Beware of 419

I got into Nigeria early ... man I don't even know what day it is. We got in early Wednesday morning. The first thing I noticed was the smell. That and everyone was wearing pajamas. The men's outfits are too sweet. They basically look like pajamas. One big pajama party. The smell is dependant on where you are. I've never smelled so many strange smells. It varies from rotten sewer to oil/stale toilet.

We visited Ilaje Wed afternoon. Ilaje means "Land of Witches". It's one of the biggest slums in Lagos. Lagos is a city of 13.5 million, the biggest city in Africa, and one of the biggest cities in the world. In fact, Nigeria populates 1/4 of Africa's population. Ilaje. I've never been in a slum before so I really had no idea what to expect. Walking through was difficult. It's basically walking on layers upon layers of garbage. The ground was very unsteady and almost squishy. And it was dry. Between the homes and "streets" are streams of human waste and just dirty dirty water. The water is black and it smells awful. Crossing over these streams one could almost vomit. I asked Lynn if he'd rather get hit by a car or fall into one of these streams. His answer wasn't easy. It depended on whether he got it in his mouth.. he chose the car. The most fascinating part of Ilaje is the separation of the community into off-shore and on-shore. Ilaje is right on the ocean and people actually live on the water. It's like venice, but a lot less glamorous. People travel through the streets with little boats. The biggest challenge is when the heavy rains come. The entire community floods, up to 3 feet in people's homes. Imagine what it means sanitation-wise for those little black streams and all that garbage when it floods. The entire community is extremely vulnerable. Children don't go to school and Malaria is very high.

There are a couple schools we've started up and I'm really looking forward to spending more time in these schools and working with the teachers.

I visited another community called Ago-Okota today. This. Place. Was. Fascinating. I walked in and couldn't imagine why we would even be working there. The houses were HUGE and the cars were very fancy. As we began walking the community I started learning about the 419. Section 419 in Nigerian law is dealing with fraud. Ago-Okota is entire community of these fraudsters. Everyone knows them as 419. They do major internet fraud all over the world. No giving out e-mail addresses I guess. But they make big money and build large houses in this area. They often watch a house and when the person goes out for the day, they'll take over the house. They will have already put ads in the paper and they'll show the house. Buyers will have to give down payments and then the 419ers take the money and go. All around Lagos and especially in Ago-Okota you'll see "House not for sale. Beware of 419" everywhere!

We began walking through to visit the children. I thought South Africa was a place of contrasts... this place is worse. There will be a big mansion with a tall secure wall. Against that wall will be a slummy shack with 4 or so rooms with 4 families. Often too there are big mansions the 419 start building but don't finish. Families squat in these unfinished buildings and pay rent. They're horrible conditions and definitely not safe.

The children are extremely vulnerable. Phillip is an incredible man overseeing the CBO in Ago-Okota. He says that children are in danger of being recruited by the 419 at young ages. They take the children in, train them, and send them with big guns to houses to collect money. It's a brutal situation. And these kids aren't going to school, are living in desperate situations and are surrounded by mansions and high-class cars. It sounds like a good thing to get into.

We met a family of 5. The parents are Alex and Gladys. We met them in their room in an unfinished mansion. When I say unfinished, I mean it's just a concrete structure with no doors and no windows. They used to live in a small house but riots broke out in the area three years ago. The 419 were trying to overtake the area. People were shot and killed, people were thrown in the canal. They had to escape so fled to this structure in Ago-Okota. They are beautiful people and are trying their hardest to get by. It's a difficult area to live in.

Tomorrow we go to another community called Badia. It's another large slum.

One of the hardest parts about being here is seeing what the Church is doing. Nigeria is home of the mega-church. I've never seen churches to this magnitude. There are many and they are large. Prosperity gospel is everywhere. To be rich is to be blessed. I just can't believe that. When I walk these communities and see the beauty of these children, cursed is definitely not what they are. They are in a situation they cannot control, but can be changed.

Please pray for us as we try to interpret and process this all. It's entirely different from South Africa (and many other countries we work in).

Much love.