At the beginning of this year, three young women, Rebekah, Louisa and Grace, set out on a trip that would change their lives. They spent five months living and volunteering with Comfort International’s partner organisation, Comfort Rwanda, in Rwanda. Here, Rebekah breaks down what it was like to live and work in the tiny African country and the incredible things they experienced during their time there.
“This is just an overall summary of our trip to Rwanda. So at the beginning of January, the three of us went on a trip to Rwanda for 5 months to work alongside the team from Comfort International. I think our hearts were really to just share the love of God with the people we were with, and to just bless the community in whatever ways we could. What I remember most vividly about arriving on that first night was just the welcome that we received. None of us had ever done anything like this before so I think all three of us were just very nervous as we arrived in Kigali. So it was just amazing to walk out of security and be greeted by these strangers who welcomed us like we were family. They all just came around us with hugs and kisses, and while it was the last thing we were expecting, it instantly made us feel more at home. Throughout our entire stay in Rwanda we were living with David Gasana, the director of Comfort Rwanda, and his family. It was really their hospitality and the way they opened their home so freely to us and the way David and his wife Agnes treated us like their family for the entirety of our time there that really shaped our entire experience. So we were really grateful for their help and support throughout the 5 months of our stay.
For the first couple of weeks David took us around introducing us to people and helping us get to know them. I think it was the first Sunday of us being in Kigali that he introduced us to the kids from the Street Kids Rescue Project. Again, the way we were welcomed by these kids was so amazing. By the end of the day we had fully joined in with the celebrations of dancing and singing which lasted for hours. One of the things that was so impactful about staying for the length of time that we did was how we were able to properly get to know so many kids from the project, and hear their stories of how their lives have been changed by the project on a first hand basis. It was so powerful for us to see the way that so many of their lives had been changed, and just how far the work of Comfort International goes. So many of the kids have gone through some incredibly heart-breaking situations such as abuse or living on the streets or not having access to basic needs. And just seeing how their lives are different because of sponsorship was really inspirational. We ended up spending most Saturdays with the Street Kids Rescue Project, often leading them in bible studies, praying and worshipping together, and teaching them games that we knew. While there was a language barrier with most of the kids, we were able to make so many genuine friendships, and we just found ourselves being able to come alongside them and really become a part of that community in various ways. We would spend time playing games together or dancing together. And there were also times where they would share their stories with us and we would just get these opportunities to pray with them.
Two days every week we would go and teach at the Comfort Babies nursery. It was an amazing opportunity in so many ways – for one it meant we got to make an amazing relationship with these beautiful children and were able to comfort them when they were upset, and get to know their unique personalities. We were able to teach them English and maths etc. which was a learning curve for us as (because of the language barrier) we had to come up with new ways to engage the kids which was at times nerve-wracking but a lot of the time it was a lot of fun! We played and taught different games with the kids and also taught them new songs which the kids loved to spontaneously start singing during break. We would hand out food and wash the children’s hands and with each one of these tasks we were so blessed to be able to serve and spread God’s love. The kids were so full of energy and enthusiastically greeted us with hugs and huge smiles when we would arrive at the nursery. To be able to go and serve at the nursery was such a blessing and something we will never ever forget, the kids were just so genuinely full of joy it was so lovely to see and we will miss our time at the nursery going forward.
The other project we were involved a lot with was the Comfort Babies project. We ended up spending a lot of time with the mums and babies. Most of the mums have gone through really devastating situations, and a lot of them are unfortunately very young. But as with the Street Kids Rescue project, these mums have been impacted so much by the work of Comfort International. We ended up spending a lot of time just praying and worshipping and having fellowship with them. On Thursday afternoons the mums have a time of prayer and worship, and joining in with them was amazing, and just brought us closer to them as we worshipped together and joined in by leading bible studies or sharing things that were on our heart with them. And as they shared their testimonies and spent time in prayer, their faith and thankfulness in God and their joy despite their circumstances really shone through. And the thing that we saw was that a little really can change a life! So many of the mothers had taken the support they received from the project and had completely turned their lives around. And it was just so powerful to see how God had worked in their lives and how they give all the glory to God.
We actually got the opportunity to sponsor a mum and see this for ourselves. It was just our third day in Rwanda when we met her for the first time in circumstances that must have been really traumatic for her. The three of us and David were outside of a local clinic when we saw this woman getting lifted in by about four men. As David rushed over to see what was going on he realised she was actually about to have a baby. Because there was no one at the clinic who was qualified, David ended up in this room with her helping her deliver this baby. We then drove her and her baby to the nearest hospital, and Grace got the chance to hold the minutes old baby in the car. When we arrived, the two of them got checked out, and because she had no supplies we brought her the things they needed. After David talked to her, he told us her story. Her name is Diane and it turns out she didn’t know she was pregnant at the time until she was in active labour. She didn’t have the means to provide for this baby and her two other children as her husband had left and she was living off just roughly £1.50 a day for all three of them. It was really amazing that we were able to help her because David was able to admit her to the Comfort Babies project and her hospital bills were paid and she was able to receive the extra support she needed. We really had it in our hearts to sponsor Diane and her baby, Mugisha David Elisha, and being able to do so and see her progress so much has been such a blessing. We visited her and her family right before we left, and the progress that she had made in just a few months was really incredible. As well as being able to now provide basic needs for the family, Diane has started a mushroom farm with the sponsorship money, and is working really hard so that at some point she will be able to be financially independent. She told us that she now has hope for her and her children’s future and that she is working hard to achieve her goals.
We spent a lot of time especially with the mums from the Comfort Babies home. And it was just such a joy to be with them and go about our days with them. Often after teaching at the nursery we would go back to the home and spend our afternoons there, sometimes leading bible studies and other times just playing with the babies and young kids or laughing with the mums. We genuinely loved being there and, again, they were just so welcoming and happy for us to be there. We truly had some amazing times with these mums and formed some really strong relationships with some of them in spite of the language barrier.
For the first couple of months we also got the opportunity to help teach English and lead bible studies with kids in a local school. The teachers basically gave us free rein to teach the classes however we felt led. And so we were often just able to spend hours at a time sharing the Word of God with the kids in the classroom. We would adapt our lessons to fit the ages of the kids we were teaching, as it often changed from day to day. But we would generally spend time maybe teaching them a song, and then sharing a bible story or teaching. And what was really great was how open they were. In each class they would spend time just asking questions, curious about what we were sharing. And these times were so encouraging for us, as we saw how hungry so many of them were for God, by the questions they asked and the way they listened to what we had to say.
By the time we had finished our trip, we had made so many friendships and formed so many connections that leaving felt really bittersweet. We spent our last weekend with the kids from the project and some of the mums going on a day trip to Lake Kivu. This was such a great way to end our trip and it really gave us a chance to say goodbye to everyone. Now that we’re home I just want to say how grateful we all are for the opportunity we had to come to Rwanda and have the experience that we had and get the opportunity to bless the community that we were in. The projects have just managed to build such a vibrant community where people are being supported in so many ways – not just financially but also spiritually and emotionally. And I just want to thank the people who have spent time investing into these people’s lives. From people like David and Callum, to all the individuals who choose to sponsor a mother or a child. Because being a part of that community has really just shown us how much of a difference even the smallest things can make to people’s individual lives, and how even a little really can change a life.“
