Eighteen people have formed a new volunteer team in Baruwa, Taraba State following volunteer training last November.

Team members are faithfully visiting churches during Sunday services, counselling then testing people for HIV and setting up voluntary savings and accountability groups.

Sixty people registered to join this latest training, but only 18 were accepted for the five day programme.

“When we interviewed the other 42 we discovered that they were volunteering because they wanted a second or third job. They were all facing financial hardship because of the dire economic situation in Nigeria and wanted us to pay them,” explained international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

“We are finding fewer and fewer people able to accept our unpaid volunteer roles since the end of Covid. Thus, we are grateful to have enough people to form this new team.”

During the training, the 18 volunteers explored in depth the scriptural basis for social righteousness, which underpins all we do.

This includes our response to HIV/AIDS, medical and societal aspects of the disease, counselling, care and support, team work and relationships, how to contact churches, preaching, establishing voluntary savings and accountability groups and action committees that administer Grace & Light activities in each church.

They also learnt how to share Grace & Light’s four key social righteousness focuses – poverty and wealth, work and corruption, sexual and gender-based violence, and the politics of righteousness.

Volunteers were able to put what they learnt into practice on the final day during vision sharing, counselling and testing in a Baruwa church.

Baruwa is also called Serti and Gashaka and is a local government area about 100 miles from Jalingo, the state capital.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Confidence and ongoing commitment in our new Baruwa team as members visit churches on Sunday mornings
• Local church leaders will welcome this volunteer team into their churches to share the gospel with congregations, as well as counselling and testing for HIV and setting up voluntary savings and accountability groups