It was my second visit to Rwanda this summer. I’d been part of a team visiting in the summer of 2018 and had helped to set up the Nyabisindu Street Kids Rescue (SKR) project when I went home that year. There are currently 40 kids sponsored and receiving an education and healthcare in that project, and I was keen to get back to see those kids again. My eldest daughter had come out with us the last time and I’d promised my youngest daughter she could come on the next trip. We were all set to go in the summer of 2020…and then Covid hit. In one sense, it’s been a long wait to get back but in another it didn’t feel like 5 years since I was last out! Covid did strange things with time.
We landed in Kigali on the evening of Friday 30th June 2023 and our first visit the next day was to see the Nyabisindu kids. I hardly recognised the area; the swampland where the kids had hidden and slept in was now drained and there were new buildings encroaching on that area. We were hardly able to get off the bus as the kids in their excitement were pushing their way on to give us a hug and say hello. We walked down to a grassy area and spent a few hours playing games with them.
I recognised a number of the kids from 5 years ago, except this time they looked so much healthier compared to when they were surviving on the streets and sleeping in the swampland. We then walked back up to the district’s community hall where we had lunch together and listened to stories of the change in the kids’ lives in the last 5 years. There were some wonderful stories that day of transformation, but there is still such a need in that area of Kigali. There is extreme poverty and so many of the older kids still struggle with drug addiction which used to numb their reality when they were living on the streets. They really need to get away from the area and whilst building of the Comfort Transformation Centre will help kids like them in the future, it’s not going to be ready for another few years. If I’m honest, I came away feeling overwhelmed by the need that still exists in that community.
We left for Lake Kivu the next day to visit the community groups in the Karongi district. I was looking forward to being in that area again as it is such a beautiful part of the world.
We visited 4 communities over as many days and I always find it amazing that although we don’t speak the same language we are still able to have such a tangible connection with individuals as we work alongside them in the fields, or sit on the hillside sharing testimony and stories. I was impressed with how these groups have moved on in the last 5 years. To my knowledge there was no request for financial help during this visit as they were all self-sufficient and able to provide education for all their children and healthcare for all in their communities.
They wanted us to pray with them and spend time with them and it was wonderful to spend a full day with each group and not feel we were rushing off to the next thing. Sometimes I wonder how it’s possible to say we have a relationship with these communities when we only visit every other year at most, but the welcome we received from one of the longstanding groups in Gishyita was overwhelming and the connection we felt on arrival was powerful. I love it when we dance and sing with them (well, they dance and we get laughed at trying to copy them!!) A few in our group were brave and told their stories of how God has redeemed their lives and turned them around to give them hope and a future and you could see the recognition from the women listening. People are people – regardless of culture and life experience and it was a privilege to share life with these individuals.
We went back to Kigali the following weekend and spent the last few days of the trip seeing some more SKR projects, seeing the building site for the new CTC and spending some time in the Joy Centre seeing what Good News are doing in giving hope and a future through training and education.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet my Comfort Babies sponsor Divin (who is no baby anymore!!) and his mum Jeanette again. I couldn’t believe how tall Divin had grown since I last saw him 5 years ago and it was lovely to spend an afternoon with them. The Comfort Babies community are a real support for each other and as new mums are added to the project you can see how the more established group members look out for them.
If you get a chance to go on one of the trips with Comfort international, then you should do it. Whilst it’s good to go and serve and experience a complete different culture; both trips have left me feeling very blessed.