Families of Abducted Schoolgirls Struggling to Survive

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Apr 12, 2016

Families of Abducted Schoolgirls Struggling to Survive

Many of the families of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls are struggling emotionally and physically as they continue to deal with the abduction of their children.

According to Christian Today, 275 girls were abducted from their school on April 14, 2014 by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria. 

The two year anniversary of the kidnapping is approaching, and many of the girls’ parents are not faring well. Eighteen of them have died since the kidnapping and many more are unwell.

Persecution charity Open Doors reports that many of the parents are struggling with severe health problems which can be traced back to the emotional trauma they are facing.

“I am carrying my wife to the hospital and they said she has high blood pressure..." said the father of one of the abducted girls. "Sometimes they (the hospital staff) don't see sickness, they will say, 'It is the thinking within your family'."

The man added that the emotional well-being of his other daughters is also suffering. When one of his daughters “hears something, she shakes, fearing that Boko Haram will come and abduct her like her sister,” he said.

Nearly 50 of the kidnapped girls managed to escape from their captors, but 228 are believed to still be in captivity.

As ChristianHeadlines.com previously reported in October, one girl who escaped revealed that most of the girls were still alive, but many were ill and pregnant with the children of their captors.

Other reports suggest that the girls have been forced to convert to Islam and have been brainwashed into fighting for Boko Haram.

Open Doors has been working with local churches to provide physical and spiritual aid to the families and communities affected by the kidnapping.

"We are counselled, we are advised, we are comforted. I really liked that," said Pastor Ayuba, whose daughter Amina was among the girls abducted.

Publication date: April 12, 2016



Families of Abducted Schoolgirls Struggling to Survive