The General Overseer of the Christ Evangelical and Life Intervention church, Pastor Yohanna Buru, has distributed sallah clothes, food items and cash gifts to Muslim orphans and widows for the Eid-el-Fitr festivities.
Buru said the church supported about 50 orphans to celebrate the Sallah with joy and happiness like other children.
According to him, this is not the first time the church is sewing new clothes and giving out foodstuffs to the orphans and widows.
He said: “We are doing this to promote religious tolerance and foster peaceful coexistence among different faith-based organisations in the country.
“It is aimed at strengthening relationship between Christians and Muslims in the country and to promote peace, unity, forgiveness among the adherence of the two religions.”
The cleric also felicitated with Muslims all over the world on the successful completion of the the 30 days fasting and prayers.
He said the church cannot forget the annual contribution of a Muslim woman, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, for remembering the church widows and orphans with food stuffs and gifts at Christmas and also pastors and other people.
According to Buru, for the past years, Tijjani has been sharing Christmas food stuffs and other gifts to church members.
Buru said that they would share more clothes to the poor orphans so that they could celebrate this Sallah with joy like every other child.
On the other hand, this year’s Sallah celebration comes amidst increase in foodstuff prices in the markets and the general insecurity challenges bedeviling the country.
He urged Muslim and Christian clerics to intensify prayers for peace and stability in the country.
He congratulated the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, Sheik Zazzaky Yakub Elzazzaky, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, Sheik Hamza lawal and Sheik Dr Ahmed Mahmud Gumi and other top Islamic scholars for the completions of the Ramadan fasting.
Buru said that they are going to extend friendship visits during the Sallah holidays to their Muslim counterparts in order to boost Christian/Muslim relationship in the country.
Responding, one of the orphans who received the donations thanked Pastor Buru for remembering them.
He said that last year, it was the same pastor who gave him new Sallah clothes, food and little money for celebrations.
He called on governments to always remember the orphans, widows and children and the internally displaced persons.
