The silence is deafening: Nigeria

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29155529?ocid=socialflow_facebook

This links to an article that reports that Islamic Militant group, Boko Haram, have seized Nigerian city of two million, Maiduguri, and neighbouring state, Adamawa state.

I personally had not heard much about this until I saw BBC Africa post an article on Facebook. This feels all to familiar to the silence which was all to long after the same group kidnapped over 200 school girls in Nigeria on 14th April this year.

Boko Haram are Islamic extremists who have terrorized Nigeria. It's been 152 days since the girls have been kidnapped, and 180 of them are still missing. Many of the girls, teenagers, have been forced to marry men much older than them and renounce their religion and their education. Boko Haram basically means that western education is a sin. This translates to the notion that these terrorists cannot bear the fact that girls might just be able to go to school, learn to read, have an education. This is why they were targeted. 

These girls were taken over four months ago, mothers and fathers, sister and brothers are mourning and crying out for the return for these girls, but what about the rest of the world? Where are our voices? If 200 girls were kidnapped from a school in England, or America, there would be global uproar. Instead there was a wave of voices, hashtags trending people campaigning, but then, when nothing changed, the world fell silent. 

And now Boko Haram has once again gained power. An entire city has been captured, tens of thousands of men, women and children forced to leave their homes, driven out by terrorist forces. The Nigerian military have responded, but does the world know? Or perhaps are more frightening question to ask, does the world care?

13 years ago nations were shaken by the attack on the twin towers on 9/11. It was horrific, and we continue to pray for the families affected, and we must always remember the terrifying events of that day. 

But in the past few months terrorism has ravished the country of Nigeria, leaving families torn apart, people homeless and refugees in their own nation, as militants have gained authority. But there seems to be so little coverage. Why? Is it because we have grown immune to terrorist threats now, or because, although we hate to admit it, we kind of expect instability to happen in countries like Nigeria? Where as the US, 'well you know, we thought they were stable.' 'They're used to it over there' Ever heard yourself mutter that phrase?

I don't want to compare two seperate and equally tragic events, but I think it is crucial that we start to pay attention. Boko Haram have gotten away with horrendous war crimes, and they must be stopped!

We need to remind the world that these girls are still missing and that once again these terrorists have gained authority over a city and a state. Let's keep bombarding the media with messages that we haven't forgotten about Nigeria, that we still are praying and working to #bringbackourgirls, that we will not stand for terrorism in any country, against any nationality, towards any gender.

Boko Haram are a minority group of Islamic extremists, and yet they seem to have more power! It's time we realised our potential, realised we are the majority and made the world aware that we will not stay silent, we will not ignore the problems, we will face evil and we will overcome. 

After William Wilberforce exposed the truth of the slave trade to his contemporaries, he said this: 'You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.' 

We can continue to turn away from the plight of 200 school girls and their families, from the terrifying power of extremists destroying a nation. Or we can act. We can remind the world, and Nigeria, that they are not forgotten, we will #bringbackourgirls and see Nigeria restored to peace.

You in?

Tweet/write to your MP.

Sign a petition

Host a fundraiser for organisations like Open Doors working tirelessly in Nigeria. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfTHBVpCMZA&feature=youtu.be

This is my first attempt at a spoken word piece, it's about water sanitation and the injustice of it. Please watch and comment, any feedback is appreciated as, as I said, it's my first go at this!

Back to School: The Privilege of Education

September, shoes are cleaned, new bags are bought, pencils are sharpened, alarms are set, it's that time of year again. Growing up the phrase 'back to school' felt like a dark cloud looming over my summer holidays. I would be happily playing away and then someone would mutter that awful question, 'when do you go back to school?' Now don't get me wrong, I did enjoy school, secondary school in particular, but during the long freedom of summer, endless picnics and days on the beach, getting up early to go and get yet more homework and spelling tests felt like the last thing I wanted to do!

