Finding hope and purpose following crisis and trauma

Virda Banner Yakubu

Holding shoes made using skills learned during his time as a student of Living Hope Vocational School

Virda Banner Yakubu is one of the pioneer students of Living Hope vocational school. He is from Gwoza, Borno state Nigeria. Banner along with others, fled from Boko Haram. The militants beheaded his father and one other person after they refused to deny Christ. Boko Haram abducted Banner’s mother, two brothers and a sister. After a few weeks, they finally escaped. All these happenings traumatized Banner so much that he thought there is no meaning and purpose in his life other than to avenge the blood of his father.

After one year in shoe-making class with SALT teaching, and other activities, Banner finally let go of all his past to gain new hope. His goal is to be a role model in his society, by creating his own workshop center, and living a Godly life. Banner shared with us his plan for the following year, which is amazing. He said, “Next year God’s willing, I want to create my own small shop which will cost me about ₦100,000 ($280 USD) and I have already saved ₦25,300 ($71 USD) in our savings box now. I will still need to save ₦74,700 ($210 USD) which divided by 12 months means I need to earn and save ₦6,225 ($17 USD) every month, then I will have the money to start my own shop.” With the excitement on his face as he was sharing this with us, we can see he is working hard to achieve his goal of becoming self-sustainable.