Together We Can!

Written by Jenn O’Neill

Today we visited 3 women’s groups, one we are already partnering with and two new groups. I’ve personally been looking forward to going back to Bwiru, the village that was affected by the volcanic eruption a few years ago. 

This is the village that has incredible dancers. If they came to the U.S., people would certainly pay money to see them perform.

From there, the preschool children welcomed us through song using our Rwandan names and then led us to their school buildings. There are now 6 classrooms with an office but the floors are still full of lava rocks. The team is currently looking into a possible option that is more cost effective than cement. To be continued…

We shared the Fruit of the Spirit activity with the children and they really seemed to enjoy filling up the tree with fruit. For love, one child said we can show love by loving our neighbor. 

Next, we went outside to visit the small market the women organized for us with the items they sell. It was wonderful to see them in their element selling shoes, vegetables, doughnuts, charcoal and chickens! The food and linens we bought from them will be given to the poorest families in the community.

When we came last year, we gave out the first 50 microloans. Today, the women spoke confidently about how they increased their capital along with their personal savings. With some of their group savings, they made some church improvements that include a new ceiling, stage and podium. We are pleased to hear that the women are able to take care of themselves, their families and now their community. Praise God!

Twenty more women are next in line to receive microloans here. Another 20 have recently joined as well. We pray for God’s blessing to provide for them soon.

As much as we loved our time here, we had to continue to our next stop so we said our goodbyes knowing we’ll see eachother again next year.

We loaded up in the van to meet our next two groups at the Zionist Harvest Christian Church in Gisenyi. We were supposed to visit last year but the roads were impassable and today, we walked a short distance. The church currently rents a small space but they now have land to build in the future.

Land to Build a Church

The women’s choir led us in with their beautiful voices and it was a full house with most of the women sitting on the floor mats.

We introduced ourselves, shared a message on fellowship and heard from both groups about what they’ve been able to accomplish so far. They’re off to a great start with their savings and we are eager to see how their lives will improve with microloans when we visit next year. 

These women are excited to work hard and improve the lives of their families!