Street children in Jos, Nigeria, come from poor families with too many children and no food. They also come from broken homes where the dad moved to Lagos or mum just walked out. And from villages bound by superstition where youth get the blame when someone dies. There are gangs and beggars and boys who work the streets to generate alms income for the local mallum. No one thought of doing much about these kids until the mid 1990s when SIM missionaries decided to offer them food. It started as once a week and grew. Soon children came for food, medicine and genuine care. They also heard about Christ.
A downtown centre materialized with the name “Gidan Bege” meaning “House of Hope” in Hausa. It offered real hope for children and others.Widows, lepers, orphans, cripples and the generally marginalized, all found help. Children without homes soon had one as the work expanded to include CARE centres, residences built just for the kids. Within a few years City Ministries spread to additional cities following the pattern started in Jos. The result was several more “Gidan Bege” centres.
The ministry stays with the child or adult providing discipleship, education and the tools needed to become independent. In the case of needy children, extended family or family connections provide an avenue to return or “reconcile” back to regular Nigerian life whenever possible. Spiritual guidance is the key and the basic reason for all the work at City Ministries. See the results in the faces and lives of the hundreds in the programme.Witness it especially as a child first walks into Gidan Bege and meets with a staff person: a meeting that often leads to a prayer to receive Jesus.
Vision:To provide a safe haven for the destitute and homeless. To reach out with food, shelter and medical help to those with no other place to go. To love, educate and bring each of these to the Saviour.
Other aspects of this ministry are 'King's Kids' which focuses on needy children, and 'City Sports' which uses sport to reach young people. City Ministries ministers in the Nigerian cities of Jos, Kano, Katsina, Kafanchan, Sokoto, and Kaduna. It currently has more than 250 full-time, part-time, and volunteer workers that share the love of God with thousands in need. The vision of the ministry is to expand to every major city in the middle belt and north of Nigeria and eventually into Niger and other African countries.
Gidan Bege
There are now almost 200 boys living in care centres run by Nigerian and missionary staff of Gidan Bege. Gidan Bege means 'House of Hope' in the Hausa language. Many are orphans and others come from situations where they were neglected and abused. Malnourishment, parasites, malaria 
and rashes are common illnesses. In addition to their physical problems, many are also suspicious and fearful. Living on the streets means they have highly developed survival skills and it takes a long time to win their trust and confidence. Yet the staff and many volunteers at the Gidan Bege Transitional Home are thrilled at the spiritual, emotional and physical transformation in the children who have come through this 'House of Hope.'
Today, Gidan Bege has grown to include outreaches to the physically handicapped, wheelbarrow men, the deaf, orphans, street children, lepers, and diseased. Blind and beggar women have a special meal programme on Wednesdays with their 'guide girls' and children. Food, medicine, clothes, beds, literacy classes, vocational training, scholarships, health care, love, safety and acceptance--Gidan Bege, Home of Hope, is a place where the poor and needy on the streets of West Africa's largest nation can meet Jesus in the loving words and gentle touch of the volunteers and staff.
King's Kids
When Gidan Bege finds needy children, King's Kids trains them through CARE Centres and schools for needy Nigerian missionary kids. The buildings and land in each of these cities are called CARE (Children At Risk Educational) Centres. Each CARE Centre will house about 100 children with a monthly operating cost of about £1,800. Currently 75 street kids and orphans live in CARE centres in each of two locations, and we minister to several hundred others on a weekly basis. Participation from the local community is strong.
City Sports
This urban ministry uses sports to reach young people. City Sports has teams that compete, share the gospel, and bring discipleship, while also training local churches to develop teams to do the same.
