The home was officially opened by Pastor Wole Oladiyan in March 2009 in response to the clarion call of God to provide succor for women and children who are traumatized. The home known as "Refuge and Fortress" has indeed been true to its name. It has provided refuge and fortress for a lot of women and children as directed by God.
We have on staff, the President Mrs. Jaiye- Ojo, the Social worker, administrator, carers, security men, cleaner. We also have volunteers who come in from time to time to help. Our volunteers include among others, the Psychiatrists and counselors. All these women have been such a blessing to the home. Apostle Paul said I planted, Apollos watered but God made it grow.
We have a record of over 30 women both “ladies on the go” (non residential) and “ ladies in waiting “ (residential) and about 10 children passing through the home.
SUCCESS STORY
Ø Kadija was our very first lady to stay in the house. She was picked up at Oshodi under the bridge. She was taken to a psychiatrist in Yaba and Sandra the daughter(3years old) was taken to Little Saints Orphanage. Refuge and Fortress was sending money for her drugs and provisions and also for Sandra at the orphanage. Kadija, also known as Bunmi spent some months at the hospital with R&F paying all her bills. The workers’ strike in the hospital, led to the compulsory discharge of patients, made us to bring Kadija to R&F even when the facility was not fully ready. This was on the 14th of May 2009 . She stayed for a while and left. She comes in now and again to the home and we still give her aid.
Ø Sandra came back to us around July 2010 from Little Saints, and we’ll like to put on record, that she was properly taken care of. She has since been around and has been enrolled in a Christian Private school close to the Home and she is doing fine.
Ø Sis Toyin came in May 2009.She had problem in her marriage, had several miscarriages, and lost two pregnancies at the advanced stage under satanic manipulations. She also had a baby that she lost after 8 month. She has been separated from her husband since 1993.She was ministered to and admitted into the home. She was asked to go on a 7 days night praise and prayer for restoration and new beginning. When she came in she had difficulty sleeping but by the time she was leaving she could not only sleep at night she could sleep day time. She spent about 3 months with us after which she left. She wrote a letter appreciation the home and all what God has done in her life. She came again and spent about a week with us. She has been getting in touch with us since then.
Ø Sis. Evelyn was introduced to us by her brother who read our story from the news paper. She had left her marriage about 6 years before getting to us. Sister Evelyn an architect walked out of her home in London to come to Nigeria. She spent about a week with us. Her first day, she met with Mrs. Jaiye Ojo who counseled her and led her to give her life to God. She got baptized by the Holy Spirit immediately with the evidence of speaking in tongues. While in the home she started to pray in tongues a lot. This was a new beginning for God had corrected her with love and reassured her that He was her Father. She found rest and peace again. Glory is to God.
Ø Sister Ebere came in with her daughter Rhema. They stayed in the home for 3 days. She was married but had a brother- in- law who was causing her a lot of pain and friction between her and her husband. She was counseled by Pastor (Mrs.) Eworo, one of our volunteers, and got her healing immediately and went back a different person to her home. According to her, she will apply everything she had learnt during her short stay to her marriage and her everyday life.
Ø Titilayo Olufemi came into the home in April 2010. She came with five months pregnancy. She was referred to the home through one Prophetess Shekinah who is a friend of the home.
Ø This woman had five children from her first marriage, but lost two of them which included her only son and also lost her husband. The husband’s family left her with nothing because she has no male child. She came to Lagos to start another life. In the process, she went back into the world and wined and dined with the devil. The fifth man she came across, actually married her and she became pregnant for him.
Ø As soon as she became pregnant, things took a new turn. She realize that her husband was an occultist and needed her and her feotus for ritual. She became so frustrated that she attempted suicide three times. Infact, she drank soda when the pregnancy was two months and bled profusely.
Ø When she came to the home, she came with a ring she wore on one of her fingers and it was discovered that it was a ring used to tie the pregnancy, and was told that she will never have a safe delivery without returning to the and the man that impregnated her abandoned her after attempting to use her and the foetus for ritual.
Ø She was referred to us by Prophetess Shekinah. She was about 7 months pregnant when she came into the house. She came into the home with a ring on her finger that was used to ‘tie’ the pregnancy. According to her the witch doctor, told her unless she returns for another ritual, she will not have a safe delivery, that infact, she will die.
Ø Even with this story, she was asked to remove the ring which she did reluctantly. The President who met with her asked to place her on communion every three hours. To the glory of God, we started seeing changes and pregnancy that wasn’t growing started to grow.
Ø When the time to deliver came, it was a serious battle as she had been told several times by her fake prophets that she will die. Infact, unknown to us in the home, she was still consulting with her fake prophets, particularly, the “alfa”. This we got to know from her testimony later. According to her story, she said there was a day she was given a ritual to carry out by midnight at any “T” junction, but that was the night the President gave an instruction that nobody must go out of the gate without her permission henceforth. This made her miserable. Also at another time, her phone was taken off her and that broke the communication between her and these prophets.
