She owned a school in Nigeria, but watched her school burn to the ground in front of her students
March 29, 2021
Out of respect for the client’s privacy, this blog post does not have any photos and does not use the name of the client, only initials.
S.H.B. was born in Jigawa, Nigeria in 1973 where she grew up most of her life. She loved kids, was a teacher and later owned a school for 14 years in Nigeria. “I have been around kids since I was 17 years old. I love to teach kids.” She built a small school for the village because her dad owned that land, and he gave it to her to follow her dreams. It was a school for kids from kindergarten through 8th grade. “My dad has always supported me throughout my life.”
“We were having a good life and then everything was brought down. My two kids and I used to sleep on the same bed in my stepmother’s house. I used to cry every day because I couldn’t believe what happened to me. Now I am not crying anymore.”
On January 2018, a violent mob who were dressed up as the army came into her town and targeted the town due to religious persecution. They raided the school, broke the door of the school down and told everyone to leave. Everyone in the school immediately ran. “We safely took all the kids out of the school. Luckily no one died.” Once everyone left, they burned the school down. “It was very bad. Everything I had was burnt – books, so many things, gone.” Not only did S.H.B watch her dream burn to the ground, but she lost her husband and became a single mother. “My husband was kidnapped that day, and they came back and told us he is dead. But we never saw the body or actually confirmed if he was dead or not.” She then took her two kids and went to the village where her stepmother lived.
“We were having a good life and then everything was brought down. My two kids and I used to sleep on the same bed in my stepmother’s house. I used to cry every day because I couldn’t believe what happened to me. Now I am not crying anymore.”
“Don’t give up, even when you lost everything. I lost my school, my job, my car, and my husband. I lost everything, but I am still alive. I was in a low place and now I am in a higher place.”
Months later, S.H.B was granted a traveler’s visa to the United States for two years, so she decided to come for a visit with her children. S.H.B and her kids came to Indiana to visit a friend of her stepmother’s. After they arrived, their friends told them she could apply for asylum. S.H.B did not originally intend to stay. She wanted to go back to Nigeria to be with her family, but S.H.B also knew that home was no longer safe, so she decided to apply for asylum in August 2019 thinking it would take many years to get approved, which is what she was told.
On June 2020, she was granted asylum status. When she received asylum, she also received a list of agencies and services that served asylum seekers. She called all of them and spent many hours on the phone, until someone referred her to Exodus Refugee. “Exodus supported me a lot. They provided me with financial support for 8 months through the Matching Grant Program and they gave me a laptop for my kids so they could do their e-learning.” S.H.B says that the staff at Exodus have been nothing but supportive. “Everyone is so kind and so helpful. They listen to me.”
Exodus also helped S.H.B find a job. Typically, the first job that clients receive is not their dream job, but S.H.B was placed in her dream job. She is currently a teacher’s assistant for a pre-K class in a daycare in Indianapolis. “This is the job that I wanted to do and how I wanted to spend my life. God helped me through Exodus.” S.H.B did not expect to ever teach again once she left Nigeria. “I thought I would have to let my dream go.”
S.H.B faced transportation barriers getting to work, so everyone in her daycare gifted her a car. Months later, her car broke down and the staff pitched in to buy her another used car. “I feel like the people that I work with are my family. I really love what I do.” She and her two children feel safe in Indianapolis, and they are proud to call Indianapolis home. “I hope my kids finish school, graduate, get married someday and have a family here. They are safe here.”
S.H.B’s advice for other people is, “I am always positive. I do not dwell on the past. I want to see the future.” She also added, “Don’t give up, even when you lost everything. I lost my school, my job, my car, and my husband. I lost everything, but I am still alive. I was in a low place and now I am in a higher place.”
