“It feels like we are forgotten”

More than 16 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have been driven from their homes. Many are persecuted for their faith. It’s time to stop the violence and start the healing.

Flimsy makeshift tents sprawl in every direction, offering little relief from the ferocious heat. A sense of hopelessness hangs in the air. There is not enough food, no running water, too few toilets, and disease is rife.

This camp, with its appalling conditions, is “home” to Pastor Barnabas, his wife and five children. The floor space of their tent is no bigger than a double mattress. Every day is a struggle to survive.

They have been here for four years.

“Each person you see here… we are all Christians,” says Pastor Barnabas. “We are here because of violence. Millions of Christians are displaced here in Nigeria. But the news doesn’t care about it, politicians don’t talk about it, nobody talks about it. We are remaining in darkness. How would you feel to be forgotten?”

Millions are displaced

Pastor Barnabas is just one of an estimated 16,2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa forced from their ancestral lands and homes. Like him, many are persecuted for their faith. Islamist terror groups such as Al-Qaeda, al-Shabab and Boko Haram want to establish an Islamic state and target Christians in the region with unprecedented violence.

Believers are being attacked, kidnapped and murdered, and Christian villages and schools are being destroyed. Burkina Faso has lost 40% of its territory to terror groups, and in places such as Nigeria, militants seem to act with impunity.

Pastor Barnabas knows first-hand how dangerous it is for believers. After all, it was a deadly attack on his farm that drove him to a refugee camp…

Machete attack

“Militants surrounded us, some with guns, some with machetes, some with sticks,” remembers Pastor Barnabas. “My brother was shot dead, and his wife was shot, macheted and killed. I kept running and was attacked with a stick. My hand was broken.”

The terrifying violence that day not only left Pastor Barnabas with permanent injuries but also had a devastating long-term impact on his family.

“I lost everything,” says Pastor Barnabas as he steps through the dust and debris of the refugee camp, a child by his side. “Everything in my home was burned. Now I cannot take care of my family. I cannot feed them. My children no longer go to school.”

Pastor Barnabas pauses for a moment, overwhelmed with emotion. “As a pastor, I am supposed to take care of my sheep. But people are losing their hope in God because of the situation they are in. I don’t have anything to give them. We can only pray and share the Word… I feel very, very bad.”

Arise Africa campaign

Insecurity and instability are putting the future of the Church at risk, and creating a displacement crisis, an education crisis and a healthcare crisis. Now Pastor Barnabas and Christian leaders across sub-Saharan Africa are calling on the global Church to act through the Arise Africa campaign.

You are invited to share in the pain of Pastor Barnabas and others, speak out against violence, pray with conviction and stand as one with your persecuted brothers and sisters. Your gifts, prayers and actions today can help stop the violence and start the healing.

Open Doors’ local partners have already provided emergency food and medical help to Pastor Barnabas and other Christians in the refugee camp. Skills training and trauma healing are coming soon. With your support, the persecuted Church in sub-Saharan Africa remains strong and resilient. And Christians like Pastor Barnabas will not give up…

“God has sustained me and kept me, and I will not lose my confidence in Him,” said Pastor Barnabas. “Our eyes and our hope are on God. If God will fight this battle for us, a day shall come when we will live a good life.”

Will you stand with the Church in Africa?

Now African church leaders are asking you to stand with them to stop the violence and start the healing.

Through Arise Africa, a global campaign, you can stand alongside your persecuted family:

• Stand with 16,2 million Christians driven from their homes by violent persecution.
• Provide spiritual, emotional and physical support to four million believers by 2027.
• Strengthen the sub-Saharan African Church to be resilient, resourceful and influential.