It was midnight when the first gunshots rang out…

Abraham had been warned that Fulani militants were planning to attack his village in Benue State, northern Nigeria, so he’d sent his wife and three children to safety. But he could not save his brother…

“They shot him through the door of his home, then he came outside and they shot him in the head.” In that moment, Abraham ran. “I fell into a ditch and leaves hid me. My life was spared.”

That was more than three years ago. Since then, Abraham and his family have lived in a tiny makeshift tent in Ichwa, a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs). It’s too dangerous to go home.

“The Fulani attackers want to take over our land. Their agenda is to Islamise us,” said Abraham. “Until we accept, they swear to kill every last one of us.”

His family is among 16.2 million Christians across Sub-Saharan Africa forced from their homes by violent persecution. Life is a constant struggle for survival.

“When your child cries of hunger, you wonder about your life as a parent,” said Abraham. He’s given up his hope of going to university, and his children can’t go to school either. There’s never enough food. And 3,000 people in the camp share just 15 toilets.

“We suffer very much in this camp and pray God sends angels to our rescue,” said Abraham. “I still have God and He is still on the throne. I pray he should not forget us.”