Amina lived with her husband Kwame and their two little girls in a small village in a West African country. They were farmers. In 2023, God blessed them with good crops. For the first time in a long while, they felt hopeful. They sold three bags of sesame seeds, and Amina earned a bit of extra money selling donuts and bean cakes in the market. Her husband had even purchased a small plot of land in the city, and they dreamed of building a simple home there. Life finally seemed to be turning a corner.
But on December 31, 2023, everything changed.
A group of men arrived in the village dressed as military. They appeared to be repairing a broken bridge and asked for water. Amina’s husband Kwame helped them, turning on the pump before returning home. But the men did not leave. They lingered around the village.
The next morning, they came to Amina’s home and ordered Kwame – and several other men – to go with them.
A short time later, the strangers returned and forced all the women and children to lie down on the road from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. under the scorching sun. The children cried and screamed. When the women were finally told to rise and get water, they were then ordered into a large truck. They begged to know where their husbands were. The strangers told them, “They will follow.” But as the women were being taken away, they saw flames rising behind them. Their homes were being burned.
Amina and the others were released in a nearby town, confused, terrified, and without anything. Later, she learned what had happened: the men had been gathered, thrown into a large hole, and shot. She never saw her Kwame again.
Amina’s life was shattered. Her dreams were gone. With nowhere to turn, Amina tried to return to her mother’s home. But her mother had remarried a Muslim man, and Amina was not welcome as a Christian woman – unless she agreed to convert. Amina longed to stay faithful to God. She remembered her Christian aunt in Niger, one of our Dorcas widows’ leaders, and made her way there with her two little girls.
Today, she is living with her aunt in Niamey and has become part of the Dorcas family. We have helped her with clothes, a scholarship for her daughter’s schooling, and some start up funds for a small business. But the road has not been easy. She continues to search for a way to provide for her children. She often feels torn, wanting to return to her home country yet knowing she would face pressure to abandon her faith.
Amina’s story is just one among many. In recent years, countless women in this region have lost their husbands to terrorism. Their lives are uprooted in an instant. They flee to safety, sometimes across borders, with nothing left of the life they were building. There are no words that can fully express the depth of their grief.
At Dorcas, we are reminded daily that each widow carries her own story – stories that require time, space, and loving presence to heal. We listen, we pray with them, we bring food and clothes, and sometimes even bright pink dresses and balloons. In all of it, God remains present.
Thank you for praying for our leaders who walk alongside these widows and for lifting up this young woman and her little girls. We are grateful for the love, stability, and safety they have found with her aunt and within the Dorcas family.
Lucia Eberle
“Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because, I love you.”
Isaiah 43:4 NIV
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PROJECT NAME:
Dorcas Master Project
#090230
SIM CANADA WORKER:
Lucia Isch Eberle
AREA OF MINISTRY:
The Dorcas Widows Master Project supports SIM’s Dorcas ministries across several countries in West Africa, where widows often face deep isolation, economic hardship, and cultural stigma. Through Dorcas groups rooted in local churches, widows find a caring community where they can pray together, study Scripture, share their burdens, and experience dignity and belonging. Many of these groups also offer practical help such as advocacy, small emergency support, and opportunities to rebuild confidence through income‑generating activities.
Gifts to this master project strengthen Dorcas’s ministries wherever the need is greatest. Contributions help equip local leaders, provide resources for windows facing crisis, expand groups into new communities, and sustain programs that nurture both spiritual and practical transformation. As women encounter Christ’s love through the Dorcas community, many discover renewed hope and become leaders who influence their families, churches, and neighborhoods for good.
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