was neither consistent nor sufficient to send his sisters to school and put food on the table.
Where possible, Open Doors aims to journey with the most persecuted and vulnerable Christians to help them remain resilient in their faith. The support we provide is holistic and integrated based on their context, and thus our question to Ayuba was, what does the future hold?
To dream and plan is a luxury severely persecuted believers do not always have. Most only try and survive each day.
Ayuba initially shared that he would want to get a university degree. For young Nigerians, tertiary education is a non-negotiable in attaining permanent employment to enjoy financial stability. Though those with a master’s or doctorate degree are favoured. One dilemma our local partners encountered was that Ayuba would have to study many years and even then, he would not be assured employment.
An unconventional approach was needed to truly help Ayuba – he needed to receive vocational training that would allow him to start supporting his family as soon as possible.
Our local partners asked Ayuba that if he could not go to university, what kind of vocational training does he want to receive to start his own small business. He carefully considered this and took his time to assess the needs around him. Ayuba saw that there is a demand for technicians to install solar power.
AYUBA’S TRAINING COMMENCES
We are happy to report that, at the start of 2024, Ayuba began a three-month training on construction, installation, repair, and sales of solar products with a registered and accredited solar system company.
He shares, “Since I came here, I’ve learnt a lot. I believe that doing this will help me and my family in the future and allow me to support the church. I want to thank you brothers and sisters for your support to me. I pray that God will bless you and your families.”
Thank you for your ongoing support, through sacrificial giving and prayer, that allows us to help Christians like Ayuba become resilient believers amidst ongoing persecution.