Small structure aims for big impact

WINCHESTER, Va.—Students moseyed from their 9 a.m. classes onto the sidewalk leading to Shenandoah University’s student center on a recent fall morning. They warmed their arms in the light October breeze, looking up from their phones at the newest addition to campus. On the lawn, between the private university’s school buildings and cropped trees stood a green, tarp-covered structure, strapped together with bungee cords and 4-foot-square wood pallets. Near the front, a white sign invited passersby to “come inside.”

“All that’s missing in here is about eight people,” said Lou Ann Sabatier, communications director for the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, as she showed off the newly finished shelter.

The structure is a replica of an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) refugee hut, based on the living conditions of those fleeing violence from Boko Haram in Nigeria. It’s designed to help raise awareness of one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises. Wilberforce, an advocacy group seeking to advance international religious freedom, and Habitat for Humanity Winchester-Frederick-Clarke partnered with Shenandoah to launch the new educational initiative.

Over the last several years, Boko Haram has decimated Africa’s richest economy and most populated country. In northeast Nigeria, the Islamic militant group has killed thousands of Nigerians and displaced 2.3 million from their homes. According to the Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram is the deadliest terror group in the world, responsible for 51 percent of all terror-related killings in 2015.

The militants first targeted Christians and other minorities in the region but have begun killing fellow Muslims who don’t hold their radical interpretation of Islam.

Representatives from Wilberforce traveled to Nigeria in February to witness the fallout firsthand. In collaboration with Habitat for Humanity, the group decided to develop an immersive experience for schools and churches to raise awareness for the ongoing plight of Nigerians.

“The idea was to make an interactive platform where people can learn more what life is like in Nigeria as a result of Boko Haram,” said Matthew Peterson, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Winchester-Frederick-Clarke. “The goal is to replicate this all across the country.”

Shenandoah volunteered to host the first “Build Freedom” project. On a rainy Thursday afternoon, a handful of Shenandoah students and faculty built the shelter using instructions from Wilberforce and oversight from Habitat for Humanity builders. Once completed, Wilberforce representatives outfitted the structure with photos of Nigerian IDPs and materials telling students about what’s happening and what they can do to help.

Inside the hut, students can take a handout detailing specific prayer points, instructions on how to engage on social media and contact their congressman about the issue, and information on sponsoring a Nigerian child’s education.

Churches, schools, and other groups soon will be able to download a free digital kit containing everything they need to build a replica IDP hut. The kit contains step-by-step instructions on what materials to buy, how to construct the shelter with safety procedures from Habitat for Humanity, and photos and handouts groups can print out to decorate the shelter. Schools and churches can buy the needed materials for about $200 and have the flexibility to decorate the inside with whatever items they choose.

“We hope that this will be a productive way for those who are concerned about this issue to stand with Nigeria in a practical and meaningful way,” said Elijah Brown, Wilberforce’s executive vice president.

Keith Jones Pomeroy, Shenandoah’s spiritual life coordinator, said the school has had some advocacy events on campus in the past but usually they consist of a guest speaker or a onetime activity.

“I think this as a model is really effective,” he said. “It gives more students and opportunity to check it out on their own time. And also it’s visually and experientially striking.”

Christina Koenig, one of the five Shenandoah students who helped build the shelter, told me she got a lot of weird looks whiling trying her hand at construction. But she said it was a good experience because it prompted conversations with friends about an important issue.

“This is something that individuals and groups can own and really be a part of,” Sabatier said. “Anyone can watch a video, but this gives people a chance to really engage.”