But in the UK we are so unbelievably lucky that education, at least through school, is not just available, but is a requirement to all children. In most countries in the world, education is a privilege, something to be treasured, something to fight for. 

In Uganda, as is the case in most of the developing world, people have to pay fees to go to school. There are a handful of government schools in Uganda, but they are few and far between, most people have to pay to send their children to school, aside from the cost of uniform, books and pencils. Furthermore, in most Ugandan schools, the rule is if parents haven't paid the fees, children are sent home until the family can find the money, at which point they start where the left off, leaving teenagers in primary school. Remember that these families are often desperately poor, even living on just £1 a day. Now when you think about having to pay school fees for multiple children, find food, pay for healthcare (there's no such thing as the NHS in Uganda either, but that's another post) educating children can be a challenge, and there are many children in Uganda or don't get the opportunity to go to school. It was Nelson Mandela who said that 'education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.' And he is so right! If you educate a child, it provides them with resources to get a job, have an income, believe in their worth, a clear route out of poverty.

Some girls and boys in Uganda enjoying an education at Ruth Mothercare school (see below)

However, often money is not the only barrier which stops children having an education. In many cultures, girls are considered inferior, and are not offered the same educational opportunities as boys. Malala, the girl who stood up to the Taliban because she, as a girl, wanted to go to school, and got shot in the head for it, is a worldwide sensation. World leaders call upon this teenager! But she saw the importance of education, and wasn't willing to let cultural restrictions stop her. What an inspiration! 

A debate in a Ugandan classroom left Teacher Anna very unhappy!

But currently there are 65 million girls currently not in school (PLAN International). Just take that in. 65 million. That's more than the entire population of the United Kingdom! Educating girls is not simply about empowerment of that individual, however. Educating a girl can change an entire village, town, city or even country. 

This short video shows the amazing impact that educating a girl can have: 

http://www.girleffect.org/why-girls/#&panel1-1 Therefore not only does educating a girl help keep her out of poverty, it keeps her safe from the risk of human trafficking, dying in childbirth and HIV. 

An amazing book which argues for women's empowerment, 'Half the Sky, How to Change the World' makes this point: “It's no accident that the countries that have enjoyed an economic take off have been those that educated girls and then gave them the autonomy to move to the cities to find work”. The book backs up this claim with stories of transformation from communities who have invested in women. Ultimately, if you want to change the world, educate a girl. 

If you want to find out a bit more about this issue, the UN has loads of information of girls education and female empowerment generally. There's a reason why educating girls is part of the Millennium Development Goals.

I also highly recommend: 'Half the Sky: How to Change the World.' Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn.  and:  'I Am Malala.' Malala Yousafzai. 

If you want to do more, child sponsorship is an incredible way which helps get children into schools by helping pay their fees. I highly recommend Smile International, the organisation I worked with whilst in Uganda. 

http://www.smileinternational.org/sponsor-a-child.aspx

Whilst in Uganda, I had the joy of teaching in some local primary schools, one, pictured below, called Ruth Mothercare. Ruth Mothercare was set up as a school for children who couldn't really afford school, and consequently the fees are a lot lower. Furthermore, as I mentioned, often children get turned away for not paying fees, but after two weeks they are allowed to come back to Ruth Mothercare, and often there are children who haven't paid fees because their families just can't afford it, or have paid for previous years. This school was one of the most wonderful places I have been to, it was a joy to work with their two teachers, Teacher Ruth and Teacher Monica. I don't normally ask for money on this blog, and won't make a habit of it, but I can't stress how amazing Ruth Mothercare as a school is, and what an impact it is having on an incredibly poor community, so if you feel you want to donate, please talk to me. As you can tell I am very passionate about this so do speak to me if you want to know a bit more about this issue. 

Ruth Mothercare School, top and bottom is P1 and P2 classroom (one room) and the picture in the middle is the whole school. 

A final thought: this is a post about empowering girls. If you agreed with what I said (or at least some of it) you're probably a feminist, just something to chew on! 

Inspiration is better than judgement.

