Please note:
POS Project – a brief history
By God’s grace, we came upon a pastor in Southern Nigeria, Pastor Ariko K., who now partners with our ministry. Over the past 2 years we discovered our goals were aligned with pastor Ariko in many ways. He is an evangelical pastor of 9 years, with a wife, and two children; a son by birth and a daughter. Their daughter was adopted from an IDP camp (Internally Displaced Persons), after having lost both her parents. Sadly, IDP refugees are all too common in Nigeria where, as of 2021, armed conflicts have forced an estimated 2 million people to flee their homes. Many families affected by the herdsmen / farmer conflicts and by the Muslim-based persecution of Christians (often in Northern Nigeria) wind up in IDP camps.
Pastor Ariko leads a small church in Southern Nigeria (Names and locations are withheld intentionally to protect those in higher risk areas). He also aids the homeless and poor, both widows and orphans, including supporting a local orphanage. And he does all this without any steady job or income! Work-the-Net’s idea to help was birthed out of this need, and their family’s heart for the community and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For more on the refugee issue, go here: https://www.iom.int/news/over-15000-internally-displaced-persons-immediate-need-shelter-flood-ravages-camps-northeast-nigeria
https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/africa/nigeria/nigeria-refugee-crisis-idps
What is the POS project?
Project Goals:
- Begin a fundraiser for Pastor Ariko, a pastor in Southern Nigeria, Africa, to acquire steady employment as a POS banking agent. The fundraising goal is roughly $8,000.
- We are seeking funds to give an interest free, bank-style micro-loan to Ariko. From this and aid from a mutual banking contact in Nigeria, Ariko will acquire the means to become a POS bank agent. The funds will cover 3 needs: the interest-free loan, business startup costs and administrative and overflow costs.
- This POS Agent job will provide long term, sustainable income to support his family, his church, their evangelism ministry and the community outreach to widows and others, including the support Ariko gives to a nearby orphanage with some 30 children.
- (Funds raised above the POS target goal will be used by WTN to fund & support similar projects and strengthen WTN’s ability to run these support efforts).
(What is a POS agent? A POS agent operates like a fee-based banking service (similar to Western Union or a check cashing agency). In Nigeria it is more challenging than here in the U.S. to acquire banking services. In 2013, The Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the Agent banking system, to help extend the services offered by banks to bank customers in remote, unbanked areas or underbanked communities.
But becoming a POS agent requires up-front capital. Like any banking institution, this liquidity of funds gives Ariko the means to provide banking transactions to customers).
For a better description of how a POS business/agency works, go here:
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” | Psalm 68:5
Strengthening churches is a primary goal at Work-the-Net.
Pastor Ariko, seen here, aiding a local widow.
Urgent Update: October 2022 Floods in Nigeria
The Summer and early Autumn have seen real progress on Work-the-Net’s POS project plans. But in mid-October, we got word from Nigeria of the severe floods in Niger and Benue river regions (Both North and South Nigeria).
Pastor Ariko’s region is also affected. We at Work-the-Net are scrambling to respond. Would you consider being more generous in the POS fundraiser? We would like to put together an additional $1,000 in immediate aid, to assist some families Pastor Ariko’s church are helping. God bless you for any kindness
There are no flood-related deaths in Ariko’s immediate area, praise God. But as you can see from the link below, parts of Nigeria did not fare so well.
This picture collage below is assembled from both pictures and video, sent back to us at Work-the-Net.
Work-the-Net 