SoS Programme Update

by Project coordinator Julie Arbon

In a Land of a Thousand Hills...

Comfort Rwanda now has 97 genocide survivors sponsored with the SOS programme.  This means 97 individuals or families have had their lives transformed thanks to the sacrificial giving of people like yourself.

During my recent  trip earlier this month I visited a young mother called Tharcille who lives with her 2 little children and one other orphan she has taken in.  They all share one bed which fills their one room house.  Recently she was beaten by police and put in prison for selling fruit and veg from a basket without a licence. It’s a struggle to find enough food for them all but without her sponsorship they would have had nothing, not even a room of their own to call home.

We also visited a sweet, attractive girl called Rosine - she lives with her mother and 2 younger sisters and 3 other orphans they have taken in.  Her father was killed in 1994 and her mother is very sick as a result of rape and unable to work to provide for the large family.  This family can only survive with sponsorship.

Ronald is very grateful to have recently been added to the sponsorship programme.  He’s a warm, gentle young man disabled from polio when he was young.  When we visited him, we found he lived in a very small room containing only 2 hard chairs and a small coffee table.  He slept in a space, too small to call a room, to the side of the main room. He is unable to find work due to his disability but still remains cheerful in spite of losing almost all his family in the genocide and remaining family still in Uganda.  He is very much looking forward to the difference sponsorship will make.

Another young man, Francois, has received sponsorship for some time which has enabled him to look after the daughter of his brother who died.  When we met him this month we discovered that he now cares for the 2 daughters of his sister who has recently died also.  The house has a roof with several holes that let in the rain.  It troubles Francois that the girls’ bed gets wet when it rains, as does his bed too and sponsorship support will enable the roof to be repaired.

After all the tragedies and traumas these lovely people have been through, we always find them deeply grateful for the support they receive and invariably they are joyful too.  They always express their love and gratitude to you, the sponsor and most of them regard you as their godparents and pray for you too.

With the continued low rate for the pound those who are sponsored have really benefited from the extra £3 on the sponsorship amount. Thanks to everyone who responded this way.

On behalf of Comfort Rwanda and Solace Ministries, thank you once more for your faithful support to survivors in Rwanda.

Julie Arbon
julie@comfortrwanda.org.uk
2/R, 31 Espedair St
Paisley
PA2 6NU

If you would like to Sponsor and Orphan or Survivor please visit our SOS web page to meet some Rwandans in need of your support.