A Time to Listen
In April, the Northern Nigeria RCers visited a school at Kinkinau, a suburb in Kaduna State where a number of internally displaced persons are camped. [See previous article.] Nigeria has 3.3 million displaced people, the highest number in Africa. It is also amongst four countries at risk of hunger and famine.
The Boko Haram insurgency, flooding, and clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and the owners of farmlands are some of the reasons why thousands have been killed and millions displaced from their homes. The Fulani herdsmen are known to migrate, and at the heart of their migration is climate change. The scarcity of water and grazing fields forces them to go to an environment with more favourable weather and vegetation for their cattle. These migrations trigger conflicts between them and the farmers, due to land encroachment, and often leave many people dead or displaced.
I listened to three teenagers tell how Boko Haram terrorists had attacked their school in Maiduguri, Borno State. Their teacher had been able to escape with twelve of them. He had brought them down to Kaduna and enrolled them back in school, because he didn’t want their education to be cut short. They shine shoes to survive and hope that someday they can return back home in peace. We were able to put together some food items, clothing, and other essentials to augment their livelihood.
It is our heartfelt desire that everyone in distress gets listened to and given support in any way possible. We shall continue to take RC to greater heights.
Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria
(Present Time 189, October 2017)