Yesterday my team and I went to the school we had been teaching at to say our goodbyes and to learn more on how we can stay connected and help out.
(A little background of the school that we volunteered at) Our host Fatier opened Samaritan International School back in 2014 with hopes and dreams to give the children of genocide survivor parents, war veteran parents, and poor families an education so that they can one day make something of themselves and beat the stereotype. Samaritan International is a small private Christian school with children between the ages of three to twelve. Since it is such a small village and very unlike the states, the children have to be identified and sometimes that means Fatier would visit the homes to get to know the child and where he or she is coming from and more about them and the help that they may need. They also prepare hot porridge in the morning for the kids, because most of them don’t get fed at home.
Yesterday we asked how we could sponsor the kids who can’t afford to go to school, eat, have uniforms, or even how we could help with living situations. She sat us down and explained more that she is a word of mouth kind of sponsor program right now and truly depends on who the Lord brings to her to spread the word back home about these kids. She is so humble and NEVER asks of others, but only answers to the questions that people ask, because then she knows it is from the Lord and time to speak. She showed us the kids that are currently sponsored and the ones that need to be sponsored. The school has 192 students right now and only about 60 are sponsored. She showed us the files of the students and how they keep track of the child and the donations and where and what it goes to, etc. We asked her how she picks and chooses out of the students who need to get sponsored first and it’s mainly the ones that truly cannot even afford meals at home. She brought in the kids, reminded us of each of their names, and gave a minor background story of each child. All were heartbreaking.
She even took us to some of the children’s homes and they were absolutely unbelievable. I could never imagine having to sleep on a dirty mat with my entire family in a house the size of a shoebox. The front doors can’t even stand up straight without falling. The kids usually go without lunch and dinner if the crops near by were not ready to be eaten. Rice is too expensive. A lot don’t even live with parents. I heard stories about each child and what their home lives were like and it was just absolutely painful to hear. This entire generation is still struggling to get on with remembering all of their family who was brutally murdered in the genocide years ago. I went to the museum, I’ve seen the movie Hotel Rwanda, I know a lot about what happened out here but it’s nothing like meeting people who survived.
**Warning: this story may be too graphic for some to handle**
I lived with a girl this month that survived the genocide when she was 5 years old. She was at home with her 7 other siblings, her mother, and other relatives. The people came in with machetes and other weapons to kill the family. First, they killed the mom by slicing her open, ripping out her heart and forcing the children to eat her heart. Then, they killed all of the kids and other relatives but there was so much blood everywhere that they thought the last child was dead, but she was actually alive and is still here today. Her father was a teacher and was at school and was brutally murdered with a machete in front of his students. He was stabbed multiple times and if that wasn’t enough, he was burned to death.
THIS is what it means to be a genocide survivor. It doesn’t mean that you were blessed by not being witness and you somehow made it out okay with your family. No, it means your ENTIRE family was murdered and you got passed over by mistake. Rwanda has recovered so well and is truly a beautiful country with beautiful people, but it’s these survivors that still struggle within the joy. Survivor’s guilt.
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A lot of people have a hard time with sponsorship programs and knowing if it’s legitimate and if the money is even going where it says it is. I can assure you that theses people truly want to make a difference in these kid’s lives. I can assure you that this is the place to give if you’re afraid that your money isn’t going to go to where it says it is. I can assure that these children’s lives light up knowing that people care enough to help in their education and life in general.
How can you help?
If you sponsor it would be for one school year, which is Feb-Nov, only 10 months.
You can give a child a one time gift of $60 – bedding at home which includes a mattress, bedding sheets, and a blanket.
School supplies for a year is a donation of $55– books, pencils, crayons, shoes, school bags, and health insurance.
Two uniforms for the year- $30
Monthly contribution school fees- $10 (only $100 for the year- 10 months of school)
$30 every semester ($90 for 3 semesters) can help support the kitchen to have hot breakfast
If you want to sponsor a child for one year all fees with the one time gift of bedding at home- $335, broken down monthly is $27
I would personally help you to choose a child, get all of the background/home living information, and picture of child.
These children are so precious and truly deserve a better future. You’re one child away of making a difference. And on the plus side, if you ever want to come meet the child you choose to sponsor, I would love to make the trip back here to Rwanda with you. You wouldn’t be disappointed!