‘It’s a show about cakes!’ This was a tweet from Sue Perkins regarding the drama that exploded after the ice-cream/bin incident which occurred in the most recent episode of ‘The Great British Bake Off.’ Now don’t get me wrong, I want #justiceforIan as much as the next person, I am an activist after all. But really, is there a necessity to get so het up about what is comparatively a small issue. When one in eight people go to bed without food every night, and in South Sudan currently one million children are suffering from acute malnutrition; and we seem to be more concerned with an Irish guy having a strop. Something has gone wrong. Our priorities have gotten mixed up.

It seems that we care more about mundane issues on our doorstep than the haunting reality of what is going on in the world right now. Recently people down the road where I live have been getting very stressed because someone has cut their hedge without warning the rest of the street. Seriously. I wish I was making this stuff up. And this is a mindset, a belief we have created that our own comfort, our own way of life is the most important thing. When someone threatens that we will quite happily speak out, but when we hear stories of women sold into slavery in Iraq having been driven from their homes, where is the uproar? Where is the passion? Where is the desire for change?

I’m not saying that we are all totally apathetic, and obviously there are campaigns that are working tirelessly to help those affected in Iraq and South Sudan and other parts of the world. But what I am worried about is that our priority has become more about our own comfort, and the mundane things such as cakes than the harsh reality of this world.

I recently attended a Christian festival, and although I had a great time learning from God’s word, seeing old friends and worshipping my creator, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness. It seemed that even in this Christian event, we have fallen into the trap that the world has created, a trap of individualism, consumerism, with personal comfort at the centre. To use an example, a lot of the worship seemed to be very self-indulgent. How many times does a worship song need to have the words me, or I in it? You are always with me, you never let me go, you love me, all for my good. Yes. These are amazing gospel truths which we need to embrace and to cling on to. But I think we need to remember in our worship to sing this over our brothers and sisters suffering in this world. Even if we changed the words to your love never runs out on us. What a difference would that make to the way we worship, remembering that our worship is not simply about what God has done for us, it is about embracing and praising him for the hope he brings to humanity as a whole.

So what do you do? Well this article is more of a statement of a mission I am on. Talking about this very issue, Danielle Strickland, Salvation Army Officer and activist said, ‘inspiration is so much more powerful than judgement.’ And that really challenged me. Rather than judge my friends, the people living down my street, the worship leaders for what I might perceive as an individualistic outlook, I have to model something different. I don’t know what is going on in people’s hearts, and me judging people for a possible lack of concern for the poor is just as hypocritical. I am guilty of the same sin I am judging them for! So my mission is to live differently. Mother Teresa, one of my heroes, didn’t shout at her contemporaries for their disdain shown towards lepers, she modelled a different way. She demonstrated an unconditional love. And I have to do the same. To live out the importance of justice, of outward looking worship, of concern for the orphan and the widow. So this article is a declaration that I am going to try, and an invitation for you to hold me accountable. To remind me when I am judging and not inspiring, when I am observing as a cynic and not loving unconditionally. And how am I going to do this? Through small actions, through rhythms essentially, which become habits. So when I worship, when I sing ‘you never let go’ sing it over the Iraqi Christians, and pray they know that truth. To buy ethically and so not to be guilty, like Israel, of exploiting others on the day of fasting. (See Isaiah 58). To ‘speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves’, (Proverbs 31) not just when it comes to questionable ice-cream sabotage. Ultimately, to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God.

If you too want to inspire instead of judge, and feel this world aching for something more, please join me on this beautiful messy adventure. Join me as we seek to pray for the hurting, care for the sick, give to the orphan and widow, and display a connection with a world beyond our back garden.

The best model I can give for this is the gospel of Jesus. Quite possibly the second best is Tearfund’s ‘Rhythms’ page, helping you take small actions which create Rhythms which can change the world.

http://rhythms.org/

Check it out, sign up and let’s do this together.

‘A life not lived for others is not a life.’ Mother Teresa.