Other Projects
Housing
Mama Shakila (a widow) and her children, two of which have been sponsored by Rwanda Restored at our Secondary School at Gihogwe: Shakila who graduated in 2015 and Hawa whom is presently at the school; were living in a house that as a result of heavy rains collapsed. They were forced to live in one room in a neighbor’s house as temporary accommodation, and were in desperate need of assistance to rebuild their house.
At Rwanda Restored we sought help to do something to help this desperate family have a home again; and prayers were answered. Due to some very generous donors we were able to undertake the rebuilding of a new house for the family, pictured below.
Needless to say Mama Shakila and her family are overjoyed and very grateful to the sponsors from Rwanda Restored who made the prospect of their new house possible.
Food Parcels
In 2016 Rwanda Restored, with some generous donations for this cause by sponsors, undertook to provide assistance to the poor of Rwanda by distributing food parcels to the poor of local churches. Those people in receipt of a food parcel were encouraged to share the food gift with their neighbours, whether they were Christians or not, as an outreach to the unsaved. Up to 10 food parcels were delivered to each church supported by the venture and each food parcel comprised of 5kgs of sogum, beans, flour, rice, sugar and a 5 litre container of oil to the value of £25.
As a result of this outreach a number of people began attending their local church.
Mosquito Nets
One of the greatest causes of death in sub Saharan Africa is malaria and it is a constant threat to the health of young and old alike. We had first hand evidence of this on our visit to Rwanda in Feb 2016 when a young girl: Gentile, who was accompanying us in a local village collapsed and had to be put to bed to await medicine to be purchased from a local pharmacy.
Through Rwanda Restored, hundreds of mosquito nets have been purchased as our funds have permitted (£7.50 per net) and distributed throughout the country to the poor of the local churches we support. Although they are not an expensive item to buy, great stories have come back to us about the health benefits that these nets have brought to people’s lives as these nets provide real protection.
Bibles
The primary aims of our charity are the advancement of education of young people in Rwanda by building or improving schools, together with the relief of financial hardship by the provision of money for food, housing, education, clothes and social support for widows and orphans across Rwanda. However, as a Christian Charity we are committed to spreading the Gospel whenever and wherever we are accorded the opportunity to do so. One method of doing so is the distribution of Bibles wherever we see a need; either to the impoverished members of Inkuru Nziza, the church group with whom we operate in Rwanda, to the students at our Secondary School in Kigali, or even to policemen that stopped our vehicle for a cursory road check when we are on the road in Rwanda, as happened on our last visit.
In 2015 as a result of a very generous donation from a charitable trust we were able to purchase 400 Bibles for distribution.
The Bibles are always received with great joy and jubilation.
Goats
One of the projects undertaken by Rwandan Restored is the provision of goats to widows and orphans. These goats are used to help fertilise any land that the widows and orphans might have. This enables them to improve the crop yields of the subsistence farming they undertake, to provide either food for themselves or to sell at local markets to provide income to support their families. Each goat costs approx £25-£30 and every effort is made to ensure that the goats provided are pregnant so that two animals are virtually purchased for the price of one.
One of the widows assisted by this project informed us on our last visit that the goat we had provided her had in turn provided her with 10 kids proving what an invaluable service this project delivers. It was so pleasing to hear that she had helped other widows in her village by giving them some of the offspring of the goat she had been provided.
Comfort My People Family Group
A number of past and present students of GSS sponsored by Rwanda Restored have formed a “Comfort My People Family” support group based on Isaiah 40:1-2 ;with members elected on to a committee as Spiritual and Prayer Leaders, with a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer under the guidance of advisers from the Inkuru Nziza Church and Rwanda Restored.
The main objectives of this “family” are:
- Establishing a mechanism allowing us to Worship God and Pray together.
- Inter-personal opportunities sharing or sharing opportunities among us.
- Building a strong relationship and Network.
