It is quite hard to believe that in this Twenty first century, there are communities, in the center of Nigeria, right in the Federal Capital territory that still kill twins, albinos, and children which first developed the upper tooth, including any malformed or handicapped children at birth. They also bury sometimes, alive children whom their mothers died while giving birth to them. They place them on their mother’s chest and bury them together.
These communities claim that these are spirit children. It is therefore by mistake they enter the world of the living. It then behoves them to send these children immediately back to where they came from. According to the superstitions of these communities, if this is not done, the spirits will be offended and punish them with diverse sorts of severe natural disasters including failing of their harvest, flood, locust invasion, sicknesses and deaths.
They take these children to the evil forest and leave them there to die or cover them with a large basin until they suffocate.
Unfortunately these macabre tales are true.
Now, there are missionaries who enter into the evil forest in the night and into the communities to rescue these children. Of course the natives do not take kindly to this as these missionaries they insist are interfering with their traditional lives and values and also their actions are calculated to bring down the wrath of the gods on the natives. So these missionaries enter these communities at the risk of lives and limbs. Some of them are yet to be accounted for..
Yet they continue entering these dangerous pagan communities to minister and evangelize them and rescue these endangered children. Some of the women have converted. Some secretly, while some have become quite overt about it. Recently some men did.
African Child volunteers were taken to a place where the children that are rescued are kept. So also are the children and wards of the missionaries.
My mission have repeatedly bought and donated some food stuff, children necessities and foot wears to these Christians.
The African Child will endeavor to collect materials so as to make a documentary on this issue. We will do our very best to give this a great amount of publicity and bring the information of the plight of these children and the missionaries to the greater world.
We have titled this project of the Children of the Kuje forest, TINE-TAB.
We will try and raise fund to enable needs of the Christians taking care of the Children and wards of the missionaries and also that of the missionaries in the fields to be met.
They need medical care
The children need to be taken care of, in terms of personnel and material.
The older children of school age, need to go to school (School built in the premises or totally outside the danger area)
They need electricity in a country where electricity is not reliable. The effect of the heat on these more than a hundred children, especially the very little ones, even below one week as they scream in agony is simply heart rending. The need therefore for adequate accommodation cannot be over emphasized.
Of course they need to eat.
Funds therefore are needs.
There are humanitarian groups who are helping out, however, the work is plenty but the help is not yet enough, as the number of children continue growing.
With your help therefore we aspire to achieve this by —-
Doing a detailed documentary of this evil exercise. We will interview some of the participants in this, including the missionaries, some of the expressive children, Government officials, NGOs that have made contact with these people. We will try our best to do some shooting in the villages of these Kuje communities and night or possibly day shootings in the forests.
We will do an exhibition titled Tina-tab in the Abuja Nigeria zone. This is so as to attract more international and national attention to this despicable and macabre act.
Of course all electronic medium available to us will be utilized for this global publicity, so that this act will be stopped and the victims plus the dependants of the martyrs cartered for.
This barbaric act will of course not stop if the source and cause are not addressed. Our research have proven that two major reasons why this terrible tradition continue are
Illitracy
Poverty
African Child therefore intend to initiate some sort of vocational initiative amongst these traditional people. We will also in order to address the issue of poverty, endeavor to break their total dependence of the one system of production, which is farming. We intend to introduce and encourage participation in other sources of production like trading, craft making, cloths weaving and sewing and other related handiworks and crafts and artisan trades.
We will sincerely appreciate any kind of help from your organization or person. But if it is not in your itinerary, it is all right. I am sure that our God who provides for sacrifice will provide the needs. He is still the rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.
A long text. My apologies, but it is how I feel. I will be grateful if you can reply and help.
God bless us all.
Chris Dahi
