Côte d’Ivoire

As the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans, Côte d’Ivoire was once hailed as a model of stability. However, an armed rebellion in 2002 split the nation in two. Since then, peace deals alternated with renewed violence as the country slowly edged its way toward a political resolution of the conflict. The official language of Côte d’Ivoire is French, although around 60 native languages are also spoken here.

KEY CHALLENGES

Civil war has impacted every aspect of life and created a ripple effect of diminished resources for years. Nearly half of the population live below the poverty line. HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases are a part of daily life and gender inequality is rampant. Nearly one in four children do not complete primary school. If they make it to middle school, half drop out before advancing to high school. 

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our approach

We were never intended to live in poverty, divided against one another, with little hope for peace. In the Kingdom of God, poverty, violence, division, and hopelessness will not exist. We believe the Church is God’s primary transforming agent in the world, and that the local church exists to make its community more like the Kingdom of God.   

We partner with local indigenous leaders as they minister to the communities and cultures that they themselves are from. We start projects and programs in the hardest places and set up a plan for them to be self-sustaining in order for them to know independence and the value of reinvesting in their own communities.  

Read on to learn how communities are being transformed in Côte d’Ivoire. 

Our partners

Mission ONE has been working in West Africa since 2006 through our trusted partners at African Evangelical Christian Mission (AECM), led by Joseph and Graciah Ayigah. AECM focuses on discipleship, pastoral care through relationships, walking with broken families, and freedom from bondage through Christ. Through the local church, they have been able to establish schools and clinics to meet the needs of the community. They currently have over 100 pastors serving in Togo, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast. 
Portrait of an African ethnicity schoolgirl (age 13) in an educational environment in Bamako, Mali learning her lesson outdoors sitting on a desk and slightly smiling.

PROJECTS

Gozem Car Rental - The Gozem car rental project in Togo is financially supporting the work of the AECM ministry and its missionaries serving vulnerable communities in Côte d’Ivoire. 

Gospel Context

West Africa is a meeting point of different religions. Islam, Tribal religions, and Christianity all exist in the region, and often not peacefully. People living in pluralistic and tribal cultures are in tune with spiritual realities that we often miss in the "enlightened" West. The power of Jesus' death and resurrection is best applied when people see its capacity to address the struggles of their everyday lives, often associated with spirits.  

Learn more about the role of culture in contextualizing the gospel by reading The Global Gospel, written by Mission ONE Vice President, Werner Mischke. 

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