Gahanga Orphanage and Home Visits

    It was an exciting day to pull up to Gahanga Orphanage where Bonnie had first started her time in Rwanda eight years prior. The orphanage is run by Sister Emerite who has several other sisters under her direction taking care of 35 orphaned or abandoned children with disabilities. They have a total of 5 milking cows, two of which Windham Presbyterian Church (WPC) donated in January, 2017. "Blackie" and "Victory" are healthy and active!  These two cows both arrived at Gahanga with calves, a female named "Goodness" and a male.  The male the sold in the market in order to purchase items that they cannot produce on their small farm such as oil and rice.  We are pleased to announce that the young cow, "Goodness" is now pregnant and will give birth soon.  This sustainable gift allows the orphanage to keep enough milk for the children each day and sell the rest in the market so that they can pay for the physical therapist to treat the children 5 days per week. 

A fragrant lily detergent scent filled the air upon stepping into the new outdoor covered laundry room.  The cement floor and multiple covered clothes lines allow the Sisters to wash clothes and allow them to dry in a day or two.  Having this designated area  to be able to wash and dry frequently soiled sheets and clothes during rainy season changed the lives of the Sisters.  They are still able to use the uncovered clotheslines when it is sunny. 

Our next stop was to meet a young nursing student named Habimana Jean Marie Vianney, an orphan who some of you have supported through secondary school and now university. I (Sally) have known him since 2007. He will begin his final year of studies in January, and is near the top of his class of 91 students. Presently he is doing an internship at the Nyamata District Hospital. I am so impressed with this young man who is not only mature, intelligent and hard-working, but has an incredibly compassionate heart. He will make a terrific nurse. We were able to bring him a very good refurbished laptop and a donated iPhone 5. Both of these will help him to finish strong with his studies. When asked what he would do with his older laptop he said he wanted to give it to his foster brother who is studying accounting at university and has never owned a laptop before. I have been involved with many individuals and projects in Rwanda. Many have gone well, some have been real disappointments, but others, like helping Habimana, have been an absolute joy.

     Our day had not ended though. After returning to Kigali we headed back up the hills to Bumbogo because we had promised to make two stops to visit LWA children in their homes. We try very hard to keep our promises here. The rutted dirt road disappeared in front of our eyes as darkness fell at 6 pm. We were met at the base of a hill by the entire neighborhood who seemed to get around fine without the flashlights we were dependent on. We visited with two families. Elione is a very tiny 5 year old girl who Bonnie had worked with the day before. She shares the 2 room home with her father Damascene and mother Lilianne, along with two small sisters. They have received a goat from LWA in addition to other support. After that visit we walked down an incredibly steep hill and up the other side to the home of 6 year old Jean deDieu and his family of mom and dad, four brothers and one sister. What joy filled this tiny house. Jean deDieu was healthy until age 3 when, perhaps due to cerebral malaria, he suddenly could no longer walk or talk. Perhaps because of those first three years he is a much loved son and little brother. He has a thin mattress spread in the corner of the main room where he was laughing and playing with a therapy ball we had given him the day before. It was obvious that the brothers and father consider him a valued part of the family. You can see the smiles of Jean deDieu and his mother Claudine, and what a lovely family they are. LWA has provide him with a wheelchair and regular physical therapy. They have a tiny kitchen garden and would love to receive a goat as well. Jean deDieu is a part of LWA because Elione’s mother Lilliane invited Claudine to start bringing him to the center. Now they walk there together 5 days a week. Our prayer is that one by one children will come out of the shadows as one family seeks out another and welcomes them into the LWA family.