Part of our strategic goal in Africa is to continue to build capacity in our relief and development programs. Motivated by this, Relief Network Ministries collaborated with several organizations to orchestrate this mission trip.

We are back again from Africa with lots of good report and challenging stories to tell you more about later, perhaps in person than over another email.

Photo above: Mrs. Eucharia Ebigbo, Principal of Stepfield Schools, Ekata - Surulere Lagos during our dedication of their new water well

This mission trip began Sunday June 7^th, and ended on Friday June 25^th when we left Lagos Nigeria to fly back to Houston via Amsterdam, Netherlands.

 WASH – Water And Sanitation Hygiene Programs:

The programme goal was to train local partners (trainers), who would, in turn, be responsible for training others / well beneficiaries at Church, School, Health-care facilities, and Community levels.

This was completed successfully for 6 States in 5 locations, all of which have received a new well either in 2010, or in the recent past. Overall, a total of 50 people received the training as trainers.

 The facilitation was done for Relief Network Min. by Mrs. Florence Ogechi Okorie.

Photo Left: WASH session in FGC, Surulere-Lagos; Right: Participants excited about new subject matter in Gboko PM Session

A training note book or some notebooks were left for each center both in electronic form, and on hard copy papers. In addition, each center got a number of ORT (Oral Rehydration Therapy) spoons for use in the field and in educating women and children about the role of ORT in mitigating the impact of diarrheal & water-borne disease in the community.

Plan is in place to use these trainers at future new well sites to conduct training for beneficiaries, and to hold periodic H&H (Health & Hygiene) review discussions. These would take place on a monthly, or bi-monthly basis depending on what the local people agree as workable for each community group.

• Lagos: Surulere Foursquare Gospel Church - Lagos Inland zone: Trained 8 people (6 women and 2 men) under the leadership of Mrs. Chidinma Egbonuba, the District Overseer’s wife.

• In addition to the WASH program, a new well site surveyed before we arrived was drilled and commissioned within 2 weeks of our arriving in Nigeria. The beneficiary is: The Stepfield Schools in Ekate, Surulere – population of approx. 250 children (from Kindergarten to Junior High School), and their surrounding community of over 3000 people. The well project was sponsored by kindness of two families: Jay & Lisa Lukan, & Bob & Louise Wild, in Memory of John E. Wild of Washington State, USA.  Pastor Luke Egbonuba, District Superintendent of the FGC (Foursquare Gospel Church) Nigeria, Surulere District dedicated the well for us in prayers. Here we got showered by the Lagos rain while trying to dedicate the well and had to finish the praying inside the school building.

• Lagos Coastline / Wetland zone: This was conducted in the Ajeh Community, the low income sections of Lekki Peninsula and Sango Tedo. 7 women and 2 men received the training at this location.

• New LWI projects in PH - Port Harcourt, River State: We visited the new well site at Obigbo Gods Liberation School: Well dedication and monitor worked progress on the Latrine project for boys & girls / staff being sponsored by Living Water International through RNM.

• WASH program was conducted for trainers in Port Harcourt at the Divine Grace Hospital, Obigbo – PH

• WASH Program was conducted in Orlu – Imo State & at the new Well site at Umunneme Ogberuru, where we had a couple of the trained trainers do a rehearsals and actually trained some local beneficiaries of the well. This was a joint session for both Imo and Abia State (represented by lead – Cherechi Ndubusi-Kalu), and 2 others attending from Abia State. The Imo-Orlu team of 3 was led by Sunday Ezerebo. Host was Dr. & Mrs. A. S. Okorie, at their cottage home in Ogberuru.

 

Photo Left: Group photo Gboko WASH; Right: Imo & Abia Demo session at Umunneme Well Ogberuru

• WASH Program in Gboko – Benue State is lead by Mrs. Sarah Aende, the wife of our rep in Benue / Central Northern Nigeria. First training session for 3 women and 2 men was conducted at the Aende Residence & second session - on Sunday afternoon took place at the Redeemed Evangelical Mission Church of Gboko with a larger group of women of 17 with about 4 men.

