Life could’ve turned out drastically different for Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, two out of 276 girls in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria, that were abducted from the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School on April 24, 2014 by Boko Haram terrorists. However, the strength that both ladies possessed to not only escape capture but then go on to overcome any post-traumatic stress proved to be greater than anything that may been taken or done to them. As a testament to that, both Joy and Lydia have both now graduated college from Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL.
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The journey wasn’t an easy feat in the least bit, but anything is possible with a little determination and faith to assist along the way. Bishara even remembers making a deal with God if he let her live according to WFLA, with her quoted as saying, “I had to make the decision if I wanted to jump out and die or go with these people. My choices were die or go with them. Not knowing what they would do with me, I chose to die.” The jump she’s talking about is in reference to the literal one that her, Pogu and 57 other girls who were able to escape the kidnapper’s moving trucks had to do. Sadly, more than 100 of the Chibok girls still remain missing based off a report by columnist Akin Ojumu for The Guardian.
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson played a key role in getting these girls the education they deserved, first visiting the girls to offer them a high school experience in America, which led to a move to Virginia for their freshman year. After eventually graduating from a high school in Oregon, both Bishara and Pogu received scholarships to attend Southeastern University.
Cheers to these ladies! The Black America Web crew is so proud of you both.
Two Boko Haram Kidnap Survivors Defy The Odds And Graduate College was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
