Everyone can help refugees
Meet the Elim missionaries supporting refugees in the UK, Africa, and beyond
MISSIONARY DANIEL HABTEY
Working with Elim Missions and CAM International in Huddersfield. Supporting displaced people from Eritrea.
Which refugees are you supporting?
We’re supporting the Eritrean diaspora who are displaced through persecution. Our vision is to help Eritrean refugees become competent, skilled, socially responsible and ethically-minded. This transformative process aims not only to equip them with skills but also to instil a sense of responsibility, community engagement and giving back to society.
How are you helping?
Persecution can be devastating on a personal and community level. Most refugees have to establish new lives, careers, family and friends from scratch. Being disconnected from their roots can lead to hopelessness, while perilous journeys involving mistreatment and kidnapping can be traumatic. Giving hope, encouragement and showing compassion is crucial.
We help them rebuild their lives by fostering personal development, leadership and offering basic support for physical needs. The aim is to enable them to overcome their challenges and become a blessing, to heal their trauma and focus on their future and to enhance their personal, family and community lives.
How did you get into this work?
As refugee myself I was persecuted, faced a perilous journey through places such as the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea and was arrested in Libya, yet God turned my life into a blessing. My past is healed, the present makes sense and my future is secured. Now I’m trying to help others because I understand their situations. As Joseph said, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
MISSIONARY ELODIE JOSLAND
Working with Elim Missions. Supporting refugees and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia.
Which refugees are you supporting?
I see around 50 refugees and asylum seekers each week, from about 18 countries in Africa and Asia. Also, I have a heart for the Persian world so I’m learning Farsi and help with a Farsi Bible study with a local church.
What situations are they facing?
The hardest thing for refugees is the waiting. They are stuck in limbo, waiting for interviews and to hear whether they can start their new lives. Living in hotels and not being allowed to do much, they also struggle with integrating and living on just over £8 a week.
At one church we’ve created a safe space where among 25 people there can often be 18 different nationalities. The whole world comes together to sit at one table, play games, practise English, switch off, have fun and talk about what’s going on in their lives. We show them Jesus’ love, listen and do our best to help them.
We also create space for people to learn more about God through the Bible. Once a fortnight we do a learning English through the Bible session. We’ve seen people come to church through both these activities.
Twice a week with another church we do Bible studies translated to Farsi. In the past six months we’ve had six baptisms from this group! One Muslim-background individual said, “I am so glad I’ve found this place. I wanted to give up but I’ve found a community and friends that love me. I’ve also found a church community and learned more about Jesus.”
Why is working with refugees important to you?
When I was studying at Regents I visited a refugee camp. Before going I prayed, “God break my heart for what breaks yours.” I hadn’t thought much about the refugee situation but in that moment I felt God burden me with such love for these people and how they were desperately searching for hope. Also, how much God loved them, wanted to help them and to be their hope.
From that moment on I kept meeting asylum seekers everywhere. I felt a calling I couldn’t shake, and as I started to walk into it God opened all the doors for me.
MISSIONARY HANI SHADAD
Working with Elim Global partners and Oasis Cardiff. Supporting Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and refugees in northern Uganda.
Which refugees are you supporting?
Around nine years ago through our global partners in Ethiopia I started working with Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, and through Elim Uganda we started going to refugee camps on the border of South Sudan. I’m also a trustee of Oasis Cardiff, one of the biggest refugee-supporting charities in South Wales and help several refugee church leaders in the UK and Europe.
How are you helping?
In northern Uganda there are 27 refugee camps. We work in the smallest one which has over 46,000 people in it – mostly elderly people, women and children.
Their issue is that the UN supplies basic food and medication but classes hygiene items as luxuries. People can’t access them, so the death rate from infection is high.
We buy sanitary pads, mosquito nets, baby bags for delivery, toothbrushes and toothpaste and make sure people know these gifts come from churches who love Jesus, who was a refugee himself and hasn’t forgotten them.
In Ethiopia we also have a feeding station where we give 600 kids a hot lunch every day.
We try to plant churches in every camp, which we do by supporting Christians to set up businesses through which they can evangelise. And we train people through Bible colleges to become ministers in the camps.
How did you get into this ministry?
I became a refugee when I was 16. I’m originally from Sudan but my family had to leave because of persecution. Then, when I became a Christian the first thing God spoke to me about was vulnerable people who can do little to help themselves and are lonely.
Everyone can help refugees: if you can’t give financially or travel you can still pray. Churches can help practically too. In this country the suicide rate among young refugees is very high because of lack of support and loneliness.
Charities often help them on weekdays, but then churches can open their doors at other times to offer hot meals and drinks, prayer, friendship and love.
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.