The best way to end poverty is through education.
The Rwanda Children’s Education Program (RCEP) is helping 105 children who live with their parents and have no income to pay for school needs. This is a new kind of child sponsorship program for World’s Children because sponsored kids do not live in an orphanage — they come from extremely impoverished families who cannot afford to pay for their children’s education. RCEP pays for textbooks, notebooks, pens, backpacks, two school uniforms with shoes, socks and sweater, toiletries, school fees and one meal a day.
You can help these children by giving any amount to the fund (above) or you can click the button to contact us about sponsoring an individual child.
If ever there was a generation of children who deserved our help, it is the children of Rwanda. Sadly, Rwanda may be best known for the genocide that happened three decades ago. The two major tribes in that country, the Hutus and the Tutsis, have a history of animosity. In April 1994 members of the Hutu tribe suddenly rose up all over Rwanda and killed their neighbors who were Tutsis. Over the course of the next 100 days an estimated 500,000 to one million Tutsi people were killed. To its credit, the country and the Tutsi people have chosen forgiveness over revenge. Sponsorship will help educate the children of who survived that tragedy.
The average monthly income in Rwanda is US $77/month or $2.57/day.
Village people make even less than that amount and education for their children is an expense many of them simply cannot afford. But, thanks to Patrick and Alexis — two young men who once had a sponsor lift them up, there is hope that at least some of these children can get the help they need to attend school.
Have you ever wondered what became of your sponsored child after they spread their wings and left the orphanage where they grew up? The kindness and generosity from sponsors has compelled many sponsored children to go back and pay it forward when they graduate into adulthood.
Let me tell you the story of two young African men who were sponsored when they were boys and how they later dedicated their lives to finding sponsors for children who were just like them.
Last year World’s Children began assisting the Rwanda Children’s Education Program (RCEP) in Rwanda Africa. It is a brand new educational program to ensure that children from impoverished rural families have the resources they need to attend school. It was started by these two young Rwandan men: Alexis Hakizimana and Patrick Niyitugize, who both had a sponsor help them get an education.
Patrick’s Story
Patrick and his three siblings were raised by a single mother. When Patrick was seven years old he was sponsored by someone in America. His sponsorship paid for his school fees and included a meal every Saturday. Understanding what a wonderful gift he was given, he studied hard and later received a scholarship to the University of Nebraska. After finishing college he went back to Rwanda, determined to do for village children what someone had done for him.
Patrick says that children without a sponsor frequently drop out of school and become street kids. Many lead criminal lives that turn into prison terms. The girls who drop out generally get pregnant before age 15.
Please make a donation to the Rwanda Education Fund (above) or you can click the button to contact us about sponsoring an individual child.
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Loretta met David Purviance on a chance trip in 2006, while seeking to be of service to the vulnerable children in India. Since then, Loretta has been a longtime supporter of World’s Children as a donor, sponsor, and previous Board member. She had the wonderful opportunity to return to India twice to visit several World’s Children orphanages, and even identified the Happy Home orphanage and petitioned to bring it into the WC family. Loretta raised funds to build a well at Happy Home, where it now has clean water for all the children and staff.
Loretta currently works with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services as the Program Manager for the six Medical Hubs – the child abuse evaluation clinics for the County. She also serves as the Program Manager for the County’s Gender Health Program, serving patients seeking gender-affirming care in a safe environment. Before her work with Los Angeles County, Loretta spent many years serving non-profit organizations in CA and in MN, her last as the Executive Director of a statewide non-profit in MN. She has a long history of volunteer work including Board Member and Board Chair service, grant writing and fundraising experience, program development, and creative leadership, all serving our most vulnerable and disenfranchised populations.
Loretta holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. She lives in Los Angeles County with her partner, Myck, and their rescue kitties, Scooter and Thunder.
