Help Special Needs School in Rwanda After Devastating Fire

Donation protected

In September 2023, Krista Roland and Joy Ngabire met at Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Little did they know that they would become such good friends, but God knew! Joy introduced the entire Roland family to the life and culture of Rwanda, ...eventually leading to a mission trip to Rwanda in January 2025. Upon arriving in Rwanda, Krista was introduced to Joy's dear sister, Julian Gakwavu, who is the Managing Director of New Life Autism School. Having a Master's degree in Special Education and a God-given love for kids with disabilities, Krista couldn't wait to see the school. They quickly set up a tour of the boarding school, which had just moved to a new location in the capitol city of Kigali. Krista, Valya, Kyla, and Olivia spent the morning learning about the amazing non-profit that the small staff of about 5 runs. The school has 15 kids, with a capacity of 30 in the Boarding school house, but with the lack of funding, only 15 kids can currently attend the school. (As a side note, Julian said that nearly 200 kids were identified in the surrounding villages who needed Special Education services.) Krista and the girls toured the boarding school, which was a nice 3 bedroom house (filled with bunk beds), plus 2 therapy rooms, the main meeting room, and a small kitchen. Each room was filled with the boys' clothes and belongings. The therapy rooms were filled with colorful arts and crafts done by the students, along with shelves of therapy materials and books. Boys with Autism and Down Syndrome bounced around the main room and outdoor porch, smiling, talking, and giving hugs. Krista and the Director Julian, along with the Special Education teacher, Florian, exchanged ideas and prayed together. Julian sent a beautifully done, professional report to Krista after their visit, detailing what they had done during their visit and their goals and objectives moving forward.

On Sunday, February 23, an electrical fire broke out in this beautiful Special Needs School. The kids and staff all made it out safely, but everything else was lost. Beds, clothes, books, teaching materials, crafts, personal belongs. Everything.

Half of the students returned home, where they are not adequately cared for and there is no available education for them, and the other half are living at Julian's home.

They need our help.

In a place where we have an abundance of everything at our finger tips and we make more money in a day than they might in a month, let us all consider being generous for this Special cause.

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