My name is Hanatou. I was born and raised in East Africa, and today I live and serve in West Africa. In May 2026, I had the privilege of organizing a regional gathering for West African leaders in Senegal, bringing together indigenous leaders from across the Sahel. But the story behind that moment began many years earlier.
When I first came to the Sahel, I encountered a region marked by deep hardship—extreme heat, scarce resources, spiritual resistance, and communities shaped by long-standing religious and cultural strongholds. It was overwhelming. I knew in my heart that God loved these people and that He had not forgotten them, but I did not yet understand how I was meant to serve.
In that season, I found myself in what felt like silence. For five years, I was not actively building or leading in the way I had before. Coming from a vibrant ministry background in Kenya and other nations, where I had seen many people come to faith and experience healing, this season felt unfamiliar and even disorienting.
Yet in that quiet, I began to pray.
I carried a growing burden for the Sahel, wrestling with questions I could not answer. I saw the needs of the region, but I did not know the strategy. I felt as though something needed to be “birthed,” but nothing was coming forth.
Over time, the Lord began to reshape my understanding. I realized that what we needed was not only more activity, but deeper, more strategic prayer—prayer that listened, discerned, and responded to what God was already doing beneath the surface.
He showed me that the challenges in the region were not only visible, but deeply rooted. And I began to understand that breakthrough would require cooperation, discernment, and unity among local leaders who carried the same burden.
Slowly, God began connecting me with indigenous leaders across the Sahel—men and women who loved their communities and were committed to seeing transformation in their own nations. As we prayed together, a shared vision began to form.
We began to see the need for collaboration across borders, for leaders to come together, pray together, and identify the gaps that no one organization or individual could address alone.
That vision became reality in May 2026, when, by God’s grace and through the support of Partners International, we gathered leaders from Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Benin, and northern Nigeria in Senegal.
For the first time, many of these leaders were able to sit together, share openly, pray together, and commit to deeper collaboration. What had once been isolated efforts began to align. What had once felt scattered began to take shape as partnership.
As I looked around the room, I saw what I can only describe as the beginning of something new—leaders stepping into alignment after years of prayer, waiting, and faithful work in their own contexts.
There is still much to be done. The challenges in the Sahel remain significant. But I believe something has shifted. The ground is being prepared. Seeds are being planted in deeper soil. And a network of indigenous leaders is rising with renewed clarity and unity.
When I look at the Sahel now, I see what feels like the beginning of a forest.
My burden has not changed. I still long to see the people of this region know the fullness of life and peace in Christ. But I also see, more clearly than ever, that God is building something through His people that will continue beyond any one moment or gathering.
This is why I am here. And I will continue until I see lasting transformation take root across the Sahel.
