“The number of orphans and widows…continues to grow,” said a Nigerian church leader writing to Barnabas Fund after Fulani militants attacked dozens of villages in Kaduna and Plateau states, leaving 1,500 Christian households displaced – approximately 11,000 individuals.
Their homes were damaged and destroyed, and 150 Christian brothers and sisters were injured during the attacks. Of these, 17 were seriously injured and need professional medical assistance for gunshot and machete wounds, but cannot afford it.
Many of the displaced households are sheltering in schools, sleeping in the classrooms.
“I feel so helpless and deeply depressed looking at these families sleeping on bare floor in a classroom with months-old babies in the cold and rains. I could do so little,” said a church leader caring for these displaced Christians.
Please help these Christian victims of violence in Nigeria, who have survived these vicious attacks
Christians in Nigeria’s Northern and Middle Belt states continue to be targeted with violence like this. And it is escalating.
“It’s a coordinated attack on the Christians…” so said one of the surviving residents of a Christian community in Plateau State following a suspected attack by Fulani militants where 35 people were killed.
Warning of a Christian genocide amid deafening silence from international community
Many incidents of anti-Christian violence go unreported, so estimating the total death toll over time is hard. Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State, has cited a figure of 1,500 Christian deaths in the first half of this year. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has warned of a potential “Christian genocide”.
Your gift brings practical help
Barnabas Fund is providing medical aid for the 17 most seriously injured in the attacks, food aid for the Christian households now displaced, sleeping mats and blankets, and materials to rebuild homes as they settle and establish themselves in safer areas.
£5 ($6.50; €6) could buy a pack of roofing nails
£15 ($20; €18) could buy 50 kg of maize
£27 ($34; €31) could buy 2 sleeping mats and 2 blankets
£44 ($55; €51) could buy a bundle of zinc roofing sheets
£60 ($83; €70) is the average cost of medical care for a seriously injured Nigerian Christian
