How the Council Works

The Nigeria Faithful Works (NFW) Council meets as needed, usually twice a year, in different locations. The agenda includes updates and planning for future projects. The Council’s intention is to make decisions after all points of view have been heard.

Requests come to the Council from our partners in Nigeria. Donations to fund projects come from friends of Nigeria—missionaries, missionary kids (MKs), their relatives and friends, churches, and other groups. Donations are tax-exempt and go directly to the projects in Nigeria. Since Council members volunteer, we have low administrative costs.

I am pleased to be returning to the NFW leadership team! It is exciting to learn of the newest projects that we are undertaking in Nigeria. NFW offers a direct and specific way for me to be involved in making a difference in my adopted homeland. I continue to appreciate the partnerships we have forged among ourselves and with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. My husband, Bob, daughter, Anne, and I continue to enjoy living in Northern Virginia where I work as a pastoral counselor. Our son, Neil, lives in south Florida. The diversity of peoples and cultures in the Washington, DC area reminds me of the wonderful world in which we live. I shall always be grateful for the years I lived in Nigeria and how my experiences there widened the landscape of my life. Email Becky.

I grew up in Nigeria. My parents, Wallace and Pearl DuVall, were assigned as missionaries to Newton School in Oshogbo. They arrived shortly after the school opened in 1956 and served until it closed with a final year in the city of Jos. I left Nigeria before their final tour but returned to help dismantle the school during my senior trip in the summer of 1970. I was disconnected from the mission family for a long time due to the pressures of medical training, raising a family and life as a physician in a small rural community. I have enjoyed renewing mission contacts through the reunions and participation in NFW projects.

My wife, Cindy, and I went with the group to the BMCO Centennial Celebration in March of 2007. This experience gave me a sense of peace regarding the sacrifices made by so many missionaries and MKs alike as we saw the churches thriving under indigenous leadership. However, we were saddened by the deterioration of the infrastructure and the difficult economic times in Nigeria. We hope that our ongoing participation in NFW can help to address some of these issues. Email David.

I was born in South Carolina, and at the age of one, went with my parents J. W. and Margaret Richardson to Nigeria in 1945 as World War II was ending. Our home for a few months was the ‘Gilliland’ house in Ogbomoso. My mom filled in as the only physician at the hospital when the other doctor accompanied a sick missionary to the US. Our family then settled in Saki for many years. We kids often went with Pop to visit Fulani villages in the bush, and to see Mom at the small dispensary in town. I attended Newton Memorial School in the late 1950s with my brothers Jarry and Walt. Ed, my youngest brother, was born in the US and returned to Nigeria with the family at thte time I stayed behind to finish high school in the MK house in Louisville. Although my family lived in Zaria, Kontagora and Ogbomoso, Saki is my home town, and the music of Yoruba was my second language.

I am an organization development consultant, and live in Columbia, SC. I enjoy painting, writing, and my Friends Meeting. I have a grown daughter and son who are twins. I returned to visit Nigeria in 2005 with my daughter Jennifer. NFW has provided an important way for me to reconnect with my Nigerian roots and to work with others to support Nigerian friends in their continued commitment to faith and community. Email Gita.

I was first interested in the NFW’s involvement with the water well project at Ogbomoso Hospital. When they made an appeal for help with that project I made a small donation. I stayed informed about projects and asked occasional questions. I guess some of my interest led to my being asked to serve on the board. The more educated I have become about all the ways that NFW is trying to help in Nigeria, the better I understand what a daunting task it is for NFW to choose which few places to get involved. Email Steven.

Like many American/Nigerian MKs, I am omo Ogbomoso (child of Ogbomoso). Nigeria—where I spent most of my girlhood, in Ogbomoso, Oshogbo, and Eku— is the sweetest earth to me. I was very sick for a time ten years ago and made a promise to go home if I lived. I made the commitment in part because I had written a book and claimed Nigeria as home. I thought I should make good on my claim. I ended up taking two trips and am getting ready to make another with my son, Joel. The two lasting impressions I gained were of great needs for basic necessities in Nigeria and the enduring graciousness of Nigerian people, though life for the majority is exceedingly difficult. Other MKs have made NFW work and I am ever grateful to them. NFW is church for me, a community through which I affirm my faith in the family of God. It is also a tutorial in my parents (Lloyd and Anne Neils) lives, as I work with others, negotiating priorities, learning to respond wisely to complex needs and gifts not yet realized. NFW provides a reunion with my past and a new living history with Nigerian friends. Email Elaine.

