My name is Ruth. I am a single mother, with a child. In 2022, I moved to Abuja for job-hunting. After my relocation, I stayed in a friend’s apartment. She also helped me get a job at the hospital where she worked. And in January, 2023, I was able to get a single room for myself, after saving up for months.

The year after, I brought a teenage girl, Cynthia, to live with my daughter and I, so she didn’t have to worry about not having siblings. Everything was beginning to walk towards perfection on my end. However, on the 31st of January 2024, I got a call from from Cynthia. My house was in flames, literally. With the help of the driver at my workplace, I was able to rush to the scene. I went into my room and and everything laid in ruins.

All I had labored for was now burning to the ground. I cried so much that memories of my father’s house being demolished by the government, hit me. It was then I began to question God. But another question was thrown at me: what would have happened if someone was lost in the fire? That night, I wept, but this time, with praise in my heart. It was there I handed my burdens to God, while playing “Ebenezer,” by Nathaniel bassey.

I have been calm ever since. People donated clothes to me and a place to stay (temporarily.) I am grateful to God because he had given me the strength to look beyond what I had lost. Although I am yet to fully heal from this experience, I am glad to be alive to share my testimony and how I overcame.