| · 80% Muslim
Niger seeks answers after world drops it and its uranium.
"I remember it like yesterday", writes a missionary. "I was doing nothing more than taking a morning walk through millet fields, down a sandy path running along the banks of the Niger River. A Songhai man rushed out of his garden to meet me. After a decade of missionary work, this was the first time anyone had run to me, telling me of how Christ had spoken to his heart at dawn. I had given him an evangelistic cassette months before as a gift for allowing my daughter's school group to tour his garden and interview him for a project..."
The missionary goes on to lament, "Who would have thought he would have been one of the many seeds who sprouted but were eventually choked and forsook the Gospel."
Songhai believers
Songhai believers face incredible obstacles to live a life of faith since Islam is so prominent in Niger. This land-locked, sub-Saharan country of over 11 million people is four-fifths desert. Islam came to Niger by way of the empires of the Songhai, also Mali, Gao, Kanem, Bornu and Hausa states. Niger is frequently disrupted by extended droughts and locust infestations. Niger has the world's highest birth rate yet life expectancy is just 43 years and the literacy rate is an alarmingly low 17.6%.
Niger's capital
Niamey was just a few thousand people back in the 1940's and is now home to 675,000 people thanks to the uranium-funded boom of the 1970's, which since collapsed. Shops have pictures or paintings to explain what services or goods they carry. Most of the Christians in Niger live in Niamey which is now the capital.
Flag of Niger
Map of Niger
Notables:
* Niger made headlines as documents came out that Saddam Hussein had sought to buy uranium and subsequently build the bomb. The finger was pointed at Niger.
* Niger banned hunting to save its wildlife, including the lion, the giraffe and the hippopotamus.
* A ceremony freeing some 7,000 slaves was cancelled after the government claimed there was no slavery in Niger. That was in 2005.
* Famine hit hard in south Niger affecting at least 2.5 million in 2005. Late rains in 2006 will cause more problems for the coming years. The BBC reports that the President prayed for rain.
How can we pray for Niger?
* Intercede for Songhai believers and for those ministering to them. Pray they can remain strong in Christ and lead others to the Lord.
* Pray that we as missionaries would respond generously to physical needs with the wisdom of God, without creating dependence. Pray for jobs for believers and ways for them to support their families.
* Ask Him to bless us as we nurture and disciple believers.
* Radio is the most important outlet for news and information, owing to extraordinary low literacy levels. Pray that more Christian radio would be broadcast.
Background on Niger (World Factbook)
Niger is one of the hottest countries in the world. It is also rated as the world's poorest Muslim country. Some have called for Niger to become an Islamic Republic, but this has yet to be established. The government has funded several Muslim-oriented programs, such as a powerful Muslim radio ministry and an Islamic university in Niamey. The government has made three Muslim feasts as national holidays. The majority of Nigerian's are linked to the Tijaniya Sufi brotherhood, who believes its leaders are supernaturally gifted with mystical power. Ahmed al Tijani, an Algerian Berber, founded the Tijaniya brotherhood in 1781, essentially as a missionary order. It has spread in many areas of West Africa thanks in part to its relative simplicity and flexibility to modern life.
Economy of Niger
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have increased sharply in the last few years.
Statistics on Niger
Population: 16,468,886 (July 2011 est.) World Rank #62
Life expectancy at birth: 53.4 years. World Rank #203
Ethnic groups: Haoussa 55.4%, Djerma Sonrai 21%, Touareg 9.3%, Peuhl 8.5%, Kanouri Manga 4.7%, about 1,200 French expatriates
Religions: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian
Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Literacy: 28.7% male:42.9% - female: 15.1%
School Life Expectancy: 5 years
Video: The Nomads of the Azawak
* Here is a video to give you an idea of the land and help you pray -
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Our church works with the Songhai people of Niger. We have adopted a 48 kilometer stretch of road where nearly 40,000 ± unreached Songhai live. The road is called the Road to Mehanna. God allowed us baptize the first believers on the road this March. They are going strong, but with much suffering and persecution.
Pray for the Songhai:
* for prtoection of the few known Songhai believers
* for more missioanries for the SOngahi
* for Christian radio to be prepared for Niger peoples
* for Bible transaltion in the languages of Niger
* for Songahi to understand they can be Christian and still be Songhai