• WASH Program in Abuja – Karu zone (Nassarawa State): 5 women were trained in Karu hosted by Barrister Christine Wachuku (a board of trustee member of RNM in Nigeria – Relief & Water Well Drilling Ministry). One of the facilitators, Mrs. Hope Ihetuge helped to train the others after she was first trained.

Left: Pastor Luke, Eucharia, Sunny, Florence & a school teacher at Stepfield borehole site in Ekate; Right: New well in Gboko - pump testing. This Gboko well was drilled with the new red Chinese Rig in the background. Also new Air compressor (yellow) used to develop well.

• Well Dedication in Masaka:

This was done jointly by Pastor & local overseer of GWORM, Nkem Onyema, and Dr. A. S. Okorie (RNM President), with Brother Andrew Tungwong (of Great Commission Movement, Jos) sharing the gospel and translating in local language. A brief WASH program was done at the well site by Mrs. Hope Ihetuge. This well project was sponsored by kindness – Global Word of Restoration Ministries (GWORM) in partnership with Living Water Int’l (LWI) and RNM as implementer.

Photo Left: Hope teaching Health & Hygiene; Right: Well dedication in Masaka

• Gida Mudu New Well visit / Dedication: The new well site was visited to see the work, and meet their local chief, and pray to dedicate the work. Unfortunately, due to some unknown reason, (likely local abuse of hand pump), the last link of the draw pipe was broken and we ordered a replacement with higher grade draw pipe for the well before final commissioning to be done by GWORM after the end of July when the first phase of the work in Abuja East / Nassarawa State would have finished.

Photo Left: Nkem with Gida Mudu Chief at old well site; Right: with Sunny with new well in background

• Bakochi Well & Health Clinic Site – was visited to observe on-going pump rehab work. The location and clinic is owned by GWORM for their on-going work and ministry in the community. 

The Bakochi well has been flushed with air compressor prior to our arrival and will be receiving a new pump, draw pipes and well pad in July.

Photo Left: Hosea - our driller, Nkem, with his local pastors at the Bakochi rehab site; Right: Sunny, Nkem, Hosea, and Uke Medical Clinic staff at Uke well rehab site. Well was re-activated in April, will be totally rehabilitated in July with new pump and well riser pipes.

• Uke Medical Center: also built by GWORM, the well facility at the location was restored by RNM as part of the partnership work for GWORM with LWI. Plan is in place to flush the well with air compressor and replace the pump with a brand new unit in addition to all the internal pipes inside the well. The clinic facility treats approximately 8 to 20 patients per day. The three primary health problems encountered by villagers in this location are: worms, typhoid, and diarrheal disease. In addition, malaria was also reported as prevalent.

• Orphanage Well in Anyingba - just started as we were leaving Nigeria. Reported as of July 1 to have drilled to 500 feet and had some technical issue during well casing. Praying that this gets resolved soon so they can develop the well. This project has been made possible by a recent gift from Emile & Mary Toups of Lafayette Louisiana.

• Reaching out to our Teens & Youth: I held a Bible Study with a group of young boys in Junior High School and a girl in Senior High in my village of Ogberuru - Orlu during our stay in the village, and was able to lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We left some further Bible study materials for them with an adult to help them continue in the Word and discipleship. Pray that their present enthusiasm and interest in the things of God would be sustained as they grow older, and that they be kept safe from the corruption that is in the world.

  

Acknowledgements: On behalf of our Board of Directors, I wish to gratefully acknowledge with many thanks - the partnerships of GWORM for the Abuja East projects; Living Water International into most projects in Nigeria, the Lukan & Wild Families for the Stepfield Schools project; the Toups family for the on-going deep well project at the Anyingba Orphanage; Friends of the Poor, and many other friends and partners who have contributed financially and in many others ways to make this trip a success. Your gifts and prayers are deeply appreciated.

May the good Lord of Heaven keep you safe in the palm of His Hands.  A. Sunny & Florence Ochi-Okorie for RNM, Inc.

 www.relief-networks.org . Praise the Lord!