As more than half a million refugees seek shelter throughout northeastern Africa, longtime Nazarene missionaries Gabor* and Tafui* Buhari are employing innovative ways to serve them: radio broadcast, training in handicrafts, and reuniting separated family members.

One of the tools they have found most effective is radio ministry. Through radio, Gabor, Tafui, and their partners are reaching areas near and far, especially those they cannot easily or safely travel to. Nazarene in East Africa transmit radio programs through World Mission Broadcast in 11 native languages, reaching thousands of listeners every week. Counterintuitively, the radio programs that are broadcast to camps made up of refugees and local communities from other faith groups do not include explicit gospel messages. There is a lack of openness to Christianity among these groups. Instead, programs cover subjects like reconciliation, peace, hope, love, public hygiene, relationships, family, and marriage. Through these neutral topics, the people find many needs met, and every message brings them God’s comfort.

“They’re scared,” Gabor explains. “They lack peace, so we talk about peace. They lack love; we talk about love. They lack hope; we talk about hope.”

For the rest of the story, see Engage magazine. 

*Names changed for security reasons