ENGAGE
IDP CAMPS
ENGAGE
IDP CAMPS
One of the first places the Lord led us to minister to during our initial trips were the IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps. Before moving to Nigeria permanently, we traveled to these locations several times. These camps primarily consist of refugees seeking safety and shelter after being driven out of their villages by violent Fulani Herdsman extremists.
The Fulani are an Islamic tribe throughout West Africa with a significant population in Nigeria. They are predominantly nomadic and make their living by herding and trading cattle. Unfortunately, there are many radicalized groups of Fulani who have taken up the Islamic Jihad movement and have targeted Christian villages to seize lands needed for their cattle to graze, as well as to achieve their extreme religious beliefs by exterminating Christians.
These Fulani Herdsman attacks are devastating. They pillage and burn down Christian villages and churches, ruthlessly murdering women, men, and children in their wake of destruction. Those who escape flee to neighboring cities searching for safety, unable to return to their ancestral land due to insecurity and eradication of their village.
While there is an effort by the government to bring an end to these attacks, we believe it is crucial for us to focus on the needs of these 300,000+ refugees within the IDP Camps until they can be resettled. The people came into the camps carrying what they could grab as they fled for their lives. Unfortunately, there is very little organized effort in place to assist. We are committed to aiding in the following ways:
Ignition633 is dedicated to treating the spiritual needs of the people. Our outreach team visits IDP camps multiple times per week to encourage and instill hope into the lives of those who desperately need it through worship, preaching, discipleship, and prayer. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. - (Psalm121:1-2).
Ignition633 is committed to not only healing hearts, but ministering to the physical body as well. Our entire outreach team is First Aid Certified and accompanied by a full-time doctor who ministers to those at the camp on an ongoing basis. In partnership with local doctors, nurses, and midwives, who have all volunteered their time, we have been able to provide physical aid to XXXXXX amount of people at the camp. We provide relief for a range of needs such as: malaria, typhoid, scalp infections, postpartum and lactation care, in addition to providing funds for the most extreme cases who need major operations at a nearby hospital
When we first arrived, women in the camps whispered privately to the women on our team that they needed water to bathe or asked for a clean set of clothes. Most of the people in the camps had no ability to wash or attend to their most basic hygiene needs and would go days in temperatures typically above 100F without bathing. Ignition633, in partnership with other ministries, was able to provide boreholes for access to clean water, and provided basic hygienic materials such as soap, shampoo, clothing, and a barbing station where men and women can have their hair barbed for free.