Ø However, it brought about a new beginning for her as she was now able to concentrate on all teachings and counselling. On the day of delivery, she was at the hospital around 7am but she didn’t allow the doctors to operate her until after 12am of the following day, which was 12th of June 2010. The delivery process was less than an hour. God confirmed His word given to the President that “ the living will come out of the living” and took all the glory against every prophecy of death. She was delivered through a Caesarean Section. The baby weighed 700grammes at birth but by the time she was 3 months she was over 4 kilos. We call her the miracle baby as she would not take any drug but communion and anointing oil and breast milk. The baby was named Anuoluwapo.
Ø Anu’s story is full of mysteries. When she was born in the hospital, unknown to us, there was no incubator and so she had to survive without the use of an incubator at her miracle weight of 0.7 kilos. She was given an injection which had never been done before, and of course the doctors were unsure if little Anu would survive. But she did. Now, Anu doesn’t even accept drugs/medications except Holy Communion, anointing oil and breast milk.
Ø Sister Titilayo stayed up to six months with us and while she was here her children were attending school and were taken care of. She and her baby and other 3 children were very well when they left the home. They were handed over to her Pastor and her aged mother. They were given among other things, a sum of Ten thousand naira (N10,000.00), provisions to last at least a month and a carton of Nunu milk.
Ø Miss Gift Michael was brought to us by the Women Intercessors International Fellowship (WIIF). She was 7 months pregnant at age 15 when she came in. After a section with our social worker, we found out that she never knew who her father is. Her mother has been sending out as house help since age six. We were told her step father refused her leaving with them.
Ø Gift was taken to an Osun priestess to work, and was initiated to be carrying calabash. She also was learning to sew. The priestess we were told at the point of initiation that if she goes to a man for sex she will die but if a man comes to her for sex he will die. And so one day on her way home, she was raped and the guy who raped her died. She ran home and too afraid to her boss what happened, even though she suspected. The woman sent her away and she was taken to another place to work. This time, it was a medical doctor, who later discovered she was pregnant . It was the doctor’s sister- a member of WIIF who mentioned the case to WIIF President.
Ø Gift’s mother was informed by the doctor about the state of her child but wasn’t bothered rather asked for her salary. The doctor felt uncomfortable with the mother’s attitude and so refused to release the girl to her. WIIF and WAPA got involved.
Ø When she came in we immediately registered her at the General hospital at Ifako. She eventually had a baby boy Michael Abraham through a cesarean section on the 11th of July 2010. She still lives in the home with her baby and they are doing fine. Presently she is taking lessons on reading and writing.
Ø Sis Taiwo -She was a former banker that was retrenched by the bank. She came to the home a depressed woman. She had issues with her husband and her siblings wanted her to walk out of the marriage, coupled with the fact that her family was facing serious financial crisis. So she was torn between both parties. The very first day she came in the president met with her and after prayers, she got her deliverance immediately. She was a blessing to the home until she left to be reunite with her loving husband and children. One of our partners gave her N50,000.00 .
v With The ladies on the go (non residential) too there have been a lot of testimonies. A lot of marriages have been mended; relationships have been tightened all from counseling and renewing the minds of these women. We have been able to provide for the material need of some as well. Indeed our God has been merciful and awesome to us.
v Another progress made is the employment of an Administrator for Refuge and Fortress. This is a follow up on the strategic meeting we had early in the year. This has made all the difference in our work.
CHALLENGES
v We had and still has a lot of problems with the proper finishing of the accommodation which affected our smooth take off and also enjoying the facility to its maximum. For instance, we still have water and plumbing problems, some areas are yet to be completed. The lightings are bad, the locks are bad, the electrical wiring giving problems and a host of others that we have complained both to the agent and the owner.
v Due to the health challenge I faced in early 2009 that took me out of the country for almost a year, gave the work a great set back. This was because, we barely started when I travelled and had no solid structure on ground in addition to unfaithfulness of staffs on ground. But thank God the story is not the same today.
v Getting the right hand for the home has been a great challenge.
WAY FORWARD
v We need to get more people to partner with us financially and spiritually.
v The project is highly capital intensive. We need more funding and partners in order to achieve great heights. Also for the women who live the home, we need to empower them so they can stand on their own when they go out there so depression doesn’t set in again. We also have a back log of medical bills that we have incurred that we need to pay up.
v Our audio-visual library where women can come in sit and listen to or watch mind renewing tapes/ CDs needs to be put in place. The cost to do this is about Three hundred thousand to be set up and this is a very vital aspect of our work. Also we need office chairs, tables and a number of things as attached, to be done.
v What God has permitted us to do in the last nine months is an indication of what He is set to do in the coming year.
v We have started classes for the women and children in the home. This is based on transforming the minds. The result has been awesome.
v There are individuals and some organization partnering with us now and again, God bless them, but we need more for the harvest is ripe but laborers are few.
God bless you.
Adebola Jaiye Ojo
President
Refuge and Fortress
No comments:
Post a Comment