Rwanda: Supporting the most vulnerable

I spent a significant portion of 2023 in Rwanda in the Bugesera district, where 60% of the population lives in extreme poverty. I witnessed the devastating and crushing effects of hunger, drought and inequitable access to education on the most vulnerable populations. I met young friends like Naella, age 4, who, despite being abandoned by her mother as an infant, has a smile that could light up any room. Today, she lives with her grandmother and young brother, and looks forward to daily instruction at Cyeru School.

Many children, like Naella, are orphaned, destitute and in dire need of a helping hand. Many do not know when and how they will get their next meal. It is children like Naella, and so many others, that propelled me to launch Mission Forward, LLC (now L.I.F.E. Catholic Foundation). In Rwanda, L.I.F.E. Catholic Foundation will help raise funds for a) the Cyeru School, Rwanda, a joint elementary, middle and high school reaching 1,100+ children ages 4-21+ living in extreme poverty, with over 95% food insecure, and b) a monthly food and clothing distribution program for the most impoverished families. In this region, 70,000 people are food insecure and 33% of children under the age of 5 are malnourished.

Cyeru School children and teachers are in need of basic school supplies (pens, paper and chalk), clothing and uniforms, technology, and financial support to subsidize school meals. Often, school lunch is the only meal these children eat per day. Seniors are also responsible for a $17 quarterly meal fee, which most cannot afford and school supplies cost a mere $3-$5 per student. The school is also in need of technology (computers and iPads) to build a small IT classroom essential for learning.

L.I.F.E. Catholic Foundation will also support a monthly food and clothing donation program. Families in dire need of support walk 5-15 kilometers to receive a 'food package' containing 10kg of cornmeal, 5kg of beans and rice, cooking oil, soap, and more. With your help, we can feed over 100 families at $35 per family, per month. They are in dire need of support!

Help us reach more children and families today, by removing these economic barriers to success! Together, we can ensure that families who have been living in often debilitating, generational poverty, succeed. Your support will have a significant impact on this community today.