Rachel Lindsay, left, greets the chief in Gambaga, whose community oversees the Gambaga Go Home Project.
The YIM team, pictured here with the entire Gambaga Go Home Project participants and staff.
A few days ago, the Youth in Mission (YIM) team got the amazing opportunity to visit the Gambaga Go Home Project that is funded by Presbyterian World Service and Development. This fantastic program helps women who have been accused of witchcraft. They provide the women a safe place to stay, and help with education in their home communities, so that they can safely return home, if possible. If not, they remain in their new community in Gambaga and treated as family. Upon entering the village of Gambaga, we first had to meet with the chief. He had granted us special permission to meet with him on a Friday, as he is Muslim and Fridays is their day of rest and therefore normal meetings would normally not be given, because of the value he put on our partnership with The Presbyterian Church in Canada. To greet the chief the proper procedure is to squat down and clap your hands, he then asked us to rise and shake hands. He was incredibly gracious in welcoming us to the community. We entered the village, and met with the women of the program in a small building. The women greeted us with a song and dance, we all introduced ourselves, and they told us some of their stories.
One woman was accused of being a witch by her own grandson, who said he had a dream of her harming him. She had to flee her home for her own safety. She was integrated back to her community, but had to leave again when her grandson tried to kill her by strangling her while she slept. Upon arrival both times she was welcomed by the chief and the other women, where they now take care of her as she is elderly (90 years old). To this day her family refuses to help and accept her back into her community. Amidst all the darkness she has faced in her life and having to leave her home forever she remains strong and is happy because she has food to eat and is in a safe place. To use her own words, “I am grateful for this program for without it I would be dead.”
The women are incredibly strong. They still have very little but are very grateful for the program which gives them a safe place to live. One of the women told us that she had not eaten supper the night before as she had chosen to feed her children, instead of feeding herself. This speaks volumes to how selfless these women are and how much they deserve a safe place to live with their children. It also shows that there is still work to be done both in the Gambaga program and in the tribal communities still dealing with witchcraft. These women are an inspiration to us and we are so thankful, and honoured that they shared their stories with us.
—– Laura Ingle and Rachel Lindsay
