Religious leaders in Nigeria have great authority – for better or for worse.
EXIST collaborates with networks within both the Christian and Muslim networks that want to collaborate on a joint effort against human trafficking.
The population is 250 million people, half of whom are Christians and half are Muslims. Muslims live in the northern part of Nigeria and Christians in the southern part.
MeCAHT and EXIST took the initiative to meet with 20 senior leaders from each of the two religious networks. It became a groundbreaking 3-day conference with 40 participants – evenly divided between genders.
The program offered presentations, discussions in plenary and in small groups. Not least, the community around meals provided an opportunity for in-depth dialogues.
One of the important purposes of the conference was to specify actions that would contribute to activities within the next 12 months.
At the end of the conference, a document was signed to align mutual expectations.
Subsequently, the material was produced: An Inter-Faith Training Manual. The manual clarifies what the Quran and the Bible respectively say about human trafficking and it contains educational material that can be used in churches and mosques, at high schools and universities, in clubs and associations – all to educate about human trafficking and offer opportunities for engagement.