On Tuesday, the 2nd of June 2010, at 07:00 in the morning the dawn broke on what would be Explore Africa's first day of food distribution in Niger. We left Zinder in the almost pouring rain which is a miracle in itself considering that it has only rained once in this region this whole year. We chose for this day the small town of Dogo 35 Km's from Zinder. According to our sources in Zinder, Dogo is a town already affected by the 2010 food shortages and the need abounds all over the surrounding district.
Yhaiea is a believer from a village almost halfway between Zinder and Dogo and knows the surrounding area. This plus his knowledge of The URN Project made him the best person to accompany us to Dogo and to serve as an interpreter and link with the needy receivers of food.
Upon our arrival, we met the people of the church including the pastor and his family. They provided us with a detailed list of all the believers in the area as well as a list with the names of the needy and the most needy people of the town and surrounding area. These lists also contained the names of numerous disabled members of the comunity. We also met with the man who serves as the leader for the 37 deaf people in Dogo who would also be receiving food.
At the market we bought 21 bags of millet to be transported by ox and cart to the church compound. Millet is a very nutritious local grain consumed by the majority of Nigeriens and it will also be the form of food that will be distributed by The URN Project as most Nigeriens prefer millet over beans and maize.
The people started arriving in the afternoon and their names were checked off the lists to make sure that the distribution process was fair and that everyone received the correct amount of millet.
At the end of the day we were able to give 148 people an average of 3-4 large bowls of millet. They were very thankful and even the chief of Dogo appreciated our efforts tremendously.
During the whole food distribution process we had multiple opportunities to share the Good News and that it was God, through His Son Jesus, that enabled us to help. He is seeing their needs and loves them so much. He is alive and would love for each of them to know Him.
To add to the joy of the day Yhaiea told us that some of the villages opened up and asked for the gospel to be preached there. In a country with a 98% Muslim majority, this is a miracle!!
The Body of Christ is at work, is being seen and is touching the lives of many!
Thank you so much for being a part of this!