The presence of Christians in Niger is visible through charitable works that support the poorest in society and contribute to the development of the population. Our churches and houses are also well known to all due to the fact that we are a minority. So, in order to witness and live our faith in Jesus Christ, our pastoral activities remain focussed on the encounter with others and on the dialogue with them.

The fact that we are few in number helps us to come closer to each other in order to pool our prophetic efforts. Thus, the pastors’ association, composed of the 6 churches present in Konni, organises monthly meetings between pastors to keep us united.

This year, the invitation to the week of prayer for Christian unity was well received by the pastors of the other Christian churches. In order to have two full weeks of intense prayer for Christian unity, we started the prayer on Sunday 16 January at the Evangelical Church of Niger in Konni and on Sunday 23 January at the Catholic Church. We can only have a good number of faithful on Sundays.

The main message of these meetings was to renew ourselves in brotherly love, strengthen our unity and pray for the visible unity of the Church. We lit candles as a symbol of our hope in God.

Together we can be a shining witness that leads others to know and love Christ. The joy of being together in prayer was immense. We felt comforted and renewed in our fellowship and unity. This is how the desire to organise regular ecumenical prayers was born.

Valéry SINDAYIGAYA