This letter reflects my lived experience growing up in Nigeria during seasons of religious tension, displacement, and national crisis. It is written to provide an honest perspective, offer clarity to you as A2S supporters, and express gratitude for the role you have played in bringing dignity and hope to communities caught in the crossfire of conflict, poverty, and failed leadership. My story is not political—it is personal. It is a testimony of how faith, compassion, and shared humanity can bridge the divide that violence tries to widen.
In 1993, I lived in Northern Nigeria with my parents and attended primary school there. My playgrounds were filled with Muslim friends, children who, like me, did not see religion as a barrier to belonging. But when tensions rose and clashes between Christians and Muslims began, my parents made the difficult decision to transfer and return to our home in Benin City, a predominantly Christian community where A2S is now located. What once felt like a single, peaceful childhood community became divided overnight. When things grew unsafe, we ran home to seek comfort.
For a time, the tensions quieted, overshadowed by the country’s worsening economic condition. But the seeds of conflict had already been planted, lying dormant and waiting for the right conditions to erupt again. And in 2015, it did. More than 200 girls were abducted, capturing global attention, though only because international pressure forced the world to confront it.
Since that moment, many of you, our A2S supporters, have stepped into the gap. Because of your generosity, we have been able to provide a week’s worth of meals every month to an Internally Displaced Persons camp that houses more than 3,500 widows and orphan
Children at the Internal Displacement Persons Camp.
s, many of them young Christian converts persecuted by Boko Haram. Some of you have visited that camp with us. You have listened to mothers who lost their husbands, children who lost their families, and communities shattered by violence yet holding tightly to the only hope they know, Christ. Your giving has brought food, dignity, and healing to people who have suffered at the hands of extremists and bullies.
Yet beyond those early headlines, Nigeria’s suffering has steadily disappeared from global attention. Meanwhile, the pain has spread. Economic collapse, lack of principled leadership, mismanaged resources, and personal agendas have created a complex web of crisis affecting both Christians and Muslims. Today in Nigeria, there is Christian persecution by Islamic terrorists. There are bandits destroying entire villages across all faith groups. Kidnapping for ransom has become an industry fueled by poverty, anger, and opportunity. Illegal oil bunkering drains our national wealth into black markets. Political elites battle for power while citizens suffer the consequences.
My mother used to say, “When two elephants fight, it is the ground that suffers.” Nigeria is suffering not because its people are wicked, but because leaders have failed to lead with love.
So to our A2S donors, I want to say thank you. You have not turned away. You have responded to economic suffering, physical suffering, spiritual suffering, and you have done it consistently. As you pray for Nigeria, I ask that your prayers be wide enough to hold everyone. Pray for the persecuted, yes, but also pray for our leaders. Pray for those whose hearts have hardened. Pray for every Nigerian, Christian, Muslim, and anyone in between, whose life hangs in the balance of decisions they did not make.
Andrew Lovedale (front) and Thecla Uzukwu (back) with children at the Internal Displacement Persons Camp.
There will always be Christians and Muslims. Nigeria will always be a tapestry of tribes, faiths, and stories. So I pray for the environment I once knew as a child, one where my closest friends on the playground were Muslim and Christian alike. And I smile when I think about how God has a sense of humor. When I moved to the United States, my first roommate, teammate, and now best friend of twenty years was a Muslim from Turkey. If you fail to see that God can design a world that makes Him laugh sometimes, you will always be blind to the beauty of His mystery.
Please join me in praying for all who are caught in the crossfires of violence since Nigeria was declared a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, 2025. We pray for the 24 girls abducted from their boarding school in Kebbi State on November 17. We thank God for their safe release and ask that He heals their minds and restores their sense of safety. We pray for the 35 worshippers attacked at Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara State on November 18. We thank God for the release of all those kidnapped and ask for comfort for the families of the two who were killed. We pray for the more than 300 students and staff taken from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Niger State on November 21. We thank God for the 50 who escaped and plead for the safe return of the 265 children and 12 staff still in captivity. We pray for the 10 women and children seized by suspected herders in Kwara State on November 24, asking God to strengthen the lone woman who escaped and to bring the remaining captives home. And we pray for the 13 girls taken in Borno, asking God to cover them with His protection and bring light into their darkness.
Ese & Osas Lovedale (near the center of the photo) visiting children at the Internal Displacement Persons Camp in Nigeria.
May our prayers rise not only for Christians but for every Nigerian in harm’s way, for communities living in fear, and for leaders whose decisions affect millions of lives. May God restore peace to the land I once played in as a child and rekindle the hope that every human life is precious in His sight.
Thank you to our donors and supporters. For years, you have stood at the heart of restoring hope and bringing healing. You have walked with us as we served those living in fear, those persecuted for their faith, and those simply trying to survive unimaginable hardship. You have been the answer to prayers whispered in the dark. Your continued support ensures that we can keep reaching many more like them, carrying light into places where hope often feels out of reach. May God bless you for choosing to stand with Nigeria and with every child, mother, and family longing for peace.
