Empowering Rwandan Orphaned Genocide Survivors

In 2008 Kathleen started a mission to help Rwandan orphaned genocide survivors –and called it Project Empower. It’s intention is to help these compromised kids become healthy, productive members of their society. John soon joined Kathleen in her efforts when they met and married in 2012. Kathleen has been to Rwanda 4 (John 3 times) times since 2010 to firstly conduct a needs assessment, and then to ensure the projects are on track and introduce new projects to help these kids as they developed. There are 42 kids, now adults, who John and Kathleen continue to support. Examples of projects they have funded include:

• Organic agriculture education to increase food supply on their land

• Live stock purchases, including pigs, cows, goats and rabbits to increase food supply and for reproduction in order to sell animals

o Animal habitats

o Animal feed

o Veterinary products

• Pineapple plantation

• Equipment to improve the quality and availably of soil for crop production

• Vocational education for jobs like taxi driver, bus driver and cooks

• Funded large volume purchases of cooking items to sell at local small markets

• Clothing drives for the kids personal use and for selling the clothes at the local markets

• Paid tuition, books and accommodation for 3 to go to university: one is a civil engineer, one is an MBA (who just got a green card for the US); and the other has a Masters of Government Administration degree

As John and Kathleen own Hear Well Be Well, 13 Hearing Clinics across Ontario, in 2014, they decided to branch out to include helping the hearing impaired in Rwanda. John now takes down 200 hearing aids or so (not saleable in Canada), computers and software each time they go on a mission and he trains the Nurses and ENTs on how to dispense these hearing aids.

Now John, Kathleen and 4 others are going to Rwanda for 2 weeks at the end of October 2023. Many of the above initiatives aforementioned, faltered due to COVID. Now the kids are able to work again and earn money, and therefore there are old and new projects Kathleen and John are interested in and will conduct research to ensure their viability while in Rwanda.

Some of these include:

• Create on-line learning programs (ESL, The Fundamentals of Customer Service, Basic skills for cleaning and cooking etc.) and have people in Canada become buddies with these kids to educate and motivate them. We have already been donated 30 used lap tops to take to Rwanda

• Restocking cooking materials for resale

• Purchasing livestock

• Setting up early education school for the children of the kids

• Helping open Internet Cafes (to make money from others using the Lap Tops)

• Bringing down clothing for the kids and extra clothing for them to sell

• Setting up and funding a Micro financing program

Our overall goal is to bring $20,000 to Rwanda for these projects. Details of each project is available should you want more information.