Page 13 - Providence Christian College - Fall 2018

many of his fellow Nigerians claimed he would never achieve.
“Ever since I was seven years old, I would
tell all my friends that I wanted to study at
a school in America,” says Sheneni. “They would say, ‘America? But that’s so far! That’s a dead dream. That’s never going to happen.”
A West-African native, Sheneni was born and raised in Jos, Plateau, a bustling city
in the north central region of Nigeria, a country northwest of the Gulf of Guinea. With over 250 ethnic groups,[1] 300 tribes,[2] 520 different languages,[3] and 186 million inhabitants,[4] Nigeria is often referred to
as, “The Giant of Africa”, as it boasts the continent’s largest population, and the world’s seventh highest population overall.[5]
Despite its booming populous, Nigeria is one of the poorest countries in the world, with approximately 87 million Nigerians— nearly half of the nation’s citizens, estimated to be living on less than $1.90 per day.[6] In recent years, Nigeria’s extreme poverty has led to a lack of funding for schools, resulting in nationwide academic crises. To date, Nigeria has the largest number of children (nearly 10.5 million) who are not receiving a scholastic education.[7]
As a member of the Bassa Komu tribe, a people known for agriculture and farming, Sheneni grew up on a small patch of land in which he and his family cultivated vegetables and grains, such as millet and
cassava yams. Sheneni’s parents were missionaries, and, when they were not laboring over the farm crops, they were witnessing and teaching the Bible to the young, unsaved children in the nearby villages who did not have access to education.
“My father was a pastor and missionary,” says Sheneni. “As a pastor’s kid, we were always busy helping around the church
and serving the spiritual, educational, and physical needs of the families who were less fortunate than us. Out of that, I grew a heart for the gospel and for sharing the love of Christ with others.”
Both Sheneni and his father shared a love for missions work. In May 2015, the same year Sheneni graduated from high school, his father did an online study program with William Carey International University, flew to Los Angeles, and lived for a week on the same campus in which Providence Christian College was housed.
While studying in the William Carey
library, Sheneni’s father saw a copy of
the Providence magazine, and, upon returning to Nigeria, informed his son of the unique, Reformed liberal arts education that Providence offered. Sheneni was immediately intrigued and contacted the admissions office to learn more.
“What really pushed me to want to study at Providence in America was the high
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Deeper Learning for Greater Wisdom
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