Disciples put their lives back together in Abidjan
By Mark Ottenweller
August 20, 2012 - I am emailing this from the HOPE worldwide Cybercafe in Cocody, a suburb of Abidjan. This year six students with $10,000 of funding from the Relief and Recovery program of HOPE worldwide started the “Cybercafe,” which provides internet access, computer training, printing, photocopy, and many other services.
The Cybercafe is managed and staffed by six student disciples from the National University in Abidjan whose lives and plans were severely impacted by the civil war last year in Abidjan. Classes may restart this year but all of the students have been out of school since the war. I’m happy to report that the Cybercafe is doing well and has grown to serve 60 customers with 10 computers each day. Currently, it is generating $1,000 in profit per month, which provides food, housing and basic necessities for these students.
More than 50 student disciples have been employed in activities made possible by the many contributions from our church family and the efforts of HOPE worldwide. In addition, many of the 210 disciples on campus have no other means of support and they are receiving food and housing until classes resume. A number of the brothers live in tiny apartments where as many as five sleep on the floor amid piles of textbooks. Desire, the campus ministry leader, says "The students have been devastated by the civil war but now they have food, jobs, income, housing and hope. Please continue to pray for them."
We hope that you will continue to pray for the church and the disciples in Abidjan since violence and revenge attacks by the opposition have recently re-emerged in the city.