Trauma Care in Nigeria
Trauma care in Nigeria is vital for the Church. While it’s not number one overall on the World Watch List, Nigeria ranked number one in the category of violent persecution. Every day countless Christians are crippled by violent persecution and instability. One family can testify of the radical impact the brutality has had on them. Last year, Pastor Steven David*, his wife Ruth, and their five daughters’ lives were almost destroyed in Fulani militant violence. Open Doors invited them to the Shalom Trauma Centre. They accepted the invitation hoping to heal and regain the dignity they lost in September. (Please note that this story contains recounts of sexual assaults that can be upsetting.)
The Capture
One evening in September 2020, Ruth and the girls were alone at home while Steven* was away attending to church matters. A loud banging on the door abruptly stopped the women’s banter. The banging grew louder and threatening. When Ruth finally opened the door, their fears were confirmed – armed Fulani men were waiting for her. They wanted money, but Ruth had nothing to give them. They decided that the daughters would be their payment and ordered them outside.
The girls were forced to walk through the nearby bush. “We trekked for two days barefoot, and the road was rocky. “My sisters and I kept crying…” Damaris, the eldest, shared.
“We finally reached our location in the evening, it was a very big camp, there were more than 500 people, all chained together. At that moment I knew that if God was not with us, we would not make it out. We endured 18 days of hardship, torment, hunger, fear and anxiety. Each morning I called my siblings together to pray, I told them not to denounce God or lose faith, but they should hold on to God. Everything would be okay. After a week, the kidnappers asked for our parents’ contact numbers, they called and demanded 100 million naira (approx. 243 000USD) or they would kill us.”
Damaris could hear her parents crying over the phone. “They don’t have that kind of money. They begged them to please spare our lives. Eventually the men said they would accept 2 million naira (approx. 4 800USD), two big bikes, and airtime to the value of 200 000 naira. They reminded my parents that they would not hesitate to kill us if they didn’t receive these things. I could hear my mom crying ‘God have mercy on us’ as they ended the call.”
At home, Pastor Steven and Ruth were distraught. They kept praying for a miracle. “There is nothing more valuable and precious than my daughters, I would lay down my life for them,” he said. This time around, his life was not what they wanted. To meet the militant’s demands, they sold their farm, and anything of value they owned.
"I asked God to take my life."
“The day of our release finally came. My dad delivered the money and goods at a meeting place and the men came back to the camp to fetch us. We were hungry and weak, but the thought of being free and reunited with our parents gave us strength. We kept thanking God as we were walking through the forest.”
Damaris and her sisters grew hopeful, but the militants were not done with them yet. “Four young guys that were escorting us out said we should take a bath at the nearby stream… We said no, we would wash when we got home. They pointed their guns at our heads and said if we don’t, they would kill us. We were scared and went to the stream. Afterwards the men selected my sister, Faith and I, and ordered us to follow them. I began to tremble with fear, their guns were still held to our heads. Our sisters began crying.”
The men raped Damaris and Faith multiple times. “This was the worst experience I have ever been through,” Faith said. “At this point I asked God to take my life. The pain and humiliation were too much.”
The girls finally reached their home and were reunited with their parents. “We cried together and sang songs of praise to God. When we shared our experience with our parents they just wept.”
Trauma Care and Healing
The Shalom Trauma Centre heard what happened to Pastor Steven’s daughters and invited the whole family to spend a week there. Though Damaris and Faith received the brunt of these violent attacks, the whole family suffered alongside them.
“When we got to the gate, my mom refused to enter. Seeing the rocky surroundings of the centre triggered bad memories. It reminded her of the day we were taken. When we finally entered the centre, the environment was so serene. I forgot about what we had been through,” said Faith.
The family spent the week attending sessions specifically designed to help survivors process trauma. Through these workshops and by God’s grace the family found healing and acceptance. “We wrote down all our fears and pain, we then took it to the cross, and placed it at Jesus’ feet. During the ceremony, I felt all my pain taken away, especially when they burnt the papers and I saw it turn to ash.”
Steven, Ruth, and their daughters. The two oldest daughters in particular experienced grevious harm and were able to find trauma care in Nigeria at the Shalom Centre.
Because healing is not always a linear process, the trauma centre invited the family back for another week. “It was in this week that I discovered my identity in Christ,” admits Faith, on whom the double assault left deep emotional wounds.
During one session each family member was asked to draw a self-portrait exactly as they saw themselves. We noticed Faith was crying and asked if we could talk. She opened up: “Since I was raped twice, self-hate and shame grew inside me. I felt dirty and unworthy, but now I know that despite what happened, God still sees me as a beautiful young woman. I’m fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.” A big smile replaced the tears on Faith’s face as she said: “I have more confidence now and I’m ready to go and face the world with my head held high, because I am valued by God. Indeed, this centre is a place of restoration where I have finally found my peace.”
The family is determined to live victoriously despite the terrible experience. “My biggest fear when my daughters were kidnapped was that they would not return alive, but God brought them back. Even though Damaris and Faith were raped, I told myself, where there is life there is hope. And yes, our hope has increased coming here. God is truly present here, all our burdens, shame, tears and fears were lifted at the trauma centre.”
Prayer
- Thank God for the David family and the testimony of His faithfulness he has brough out of their trauma and pain.
- Please pray for Pastor Steven and his family. Pray that God will continue to bring healing to their hearts and minds. Pray that their testimony of God’s restorative power will help many others like them to turn to God for healing
- Pray for the Shalom Trauma Centre. Pray that many Christians in Nigeria affected by violence and insecurity can come to the centre and find pace and healing. By God’s grace the centre is expanding to help many more Christians affected. Please pray for a successful expansion.
- Pray also for our trauma care staff, may the Lord protect them and bless the work they are doing for His glory.
- Pray that the evil and brokenness brought forth by Fulani militants will not have a lasting impact on Christians, especially young women who are raped. Continue to also pray for these persecutors and that God will make them to turn away from this violence and find faith in Him.
“There are hundreds of young girls in the past year that have been kidnapped and brutally raped by Fulani militants. In this new and horrifying trend in Nigeria, both young and older women, sometimes in the presence of their husbands, are raped...The situation calls for a great deal of prayer and grace.”
Balat*
Trauma Care Expert, Nigeria
* Names changed to protect identity
