All together, 21 babies have been saved so far through our pro-life efforts in Nigeria.
Save the Unborn Babies Pro-life Initiative Abuja was invited to The Church of Archangels, in Gaduwa, Abuja to enlighten the young members of their church on pro-life through 40 Days for Life.
This account is from Kelechi Anyaghara, the local 40 Days for Life leader in Abuja, Nigeria.
Our team met with the children during their summer school and explained to them what 40 Days for Life is all about ? 40 days of praying and fasting for an end to abortion, reaching out to our community to say no to abortion, and peaceful public witness against abortion.
Hundreds of children were present and for better understanding, the class was divided according to their age group with the older children in a more detailed pro-life class while the younger ones were enlightened through children's biblical stories promoting life.
We developed prayers for an end to abortion, and these prayers are being said in this parish for these 40 days. It is very encouraging to note that these parishioners are becoming more pro-life as a result, which is evidenced in three babies saved from abortion In this parish.
According to their mothers, they were involved in relationships in which the men promised to marry them, but when they got pregnant, these men asked them to have abortions, saying they were not financially ready for marriage. The ladies refused because of their new knowledge on pro-life. These men left them to their fate.
The mothers told Fr. Peace Ike that they have chosen life for their babies because of our pro-life awareness in this church. These young ladies, however, are struggling to support themselves and will need help.
The third mother stated that she was afraid that her family would be disappointed if they found out that she was pregnant when not married. She ran away from her home In Enugu State after hiding the pregnancy for about eight months, and came to Abuja, which was a seven-hour drive.
According to her, she needed to stay far away from her family so that they will not find her and know her situation. She went on to tell us that when she got into Abuja, she did not know what church to go to seek help from. So she asked the taxi to take her to any Catholic Church, and she was brought to Church of Archangels in Gaduwa ? our head office for our pro-life work and parish where 40 Days for Life is most effectiv).
The taxi man had no prior knowledge of our pro-life work and neither did she. The security men in the church who participate very well in our pro-life programs welcomed her after listening to her ordeal. Save the Unborn Babies Pro-life Initiative, together with these church members, gladly supported the young mother with accommodation, pre-natal support, baby support and reconciliation with her family.
Yes, they were very disappointed. They cried out in disappointment as she rightly said ? but we made them see the better side: "Your nephew is on the way. Would you have been happy if she killed him through abortion?" They answered "no." Yet, the family still rejected her, asking her to go find the man and force him to marry her.
She was placed in a home where she could learn skills like stitching, cooking, baking which she could implement and use the proceeds to support herself and her baby. Her baby was born safely and mother and son are very well. With prayers and our counseling, her older sister started showing her love and her support.
40 Days for life has been a great tool that inspires us in the Save the Unborn Babies Pro-life Initiative to achieve our goals.
? Kelechi Anyaghara, 40 Days for Life coordinator in Abuja, Nigeria
