The Story of Alugbo Community
Far into the bush in Nigeria is a rural community called Alugbo, where there is a lack of access to basic government services such as health-care facilities and schools. There is a clinic in a neighbouring community but it is a long walk. In the rainy season the river floods, making it dangerous and near impossible to cross. Many people find work growing and harvesting the natural resources in their community like oil from palm trees, cassava and pepper. While people try to sell their goods in the local market, this rarely provides enough for their families.
Within Alugbo idol worship runs deep and many people participate in the practice of witchcraft and ancestral worship. Additionally, there are many Muslim families living there and the good news of Jesus is not commonly heard.
75 Children currently supported
8 Care Workers Coordinated by Beatrice and Maria
Basic Services Started: 2022
In 2022, the local Hands at Work team in Lagos was looking to expand their work in Nigeria, committed to their care of the most vulnerable children. When Toyin, a member of the Lagos team, shared this dream with her mother, she mentioned other places around the Ibadan area that were incredibly vulnerable. As they walked, they went through a series of communities, but none of them felt like the place where God was leading. However, when they entered Alugbo, the vulnerability was obvious. This was where God was calling them to start caring for children.
In Alugbo they connected with a local pastor and his wife, who were already active in their community, visiting people in their homes and praying over them. It was clear that they had a heart to serve. As Toyin shared the vision of Hands at Work, this couple were eager to be involved and introduced Toyin and the team to the local chief and a number of key people in Alugbo. From there, they began mobilising other ladies within the community who, although vulnerable themselves, expressed a desire to do something to help the children in the community. As they visited their homes and shared about Jesus in this predominantly Muslim community, the team of Care Workers began to grow. It so happens that many of the Care Workers are also the Primary Caregivers of the children being cared for.
In 2022, once a team of Care Workers was mobilised, the Alugbo Community Based Organisation began officially serving 50 of the most vulnerable children at the Care Point.
The local Hands at Work team in Ibadan currently supports three Community Based Organisations, which exist to care for the most vulnerable in their communities. The office provides training, networking, and encouragement to those Community Based Organisations like Apatuku. It also gives administrative support, including helping with funding proposals, monitoring and evaluation, bookkeeping and reporting to donors.
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Tanisha* has been living in Apatuku, a rural village outside the bustling city of Ibadan, for four years. Sent by her mother at the age of six to live with her grandmother, this move shifted Tanisha into a very vulnerable position, just like thousands of other girls across Nigeria. Her ailing grandmother cared for the young girl and appreciated her help as she was struggling to cook, clean, and do errands alone, but unfortunately was unable to send her to school. Together, they live in a small rented room, sharing a bed and the meager belongings the grandmother had collected. Tanisha, obedient and caring, worked hard to ensure she cared for her grandmother well, but inside she was deeply troubled. Tanisha desperately missed her mother and wanted nothing more than to go to school.