By Reuben Sheneni
Reuben Sheneni visiting the ChildVoice tailoring workshop with ChildVoice Nigeria Co-Directors Becky Malgwi and David Jomusu (center front), as well as ChildVoice CEO Nathan Mandsager (background)
I had the honor and privilege of joining Mr. Nathan Mandsager, CEO of ChildVoice International, on a seven-day visit to the ChildVoice ministry sights in Yola and Mubi of Adamawa state Nigeria from the 1st to the 7th of June 2024. After the trip, as I reflected on all that I witnessed and experienced, I have decided to put down a few thoughts from my reflection as to the impact of the work Child Voices’ ministry is having in the lives of these young children who have been both displaced and silenced by war.
My visit to Adamawa state consisted of spending three days in Mubi and three days in Yola. In Mubi, we spent the bulk of our time visiting with the beneficiaries in their various places of activity as initiated, encouraged, and supported by Child Voice. We visited the farms where these girls were involved in agriculture, growing a variety of crops including groundnuts (peanuts), maize (corn), guinea corn (sorghum), etc., in fields provided by ChildVoice and some sourced by the girls, with seeds and pesticides all provided by ChildVoice to aid these girls. ChildVoice had trained and provided these girls with knowledge and skills in agricultural practices to encourage them to think outside the box, pushing them to invest their time and energy in something productive for, and beneficial to both them and their families.
Secondly, we visited the various ChildVoice Workshops in Mubi strategically located in market spaces and equipped with sewing machines which the beneficiaries utilized to run personal sewing businesses, thereby putting into practice the knowledge and skills that ChildVoice has equipped them with.
After this, we got to sit in a ChildVoice class which are run during the week and hosted at the public school buildings in the various communities where the girls in Mubi are taught personal hygiene, business administration, and interpersonal relations among many other topics. This is also the place and time where many of the girls meet with the staff to ask personal life questions and get counseling/direction on various matters of life.
In Mubi, we got to commission the new chicken project that David and his team thought through and established to help raise revenue to support the Mubi office.
In Yola, we spent a considerable amount of time at the ChildVoice Center where we were previewed to the ChildVoice basic Literacy program, which takes into consideration the level, age, and ability of the beneficiaries in the program. We got to see the beneficiaries in action at their various farm allocations where they grow rice and other crops. We also got to see the shoemaking classes and the work of the various participants, after which at the request of Nathan, they were able to recreate for him from sight, a replica of my Nigerian sandal which I wore to the center. I was amazed, to say the least.
We got a tour of the goat farm which the Yola office is running for the support of the office, and by the grace of God, it is growing into something very lucrative and sustainable.
Other things we did on this trip include visiting various IDP camps, running our Thrive program at a secondary school (High School) with girls, visiting various landmarks in Yola including a visit to Kiri dam, and a general introduction to life in Adamawa state under the constant threat and fear of attacks from Boko haram and other terrorist groups.
The Staff
The staff working with ChildVoice consist of a passionate, loving, dedicated team of very committed people who know and understand the goals of Child Voice, working together to restore the voices of children who have been and are being silenced by war. We got to conduct a staff training for new staff members where questions such as what should an employee do in a situation of possible conflict between personal (new) convictions and existing organizational principles? What is the importance of teamwork and what does it look like in relation to working as a ChildVoice employee? Who is a coach/mentor, and what does it look like in an organization such as ChildVoice? These and many other questions were sufficiently answered by Nathan and the rest of the leaders who were present. I was very encouraged to hear these higher-level critical questions and the answers given.
In the staff was a sense of proprietorship for the work and programs run for the progress of the beneficiaries and communities they served. There was a sense of intentionality, care, and compassion for the beneficiaries that is not commonly seen in the vast number of non-profit, non-governmental, and in government-implemented projects across Nigeria. This is and I pray will continue to be a defining quality of the staff working with ChildVoice and all its beneficiaries.
The Beneficiaries
As relating the beneficiaries, one cannot fully explain the extent to which they are encouraged and the hard work they have committed to the programs run by ChildVoice.
I was encouraged to see the level of comfortability and relationship they had with the ChildVoice staff who worked with them. This is no easy thing, for these are children and young adults who have been traumatized and displaced. To see them build trust and confidence with our staff is a great step toward restoring their voices and dignity. Because I understood the local language, I was able to fully witness the beneficiaries make jokes and laugh with our team, be vulnerable and ask personal questions relating to their lives and circumstances, seek help with business challenges and ideas, and lots more. This is not something you see in the everyday activities of other organizations working with displaced people, especially in Nigeria.
I commend the ChildVoice founders and staff for thinking through and creating a practical and effective model that reaches to the heart of displaced people, especially in Nigeria.
The Impact
The impact that ChildVoice is having in these various communities and in the lives of all its beneficiaries through all the programs being run in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. ChildVoice has restored the voices of children (especially young girls in Nigeria) who have been silenced not only by war, but by family, culture, and by religion. I witnessed confidence in girls who would in normal circumstances not be confident; business skills and enthusiasm in girls who would normally have nothing to do because of the circumstances they have found themselves; and ability to express themselves; a growth mindset in seemingly impossible situations because of Child Voice’s activities and influence, among many other incredible impacts.
It is a blessing and a joy to be involved and identified with the work of ChildVoice in Nigeria, and other parts of the world.
I want to encourage the Board, all ChildVoice Executives and staff, to continue the good work the Lord has placed in your hands, and to continue to restore the voices of children silenced by war around the world.
May our Lord continue to help you so to do in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Sheneni Reuben
Board Member, ChildVoice International
Founder and CEO, Ya’yanBege Educational Initiative (Children of Hope Nigeria).