Building a hopeful future on a grim past

In our December 2010 newsletter, we shared with you an update on persecution in Nigeria. In the past year, our Christian family there was repeatedly the target of brutal violence.

In January, at least 100 people were killed, hundreds injured and many homes and religious sites burned in central Plateau state. In March, Muslims launched deadly attacks on three farming villages in the state, brutally murdering hundreds of Christians. In April, suspected Islamists abducted and killed a pastor and his wife in Bauchi state. In May, Muslim youths burned down two church buildings and a pastor’s residence in northern Kano state. And those are just the first five months of the year!

Many believers in Nigeria have lost family members and friends. And, too many children have lost one or both parents.

Children just like these.

That’s where the Stephen Centre comes in. For the past several years, VOM has helped the Stephen Centre provide a home where Christian kids who have lost one or both parents can live in safety, have their basic needs met and receive education and opportunities for a hopeful future.

This year, VOM hopes to begin a similar child-sponsorship program in India, where anti-Christian violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of believers in recent years.

We’ll again share an update on Nigeria in our February 2011 newsletter. If you’re reading this and you live in Canada, and you don’t already subscribe to The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, please consider doing so. It’s free. Free and chock-full of information about persecuted Christians around the world.

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