In November 2013, with the help of many parishioners and friends from the USA, we began construction on St. Joseph Church building.

The New St. Joseph Church Building, opened in April 2021, has been a tremendous gift to the people of Umon-Okon village in Nigeria. I am eternally grateful to ALL my friends and parishioners in USA who helped build this Church in Umon-Okon, my birthplace. In the process of building the new Church Building, we discovered that we were building not just the structure, but the people! God’s people are not asking for much… just the necessities of life. They are hungry, and even the very basic food, like bread to eat, is hard to come by these days. It is for these people my heart aches!

On May 16, 2023, I will be a Priest of God exactly 25 years - Praise God! He has been faithful. Through these years, I have been humbled by the love and support of family, friends, and my parishioners - past and present.  I thank you, ALL!

In thanksgiving to God for my Silver Jubilee, I have this unyielding desire to feed the hungry in my local community. Hence the proposed Building4God (B4G) Divine Bakery - to feed the people the basic food, BREAD.  B4G Divine Bakery wants to provide this very basic food at affordable price, on a consistent basis. Bread is a staple food for my people… it is real food in many ways.  Bread, combined with peanuts (groundnuts) or banana is Breakfast. It is Lunch, for many. It is even Dinner, for some. Now, get this – Bread, mashed in warm water, becomes a baby formula for nursing mothers… There is a great need for a bread making enterprise.

PLEASE help me, with your generous donation, make this DREAM of building B4G Divine Bakery and baking bread become a REALITY…

What makes the B4G Divine Bakery different from other bakeries? Making bread for people in need will be the primary mission of B4G Divine Bakery. This means, bread for charity will be a major component of the business model. Even though B4G Divine Bakery will be income generating in order to be self-sustaining as well as providing job opportunities to the locals, bread for the poor will not be an afterthought or left overs… and that’s a guarantee!

God bless you,

Fr. Akan Simon