I was born in Ogbomoso, Nigeria at Frances Jones Nursing Home to Mel and Lil Wasson, delivered by Dr. Martha Gilliland. At that time, my parents were house parents at Newton Memorial School in Osogbo. After returning from furlough, my family lived in Ogbomoso until 1969. Many wonderful memories are from Ogbomoso, the home of my childhood. In April 2006, after seeing and appreciating the good work that NFW had already accomplished and feeling the need to help, I accepted the position to be on the NFW Council. Like many missionary kids (MKs), I have a personal interest in wanting to help my original homeland. Being a participant in an organization involved in providing life-sustaining projects to the Nigerian people is a real blessing. It makes me feel that the work of our missionary parents is continuing on through the Nigerian people. Email Ron.

I was born in 1954 in Birmingham to Carl and Enid Whirley, but I did not first get to Nigeria until 1956. From that point until 1971 I spent most of the time in Nigeria, living in both the northern and western regions of the country. In 2005 I was asked by the guiding council of Nigeria Faithful Works to help make a presentation of the group and the work for the annual reunion of the Baptist Mission Nigeria in Shocco Springs, Alabama. I consented and started attending the regular meetings. To me, the idea of enabling our Nigerian friends to get some solid work done on infrastructure projects that will outlast us all is very appealing. We are not just giving gifts, but we are partnering with people who have demonstrated their own integrity by continuing to deliver outstanding service in many fields despite very challenging conditions. I can be pleased that a difference is being made in the home of my childhood, but I can also learn from the faithfulness and perseverance of those that are working with us in Nigeria, and from my friends on the NFW council. Email Phil.

 

 

I am pleased to be returning to the NFW leadership team!  It is exciting to learn of the newest projects that we are undertaking in Nigeria.  NFW offers a direct and specific way for me to be involved in making a difference in my adopted homeland.  I continue to appreciate the partnerships we have forged among ourselves and with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria.  My husband, Bob, daughter, Anne, and I enjoy living in Northern Virginia where I work as a pastoral counselor.  Our son, Neil, lives in south Florida.  The diversity of peoples and cultures in the Washington, DC area reminds me of the wonderful world in which we live.  I shall always be grateful for the years I lived in Nigeria and how my experiences there widened the landscape of my life.

I grew up in Nigeria.  My parents, Wallace and Pearl DuVall, were assigned as missionaries to Newton School in Oshogbo.  They arrived shortly after the school opened in 1956 and served until it closed with a final year in the city of Jos.  I left Nigeria before their final tour but returned to help dismantle the school during  the summer of 1970.  I was disconnected from the mission family for a long time due to the pressures of medical training, raising a family and life as a physician in a small rural community.  I have enjoyed renewing mission contacts through the reunions and participation in NFW projects.  My wife and I went to the BMCO Centennial Celebration in 2007.  This experience gave me a sense of peace regarding the sacrifices made by so many missionaries and MKs alike as we saw the churches thriving under indigenous leadership, despite the difficult economic times.  We hope that our ongoing participation in NFW can be truly helpful in lasting ways.

My many ties to Nigeria and Nigerians have been a valuable part of my life.  As a child I lived in Ogbomoso, Saki, Kaduna, Kontagora and Osogbo.  After college I was a teacher in Osogbo for two years.  In 2007 I attended the 100th anniversary of the hospital in Ogbomoso and visited other cities as well, re-establishing ties with special lifelong friends and making new friends, too.  It has been very gratifying to serve on the NFW council, building relationships with Nigerian partners and working with them on projects that provide practical solutions to challenging problems.  I live in Blacksburg, Virginia with my wife, and recently retired after a career with the Red Cross and the YMCA.

I was a missionary kid in Nigeria from 1958 through 1964, first in Warri and then in Ibadan where my father was manager of the Nigerian Baptist Press.  Our time in Nigeria was cut short when we had to  return to the US due to my mother’s illness. After college (made possible by contacts with a former Nigerian missionary) I worked in Quality Assurance in the pharmaceutical industry for about 35 years.  Growing up hearing the Queen’s English and living in a different culture often helped me to negotiate meeting the requirements to release product in countries around the world. Some of my deepest memories are of Nigeria–the people, the country, and the missionaries who worked there. We were there when Nigeria gained her independence in 1960 and observed the high hopes of the people. Those hopes were supported by the hospitals, schools, and seminaries established by the Nigerian Baptist Mission. I am proud to work with Nigeria Faithful Works to help maintain that hope with practical help to Nigerians who continue to work under difficult conditions.