NEVER GIVE UP

Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, with skyrocketing inflation, a national currency in free-fall and millions of people struggling to buy food. Only two years ago Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria, was projected to drop to fourth place this year. The pain is widespread.  - New York Times, June 11, 2024

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends and Supporters,
If you have been reading our newsletters over the past couple of years, the quote from the New
York Times won’t come as a surprise. I have been traveling to Nigeria for the past 22 years and
conditions are worse than I have ever seen them.
​
​The phrase I keep hearing from my friends who live there is: “People are hungry.”

The United Nations predicts that, by 2030, 82 million Nigerians (64% of the populations) will
face starvation. This is due to climate change, increasing expansion of desert areas, pest
infestations and other threats to agricultural productivity. These conditions lead many people to
engage in desperate measures to survive. Kidnapping, armed robbery and political extremism
wreak havoc on social norms and already vulnerable people.
​
All of these factors have impacted our clinics, our medical workers and our patients. Some of our clinics have reduced service to daylight hours due to security risks. We are finding it more
difficult to hire and retain doctors. And many of our patients must choose between food for the
family and paying for medicine that we dispense at our clinics.

In spite of all of these challenging realities, we are not giving up. It has become much more
difficult to keep our clinics running, to retain good staff and to meet the needs of the
impoverished people we strive to help. But we continue and we are serving more people than
ever before.

Many years ago, Winston Churchill (usually a long-winded orator) gave a speech consisting of
nine words: “Never Give Up. Never Give Up. Never Give Up.”
Thank you for your support. Please keep giving as generously as you can. We are not giving up.
Sincerely yours,

Rev. Tom Furrer