RW - Gahanda

Choosing Hope

by AfricaBlogConnected CommunityRwanda
written by Mark Logan, Northgate Pastor, Batavia, NY (blog excerpt)

“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”

Christopher Reeve

August 22, 2019


It’s about 6:15 a.m. the door to my room is open to the outdoors. I am listening to the wonderful birds of Africa wake the world. A group of people are tending to their crops by hand on a plot of land in the distance. A child just walked by with a large bundle of sticks on his head. The motorbike taxis are already transporting people here and there.

Today is our last day at Gahanda. I have mixed feelings. I am sad because my stay is drawing to an end. I am thankful for all that has taken place. The little school and church Northgate has been called to help has changed over the last two years. And the future is so bright. These teachers from Northgate that I have had the honor of being here with have brought so much hope into the lives of the Gahanda teachers. You can see it on their faces!

And the sponsored children and their families have been impacted in a life changing way. I had the privilege of visiting a sponsored child and family who now have a cow and new home because of one of our church members. The sponsored child’s mother told me, “I don’t know why God chose us, because I am unworthy … but I am so grateful He did!”

I sent photos of that meeting to the sponsor from Northgate and this is her reply, “Oh my ! I am just so humbled God chose me to sponsor that sweet child. His direction led me to pick Nadine that day. Isn’t that just like God? My heart is full and I feel so saddened to know how rich I am compared to those you are visiting in the community. It just seems so unfair. This world will end (someday) and then – oh then my friend, all of us that love Jesus will spend eternity in heaven! No rich or poor.”

Today, I continue to choose hope because of all of the above and so much more! Anything is possible!!!

Read more from the October Reflections.

Child Sponsorship | International Child Care Ministries | Days for Girls | Kenya

Thrive Kenya Supports Days for Girls

by AfricaBlogKenya

Thrive, a group of young women in Kenya who are raising awareness of gender based violence, human trafficking and ways to connect survivors to services, has been traveling to International Child Care Ministries schools to talk with and educate girls about Days for Girls (menstrual health and sanitation).

 

Thrive is a group of young women in based in Nairobi, Kenya who are raising awareness of gender based violence, human trafficking and ways to connect survivors to services. (Top row from left: Yvonne, Lillian, Violet, and Kathleen. Bottom row from left Jayne, Pheliciters, and Naomi. Naomi, Violet, Yvonne, Kathleen, and Lillian are ICCM alumnae.)

 

Violet reports, “The Days for Girls was such a nice experience. The girls were very excited to receive the kits, which are beautiful. We taught them how to count their days so they could be prepared in advance. Everyone concentrated fully as was evident from their eye contact and facial expressions.”

 

 

“Such training is vital. They could share their views from their perspectives and they asked burning questions. The training is important, providing facts that dispel misleading, inaccurate information gained through friends. Some parents do not share with their children the whole process, how and why it occurs. In many cases the girls are not comfortable sharing with their parents what happens in their bodies.”

 

 

“Having such training is crucial because the girls count on us as their big sisters. The schools were supportive. Some teachers came to assist us.

The Days for Girls kits will help the girls to fully attend classes and this improves their performance. We are thankful for the hands that prepared the Days for Girls kits.”

 

 

 

Without a solution to manage their monthly cycles:

  • 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa…

  • 113 million adolescent girls in India…

  • 30% of girls in rural Brazil…

will miss school this year. (Days for Girls)

 

“Around the world, girls and women resort to using rags, mattress stuffing, banana leaves, feathers, and even cow dung to manage their menstruation. Days for Girls provides a safe, beautiful, washable, and long-lasting alternative — along with vital health education.”
— DaysforGirls.org

Support Days for Girls

 

ICCM supports Days for Girls efforts by distributing handmade kits to Thrive who educates and supports girls in Kenya.

WEB India Rice fund 3 copy

The Cost of Fighting Hunger

by BlogBurundiCreative AccessHaiti

Two students being fed lunch at school in Haiti

 

Haiti
Half the population of Haiti is undernourished, earning less than $1 a day. ICCM provides  school lunches for about 20,000 children, both sponsored and unsponsored.

A meal for a child in Haiti is 25 cents.
A $10 gift will serve 40 children.

 

Dairy producing water buffalo

India
In India, 38% of children are stunted due to  chronic undernourishment. Gifts to the India Rice Fund supply essential nutrition to children living in residential care and to HIV/AIDS-impacted children in ICCM centers.

A meal for a child in India is 45 cents.
A $20 gift will serve 44 children.

 

Production of Busoma, a hearty grain produced in Burundi

Burundi
Donations bring relief to one of the world’s hungriest countries through the distribution of Busoma, a highly beneficial whole food cereal.

A meal of Busoma for a child is 11 cents a meal.
A $10 gift will serve 91 children.

This program receives financial assistance through other sources as well. Of the three food funds this fund is well supported.

 

Want to help eliminate hunger around the world? Click below to fight hunger.

How I was Impacted by ICCM Sponsorship

by AfricaBlogRwanda

Alice Bland is one of the people who influenced my life. She made an incredible investment in my childhood through ICCM sponsorship. I am who I am today or will be in the future because of sponsorship.

How splendid to have received my sponsor’s first photo together with her husband Charles! Our relationship was founded on encouraging words and praying for one another.

In this photo I am holding the rabbit we purchased with a gift of money she sent. This photo of my family includes my father, Elie, my mother, Therese and my siblings, Bernardin and Alvera.

I remember how Alice was saddened by the death of my brother. Later we, as a family, mourned hearing in her letter of family deaths. I treasure these letters and photos received from Alice. My dad kept them safe and transferred them to me after my wedding. I, too, will transfer them with clear explanations to my children as a precious inheritance. May our Lord’s blessings be upon the next generations of Alice Blands who are influencing children and changing the world through sponsorship.

P.S. This would be a great time to take a few minutes and write to your sponsored child. They prize a letter or photo from their sponsor! Enclose a letter with your next check or click here to write your child  through the website. Thank you!

Neddy and Friends -350 CP

Visiting Ethiopia

by AfricaBlogEthiopia

“Thank you” in Amharic is “Ameseginalew” something I learned on my visit to two schools (Jimma and Beta Genet) in Ethiopia this October. These schools are bringing change to their communities. The parents want their children enrolled in our ICCM schools because they provide quality affordable education. Also, they teach good values and uphold discipline for both the teachers and the students.

 

Mengistu, our Ethiopia ICCM National Coordinator, works hard. He travels extensively to each one of our five ICCM schools to make sure all is well.

He loves the children.

 

A visit to Jimma School will give you hope. The children are clean and happy. Before class they gather together for instructions and announcements. They love to be in their school. ICCM sponsorship makes a significant difference.

 

Vickie Reynen, ICCM Africa Regional Coordinator, has worked with ICCM Ethiopia for several years. When she visits Jimma School the students and the teachers are elated. She inspires them all to keep working hard and trust God for great things for the school.

 

These Jimma kindergartens have warm, magnetic hearts; they will attract your smile. The teachers are dedicated to their calling – to teach, care and love these youngsters.

 

A visit to Bita Genet School is memorable. This school is a light to the community. Many parents are constantly seeking places for their children. The children here glow with happiness. ICCM makes this happen through sponsorship. 

 

These three girls at Bita Genet School listen with gladness to their teacher. See their eyes! They are eager and happy to learn. In this social studies class they are learning about the world.

There is a water well at Bita Genet School. ICCM in partnership with Come Unity made this happen. Now they have plenty of water.