Gisenyi, Rwanda

Visiting families in Gisenyi, Rwanda

Patrick (17), Mutesi (16) and Clementine (19) in their small room

There are so many orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda, that there are not enough Guardians to care for them all. Clementine is a member of the Guardians of Hope group in Gisenyi called "Taking Care of Our Health". After the death of her parents from AIDS, Clementine and her siblings had no home. Through the help of the church, they found a small room and a Clementine received a loan to start a small business.

Please pray for Clementine as she supports her two younger siblings with her business of selling potatoes. She cannot go to school herself, because she has had to become their mother.

Entrepreneuring Rwandese carrying goods for sale into the sprawling city of Goma, just a few hundred meters over on the Democratic Republic of Congo's side of the border.

Starting a business is not an easy venture anywhere, especially in areas of poverty. For Guardians of Hope in Gisenyi, it has meant looking for every opportunity where they can turn a small profit. Given their proximity to the Goma, the capital of the strife-torn Congolese province of Nord-Kivu, the people of Gisenyi have access to a market of around 250,000 people (a population larger than any Rwandan town other than the capital of Kigali).

Isaie and Aaron with Bernadette

in her charcoal business

For the chairwoman of the Gisenyi Guardians of Hope, Bernadette, a small loan of of about $25 Canadian dollars enabled her to purchase bags of charcoal, a precious fuel source for cooking food and boiling water, from outlining rural communities and sell it for a higher price in Gisenyi. As her business grew, she repaid her loan and was able to take a second loan to expand her business and rent a small room on the Congolese border where she could sell her bags to merchants interested in carrying it into Goma where it would fetch an even higher price. Now she sells a minimum of ten 70 Kg bags to Goma each day. The heavy sacks are hoisted onto the heads of local men who walk the great weight across the border and over 3 kms to the Goma market. With this steady income, Bernadette pays rent for a room, feeds her family, and sends her children to school.

Erica and Patty with Bernadette

Please pray for Bernadette, as she desires to expand her business to also selling bags of "Irish potatoes". Pray for her health and the health of her children. "I can not miss a day in my business" shared Bernadette. If I do not work today, my children will have nothing to eat."

In Prayer:

Please continue to pray for the Guardians of Hope in Rwanda. According to Rev. Damascene of the Gisenyi Church, the border town of Gisenyi, like most urban centres in Rwanda, are rapidly expanding: "Our town grows up daily and life is hard". With more and more poor rural families turning to large towns, issues of employment, shelter, and access to food are deep concerns.

The Guardians of Hope are banding together to pool their little funds to help each other start small businesses, but according to the pastor "their profits are so low" and the business are extremely vulnerable.

"We will continue to hope things will be more better," shared Rev. Damascene. "We pray for a better future!"

Guardians of Hope, Rwanda

Lake Kivu, Western Rwanda

Visiting the Guardians of Hope in Rwanda

This week, we are travelling through Northern and Western Rwanda with Patty Card and Isaie Gakwerere. It has been a great opportunity to gain a broader understanding of the genesis of the Guardians of Hope program in Rwanda, with Patty, and to come alongside Isaie as we encourage the ministry of the Rwandan churches in serving people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS.

Over the past five years, since the GOH was established in Rwanda, thousands of families have been impacted by churches and individuals coming together to care for the sick and vulnerable. Thousands of HIV and AIDS orphans are now being cared for by families who are heeding God's call to protect the widows and orphans.

Thanks to the generosity and sacrifice of individuals and congregations in Rwanda and in the West, resources are being used to transform hopeless situations! Each day we have met with more and more people who are sharing with us the impact God has made upon their lives and the way that God has used the Guardians of Hope to bring them back into the life giving community of the Church. Over this next week, we'll be compiling many of these stories to share with you.

A proud boy with his goats and sheep

given to his family by the Guardians of Hope.

It all started with a sheep and a loan of $10.

Mother used the loan to buy rabbits that multiplied from 5 to 35.

They sold the rabbits for meat and bought a second sheep.

The sheep had a lamb.

She returned this first born lamb to the church to give to another family.

The sheep had two more lambs and the rabbits kept multiplying.

Mother and children now have a home with a good tin roof,

four sheep, three goats,

manure for their garden, and food to eat

and not only have they repaid the $10 loan

mother is now investing their little money into

her children's education

Aaron with children in a small forest village along Lake Kivu

Erica and Patty with members of the Gisenyi Guardians of Hope

The town of Gisenyi on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Within the town a group of 20 Guardians meet to share how they are supporting one another in the care of HIV and AIDS orphans within their community.

Erica with Bernadette, president of the Guardians

of Hope group in Gisenyi town

In Prayer:

Please continue to pray for the ministry of the Guardians of Hope in Rwanda. In particular, please remember our national coordinator Isaie Gakwerere, serving with the Association of Rwandan Baptist Churches. Isaie is providing direct leadership for 29 projects within Rwanda. With a background in agricultural management, Isaie is passionate about helping groups become self sufficient, especially in the area of food security. We pray for his safety as he criss crosses Rwanda; for his health; and for wisdom as he supports the community and church leadership as they draw people together in caring for the marginalized within their towns and villages.