CSW - everyone free to believe

Leah was one of 110 girls abducted from their school in Dapchi, Nigeria by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) an offshoot of Boko Haram in February 2018. The next month, following negotiations by the government, the girls were put into vehicles to go home.

However, Leah wasn’t among them. She wasn’t released because she refused to convert in exchange for her freedom.

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Free Leah – write to your MP

Thank you for taking time to write to your MP on behalf of Leah Sharibu and her family.

Below is a template for you to follow. Feel free to add your own personal reflections and feelings.

• In February 2018 Leah Sharibu was the sole Christian among 110 schoolgirls abducted from their school in Dapchi, north east Nigeria by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an offshoot of Boko Haram. 
• The next month, following negotiations by the government, the surviving girls were put into trucks to go home. But Leah wasn’t among them. She wasn’t released because she refused to convert in exchange for her freedom. Leah was just 14 at the time.
• If something so terrible happened to a young girl here in [include your town/city name] I know we would not rest until she was free. And yet, even though Leah is thousands of miles away I feel we must speak up for her just as passionately.
  
• Two years have gone by, and 17 year old Leah is still being held prisoner by ISWAP terrorists, and they are also still holding Alice Loksha Ngaddah, an aid worker who they have “enslaved for life” along with Leah. 
• The Nigerian constitution stipulates that every citizen has a right to “be protected irrespective of his/her gender, culture and religious belief.” It also states that “the security and welfare” of citizens is “the primary purpose of government.”
• Please ask the Foreign Secretary to address his Nigerian counterpart and to impress upon the Nigerian government the importance of prioritising the safe return of Leah, Alice and all other abductees to their respective families. 
• In addition, ask him to urge the authorities to put into place an effective strategy to protect educational establishments in vulnerable communities and to ensure that every child is free to pursue an education without fear.
• Thank you for taking time to consider this request.

Make sure you include your name and address, so your MP knows that you live within their constituency. You can find your MP’s contact details here

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Gathering to mark Leah's 17th birthday

On 14 May 2020 over 250 of us joined together online to mark Leah’s 17th birthday in the best way we could think of – by praying for Leah, her family, and the wider crisis in Nigeria.

With contributions from Matt Redman, Rev Yunusa Nmadu, Pete Greig, and others – it was a powerful evening of prayer and intercession.

Over the past two years we've prayed and protested many times for Leah. Although we couldn't gather together in person, it was great to still gather online and pray.