A Northern Nigeria Listening Project
In April 2017, Kaduna (Nigeria) RCers met with a group of internally displaced people [people forced to flee their homes but who remain within the country’s borders]. They had left Maiduguri, Borno State, and Bunu Yadi, Yobe State, as a result of the Boko Haram terrorists. Some of them had lost most or all of their family members, and their homes.
Kaduna RC decided to undertake this listening project because we have so many displaced persons in the North. Visiting with them puts a smile on their faces and makes us remember that humanity is key.
My “session” with one woman was intense. She told me how she had lost her husband, two children, and three brothers but was able to escape with some of her children. She is now engaged in hair plaiting to make money to care for her children and is living with a family who took them in [let them live with them]. When I asked her whether she would like to return home, her countenance changed to sorrow and fear.
The visit was an eye opener for me. I have come to appreciate life and what I have. I thank all the RCers who made this project possible.
Barnawa, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria
(Present Time 189, October 2017)