Who lives there?
There are a number of people groups thatย stretch across country borders in West Africa.ย One of the most familiar groups for Westernย readers may be the Moors or Bidhan, knownย for their expansion into Spain. Another largeย group in the region are the Mand, whoย have many sub-groups, but who are unitedย through their strong Islamic beliefs.
What do they believe?
Across Francophone West Africa there areย handfuls of local believers, estimated to beย between 50-150 in number per country.ย Whilst there are African and Westernย missionaries in the area, entire communitiesย in the interior still have no viable Christianย witness. The spiritual climate of the areaย is strongly Islamic, with the Joshua projectย suggesting that 99.5% follow Islam.ย However, due to poor infrastructure and lowย educational levels, young people are growingย increasingly disgruntled with life and the lackย of governmental action.This has led largeย numbers of young people to turn to atheism.
What is AIM doing?
In 2021, AIM sent an initial team to this areaย to explore opportunities, with the result thatย we are now looking to initiate ministry inย West Africa. In many places in Francophoneย West Africa, traditional mission work is notย welcomed by the authorities. However, theย economic situation means that there areย numerous business and social opportunitiesย for Christian workers to get involved in whichย have been welcomed by the state. We areย looking to partner with churches in the UKย and Europe to raise up a team of workers toย go and start ministry.
