MY ACCOUNT
At A Glance:
Androwas was only about 7 when Boko Haram terrorists threatened his life unless he denied Jesus. He refused.
- Ultimately, his life was spared, but this was only the beginning of the hardships he faced.
- For nearly 10 years, his family lived in a Cameroon refugee camp, where people were dying of starvation.
- When they tried to return to Nigeria, the truck they were riding in crashed and Androwas lost his leg.
- Still, Androwas holds tight to his faith and hopes to one day go to school and open his own business.
Androwas was only about 7 years old when terrorists attacked his Nigerian village and threatened his life – unless he denied faith in Jesus.
He’s 16 years old now, but he remembers the fear he felt during the attack. He was home with two of his young cousins when Boko Haram invaded.
“Some Boko Haram members came to our house, but they didn't touch us because we were kids,” Androwas says. “They went out and started going after other people with guns. They started firing indiscriminately. I started crying, then I took one of the girls and started running.”
A neighbor picked up the other cousin and ran after him. Eventually, he reunited with the rest of his family.
“We ran until nightfall and we slept in the bush,” Androwas says. “As we slept, snakes were crawling all around us.”
But they weren’t able to escape yet.
“There was even a time when Boko Haram came, gathered us, and said, ‘Would you deny Jesus or not?’” he recounts. “‘If you don't, we are going to kill you. If you still want Christianity, go this way.’ … We would never abandon our religion. We would rather die and we told them to kill us.”
Boko Haram ultimately spared Androwas’ life, but this was only the beginning of the hardships he faced.
“We suffered a lot,” he says. “Even food was hard to come by and we spent nights hungry in the bush. We spent close to a month in the bush. They [Boko Haram] were moving around our towns, entering our homes. They made away with all our belongings, and whatever they found useful.”
They even burned all the churches in the village and murdered a pastor.
Androwas and his family made their way to a refugee camp in Cameroon, where they lived for nearly 10 years. But over time, food became more and more scarce. Androwas remembers people dying of starvation in the camp. His uncle returned to Nigeria periodically to farm and decided it was time for the family to return to their home country.
They found a ride in a large truck carrying scrap metal materials and car parts.
'Deep in my heart, I believe God has answered our prayers. Through all my hardships, I am grateful to God.'
— Androwas
“As we were moving, the truck went up a hill,” Androwas explains. “On its way coming down and trying to take a turn, the brake failed and the truck kept moving. The truck collided with a big tree, boom! When I fell on a rock, an engine from the metal scraps fell on my leg, crushing it against the rock. All the veins here tore immediately and the joints were shattered.”
Tragically, Androwas lost his leg after the accident and now walks with a stick. While he dreams of having a prosthetic leg someday, for now, that dream seems far out of reach. He and his family live in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Nigeria in an unfinished house, where he sleeps on the gravel floor.
Still, Androwas holds onto hope that one day, he will be able to go to school, open his own business, and provide for himself. He holds tight to his faith in Jesus, showing a touching level of maturity and insight for his age.
“My favorite verses in the Bible are in Exodus, Psalms and John,” he says, reciting Psalm 23 from memory: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
He asks for prayer that he would “grow up healthy and grow in Christ.”
“Deep in my heart, I believe God has answered our prayers,” he says. “Through all my hardships, I am grateful to God. I wasn't scared, I believe in God, and no harm will come to me going forward.”
An urgent window to act. They refuse to hide their faith. Let’s make sure they don't face the fire alone.
Millions of Nigerian believers currently are living in displacement camps, driven from their homes by targeted, violent attacks. Yet their joy and faith in Jesus remain unbroken. Make an eternal impact today by delivering urgent emergency aid, spiritual support, and bold advocacy so the Nigerian church can continue to shine in the darkness.
