Why go to Nigeria when we have poor in the U.S.?
 Sometimes I’m asked why, when we have so many poor in the U.S., are we committed to ending systemic poverty in one little village in Nigeria? I can only say one thing: Poverty is different in Nigeria. While we have poor in the U.S., our government has programs to help. In the U.S., the poorest of the poor have access to public education, food and shelter programs, and charity through nonprofit and church organizations. Our poorest here have hope for a better tomorrow. Our poorest here do not suffer like the poor in Nigeria. Our poorest here have hope for a better tomorrow.
To be poor in Nigeria means your parents may be dead of AIDS. It means you beg on city streets or live with relatives in the country who are lucky to own a half-starved cow. If you are young, chances are you are the water carrier for the family, and the trek to a well can be miles away from your village. And guess what? Children who are fetching water for three hours a day do not attend school.
Self-Sustaining Enterprises,(SSE), along with At Work on Purpose (AWOP) and friends, businesses and other churches linked to Grace Chapel of Mason have been working for more than nine years to end systemic poverty one person, one village, one country at a time. Sound like a pipe dream? It’s a dream that has legs. We’re working with local government officials there to bring creative ideas to help build sustainable development and jobs to everyday Nigerians. We are truly teaching Nigerians not only how to fish, but how to own the pond.
At Kisayip, where our group of Cincinnati business men and women will be, we’ll have three objectives: engage the Nigerians in business training; build and install an aquaponics fish pond so they can raise and sell fish; and create a video about the Nigerian program: the work we’re doing and our people. The H20 Nigeria well-drilling business we implemented in 2007 has dug a total of 70 wells for towns and villages and is generating profits to feed its employees and seed other BizNistries®. (BizNistries are businesses in which excess profits fund sustainable ministries and other businesses. Another word for them is marketplace ministries.)
The flight from Cincinnati to Nigeria is arduous. The group will be traveling for more than 24 hours due to a long layover in Atlanta before we head for the capital city of Abuja, located in the center of the country. We’ll spend the first evening in Jos in a hotel. It will be one of the few familiar comforts of home we’ll see during our stay.
The traveling party consists of: the Rev. Jeff Greer of West Chester, pastor of Grace Chapel and founder/president of SSE and Back2Back Ministries; me, Chuck Proudfit of Mason, president of Skill Source and At Work on Purpose; Pete West of Liberty Township, P&G; Brent Bachochin of Mason, Cornerstone Brands; Stacy Doose of Finneytown, Cincinnati Enquirer; Heidi Doose of Finneytown, Pleasant Run Preschool; Max Hammond of Wilmore Kentucky, Just Endeavors Consulting; Adam Wyman of Mason, Wimberg Landscaping; Tyler Moore of Blue Ash, B3; and Keith Kuhnell of Milford, Dempsey & Siders Insurance Agency.
Do we know what’s in store for us? Of course not. But we know it will be an adventure. We have carefully planned our trip, but Nigeria is known for its surprises. The roads we’ll be traveling are unpaved, and electricity outages in the country are common. Nigerian elections come up in April, and there have been skirmishes between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, near where we’ll be. But we’re eager to see Kisayip and meet the Americans and native Nigerians who work and live in the SSE compound there. We walk in faith to see how we can help.
Hope you’ll stay with us as we experience Nigeria.
--Chuck Proudfit
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