Prison Fellowship Rwanda: News and Updates: Pastor Deo's Street Children Ministry Launches a New Child Sponsorship Program!

Pastor Deo GASHAGAZA is pleased to announce that we are launching a new Child Sponsorship Program (CSP)! This program will enable friends of the street children project all over the globe to learn about happenings in the ministry to street children and youth. It will also provide an opportunity for individuals and families to sponsor a child or teen now living on the streets of Kigali. The sponsorship will enable these children and teens to attend school - an important step in the effort to reduce crime and to ensure a future of peace, hope, and stability in Rwanda.

The Need

The 1994 Rwandan genocide left thousands of children to fend for themselves on the streets. Many of them lost one or both parents. Many have witnessed members of their own families killed at a very young age, which has left them angry, confused, and hopeless. They are now living on the streets, often malnourished, sick, and abused. All live in extreme poverty, turning to begging, stealing, or raiding garbage cans to provide for themselves.

This project is dedicated to promoting the welfare of Rwandan street children and guarding them from a life of crime. PFR considers transformation, reconciliation, and crime prevention to be key components to restoring Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide. Crime prevention in Rwanda's youngest generations is the focus of the Child Sponsorship Program.

The project sees 85 children three times per week at the PFR office. While at the office, the children receive hot meals, sing songs, play games and participate in physically and mentally stimulating activities, have the opportunity to bathe, and learn about God. The project also offers some lessons in Kinyarwanda, English, geography, and other subjects to help the children better understand their world and integrate into society.

When the sessions are over, we have to say good-bye to these children. They go out the office gate and return to the streets. While we love to shine some light in their lives, it is impossible to provide for all of them all the time. For this reason, the THE CHILD SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM (CSP) was created. This program will provide a sustainable way for children to enroll in schools in the Kigali area where they can learn, grow, discover ways to live peacefully together, and find hope and stability. In school, they will learn valuable skills that will equip them for a successful future. With the help of committed sponsors, the youthful generation in Rwanda will contribute positively to the character and development of nation that was once torn to pieces.

If you choose to sponsor a child, you will receive regular updates about the child’s progress in school, messages written by the child, and photographs. You are also welcome to tune into the lives of these wonderful children on Facebook. Just join the group designed specially for these children, titled “Prison Fellowship Rwanda Forum for Street Children & Youth”, where you can view a growing number of photos and profiles of children in need of and/or receiving sponsorship, learn how to sponsor a child, write messages (prayers, words of encouragement, etc.) to these children that will be translated to them when they visit the office, read updates about PFR’s ministry to street children, and more.

How It Works

Contact the CSP Liaison, Grace Lilienthal, at grace.pfrwanda@gmail.com to opt to sponsor a child. You commit to a donation amount of your choice, bearing in mind the needs of the child you wish to sponsor. You can contribute:

The cost for 1 child to go to school for 1 or more years. You voluntarily specify the number of years.
The partial cost for 1 child to go to school for 1 or more years
The cost for more than 1 child to go to school for 1 or more years
Any amount of your choice, which you may specify to go towards tuition/board, books, or uniforms.

You may donate the entire amount at once, or you may opt to donate in monthly, bi-monthly, or yearly installments.

To view photos and profiles of the children we serve, check out our Facebook group.

Other Ways You Can Help

Pray that these children experience and understand the love of Christ in the midst of chaotic lives.

Pray that PFR will receive the funding and resources needed to send these children to school.

Pray that PFR’s ministry to these children will grow and thrive.

Join the Facebook Group to keep up-to-date about happenings in the life of PFR and the lives of these children.

Follow the Prison Fellowship Rwanda blog (http://prisonfellowshiprwanda.blogspot.com), which is regularly updated with news and happenings at PFR.

Spread the word about the needs of Rwanda’s street children and youth in the wake of the 1994 genocide.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. We'd love to hear from you!

In humble service to Him,

The Street Children Ministry and Prison Fellowship Rwanda Staff