I enta gbese becos I dey find miracle for Church - Woman lament

Evarline Okello start to dey cry as to how she don enta hundreds of dollars worth of debt sake of say she pay pastor to pray for am.

She dey live for inside shack for Kibera, wey be ghetto area for di Kenyan capital, Nairobi and she no fit fend for her fur pikin.

Ms Okello neva make shi-shi in months. So wen dem tell am about pastor wey im prayers fit make life bata, she helele go see am. E ask am for $115 (15,000 Kenyan Shillings).

Dem call am "seed offering", money you dey give religious leader to get sometin.

Ms Okello borrow di money from friend wey borrow as loan becos of her. Dem bin tell am say dis pastor prayer dey work sotay she go see di money more within one week.

But one week come, go, she no see any miracle. Infact, she say di mata don worse.

Di loan wey her friend collect for am don grow sake of unpaid interest.

She now dey owe pass $300 and no get any idea how she go settle dat gbese.

Her friend don stop to follow am tok and she still no get work.

She say "tins don hard sotay I don lose hope".

'Supernatural solutions'

Kenya don suffer wella from di cost-of-living crisis. Food prices in di last 12 months bifor September 2022, don rise by almost 16%, na wetin Kenya National Bureau of Statistics tok.

World Bank, howeva show di number of Kenyans wey no get work don double in di last seven years.

Dr Gladys Nyachieo wey be sociologist for Multimedia University of Kenya say, "pipo dey live very desperate lives".

She say dis na wetin ginger dem to dey find supernatural solutions sotay many don dey willing to pay for miracle even if dem need borrow di money.

She tok say, "pipo don dey hear say God no want make dem remain poor. So dem go plant seed".

Dis practice dey come from wetin dem dey call Prosperity Gospel, wey dem preach say God dey reward faith wit wealth and health.

Dem dey tell believers to show dia faith by giving money, wey dem tok say God go give dem back more dan double sef.

Di Prosperity Gospel dey come from America wia e gain ginger for di early 20th Century.

By di lats 70s and early 80s, Nigerian pastors start to dey go America to learn more about am and for early 2000s, e don popular across Africa.

American evangelists like Reinhard Bonke na some of di pipo wey drive di movement as im drag big crowds from Lagos and Nairobi. Di popularity still dey rise till today.

Dr Nyachieo also say anoda factor wey dey make pipo enta debt na di offer of loans wet just dey enta Kenya pipo phones.

She say, "pipo fit just apply and get di money".

Na wetin happun to 26 year old Dennis Opili. Afta three years without work, and wit serious low morale, e ask make im friend epp am.

Mr Opili say, "e tell me say church dey wia you fit go and dem go pray for you. You go give some offering and den dem go pray for you and you go get work .

Dem tell am make e give offering evri Sunday for three months and in total, e dash church about $180.

Wen im finish im savings, e borrow like $120 from in friends and cash apps.

"I believe wetin di pastor tell me say I go find job. So I no get kwente to borrow, becos for my mind soon I go get di money to pay am".

But wen no job come, oga Opili start to suspect say dem don dupe am.

Soon loan companies start to dey chase am for dia money.

E say, "sometimes, I go just dey siddon one place, relax dey tink oda tins. Den pesin go call you say make you pay dem dia money and you no get shi-shi to use pay dem".

E add say, "I bin fear becos you no no know wetin dem go do if you no pay dem. You no know weda dem go sue you or lock you for police station".

Lucky for am, e don manage find small work wey don help am pay part of di money, both for loan companies and im friends.

E say, "I still very much believe in God. Na to dey more careful now be my own".

Pressure to dey give

No be only for Kenya, pipo dey enta gbese for miracle. One woman wey bin dey enta Nigerian church say she and her husband enta ogbonge financial give-give including di expectation to make seed offering or "sow seed".

"Sarah" no wan use her real name or wia she dey stay for southern US sake of fear say d church or dia lawyers go come for am.

She say both di members and local pastors for her former church bin dey expected to give "tithe" of 10% of di monthly income to finance di church and dia Nigerian leadership.

And dem come as wetin dem call "first fruit", wey be di whole money dem make for di first month of di year.

She say dem dey give local leaders wey make dem give dia members pressure to sow seed. Dem tell members say dem go collect blessing from di head pastor for Nigeria.

Sarah say she see pipo wey pay for dia "seed money" wit dia credit cards for church services.

She say "I remember one time for di church, one lady say, 'I don pay my tithe and e be like I still no get enof money for month end'."

Sarah say di pastor tell pipo say giving dey more important dan to pay rent. And she say anyone wey question why miracles no dey happen, dem go tell dem say "you no pray reach, you no sow seed reach. You no get enough faith."

She say dem bin ginger her husband make im leave am as she continue dey ask question, but instead, two of dem pack dia kaya comot di church.

Last Hope

So why oda pipo dey stay those kain churches?

Dr Jorg Haustein, wey be associate professor of World Christianities for di University of Cambridge, say e dey possible to understand why pipo continue dey give even wen, "di promises no dey happun as dem tok am".

For di middle class and upwardly mobile, like di ones wey dey go Sarah church, Dr Haustiein say Prosperity Gospel offer "air of economic success and upward mobility wey pipo dey find attractive".

E say but e fit also appeal to pipo wey dey live in poverty.

"A church wey say, 'we know say you dey suffer, and we get practical, attainable solution for you' go dey attractive pass one wey dey preach about some out there systemic change."

But why pipo go continue to give even wen e mean to enta gbese.

Dr Haustein ansa wit question say, "No be like to play lottery wen you no get money?"

"Na sometin wey be like e dey affordable becos you fit borrow some few hundred Kenyan shillings on phone to take invest and see weda e go help. Of course, desperation dey inside and e fit be di last best hope pesin have".

Back for Kenya, Evarline Okello say di experience no make am abandon her faith.

She say, "I go tok say church bad. Di church dey good. Na pastors dey do bad tin. Dem be di ones wey dey ask for money".