From the Field Friday: Rwanda

Another week is coming to an end, so it's time to share another letter from a Compassion country director. This time, we hear from the man in charge of the program in Rwanda.

I have one sweet boy in Rwanda; Kwizera Yves.

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Dear Kayla, 

I am John Nkubana, country director of Compassion International Rwanda. I joined Compassion 2012. Compassion started in Rwanda in 1980 and opened its first office in 1984. Today, we support 87,000 children through 320 local church partners. 

John Nkubana

I would like thank you from my heart for the support you give Kwizera Yves. Individual sponsor contributions are the building blocks of this ministry to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. 

Children feel secure at the child development center because of the love given to them by center staff and church leadership. Because of the sponsorship program, churches have been able to evangelize communities that otherwise would have been impossible to evangelize without Compassion's work with the children. 

Children Dancing and Worshiping in Church 

Most of our children are from very impoverished families. These people struggle to secure basic necessities and this affects them immensely. In 2014, we opened a center in the western part of the country. At this particular center, they had a feeding program for malnourished children, who were given porridge twice a week. The numbers of hungry children were so big that the church was overwhelmed. Today, when you visit the center, you can't believe that the children who were there in 2014 are the same children who are there today. They look so healthy and full of life! 

Children Drinking Healthy Porridge at Their Project 

Rwandan children receive a lot of attention and protection from the government and there are systems in place to monitor child welfare - we have a strong policy on children's rights. Medical struggles are minimal, because most Rwandans have access to medical care. Most of our children attend government day schools, but many of these schools can't afford quality teaching staff and laboratories and other materials are insufficient. 

Children Attending a Local School

The area where are children struggle the most is the socio-emotional trauma that is consequence of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Most of the sponsored children are children or grandchildren of either genocide perpetrators or genocide victims. The are all traumatized equally. 

When a sponsor picks a child to sponsor, it is a long-term commitment. Children get excited when they are told they received sponsors. After that, they wait with a lot of anxiety for the first letter from the sponsor. I am sure sponsors wait anxiously for the first letter from their sponsored child, too. I can attest to this, because I'm a sponsor. What I have witnessed over time is the bond that the letters create between sponsors and children. When a child doesn't get a letter but sees friends getting letters, that child is devastated. Please write to your child as regularly as you can. The more letters children receive, the more they feel close to the sponsor, despite the distance. The physical you is enshrined in letters written to your sponsored child. 

Children Writing Letters to Their Sponsors 

We always uphold you in prayers here; may the Lord continue to replenish your stores and granaries. We need your prayers as we continue to disciple the vulnerable children in partnership with the church. It is not an easy assignment, given the level of need. Stand with us in prayer as we strategize on how the church can raise support locally to supplement Compassion's work. And Rwanda being a mountainous country, visiting children's homes is a challenge for staff and volunteers. 

Children Walking Home in Rural Rwanda

With heartfelt gratitude, I want to thank you for the love and invaluable material support you give to Kwizera Yves. The support you give is not in vain. I give glory to God; it is because of who we are in Jesus Christ that you are able to extend generosity of that magnitude against all odds - thank you! 

Happy, Healthy Children! 

Sincerely, 

John Nkubana

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