Bring Our Girls Home

A community of change makers,

As Catalyst, we've chosen to let these five words carry our heartbeat. We've breathed them in, feeling the rush of adrenaline as the joy of possibility causes our minds to race, and we've sat in silence considering the reality of what such a bold statement could mean.

A community of change makers.

This statement leads to a fundamental belief, that there are moments that demand change, and therefore change makers. On April 15th, 276 girls between the ages of 15-18 were brutally kidnapped from their dormitory in northern Nigeria. Stolen at gunpoint to be auctioned off as wives, these girls were targeted specifically; chosen because their desire for an education offended the ignorant, accosted because their dreams of changing the world are more dangerous to their kidnappers than the guns the are now at the mercy of.

This was 22 days ago.

As parents have waited in agony, the corrupt Nigerian government has done nothing. Grieving mother and fathers, many of whom chased after the attackers running directly towards the exploding AK-47s with little more than sticks, have now turned their plea for help to the world.

"Please, bring our girls home."

A community of change makers, that’s who these girls are. They went to school every day knowing such a violent backlash was possible, and now they have paid an unjustifiable price for their dreams. It goes without saying that most of us will never face such evil, that the price for our freedom was paid for by our ancestors. Yet this does not free us from action today, it demands it. As the Church, we must not stand idly by, or worse, refuse to act beyond what is inconvenient to our daily lives. Call your congressman, your senator; go beyond yourself to urge the most powerful nation in the world to fight for 276 girls who cannot fight for themselves.

These girls deserve to be the change makers they believe they can be. They deserve to live preciously dangerous lives, reminders that no force of hatred and ignorance must ever be allowed to prevail as long as the people of God are willing to fight against it. No matter creed or color, these 276 girls are our sisters and our daughters now.

Please, bring our girls home.