TEAM HENRY SEVEN: Love With Actions Rwanda Trip

HELLO, my name is Kathy Homan,

A series of events across two continents started an amazing opportunity of hope, fellowship, and community, all inspired by a young man living with disabilities here in the US, my cousin, Henry and YOU can help by DONATING NOW to help make it happen!

When Henry was a baby and into his toddler years, doctors could not say whether he would walk or even communicate independently. Now at twenty-seven years old, and with the help of the amazing talent of healthcare and educational professionals, along with the support of his family, Henry is hard-working, positive, and inspirational... and he demonstrates the possibilities of what a disabled person can accomplish with their life!

Henry is an active member in his community, he has a job and many hobbies including art, photography, lawn care, and operating modern tools and machinery. But by far, the most amazing thing about Henry is his upbeat and warm communication skills. Henry makes a friend of everyone he meets.

With your help, we have a chance to bring Henry's story and personality to some hard-working and deserving disabled children along with the organizations that support them in Rwanda, Africa this summer.

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION NOW :-)

Henry along with his family will serve as ambassadors to share his hard work and success story with the staff, students, and family at Love With Actions and Shalom Community Organization all at the personal invitation of the Director of Love with Actions, Gilbert Kubwimana. Glibert "met" Henry and believes his story and the story about how his community and family shared the burden of his success will help give children, families, educators, and therapists hope and a look into the future.

Although Love with Actions and Good Shepard Academy is leading the way of disability inclusion, education, and health support services, the concepts they are using are so new to the Rwandan people that they have very little experience with successful adult outcomes like Henry. This union of Henry, his family and story with Gilbert's staff's groundbreaking work will forge a relationship of support that will last for years.

SEE MY STORY BELOW OF HOW GILBERT MET HENRY and the impact he made.

We are extremely lucky and grateful that several generous donors have come forward to offer a majority of the funds to make this trip happen. This GoFundMe campaign will be used to help fund the remaining travel expenses, travel visas, gifts and supplies for our Rwandan partners, children, families, and any surplus will be given directly to Love with Actions - Good Shepard Academy and Shalom Community Organization to support their programming for families of disabled children in Rwanda.

OUR PILGRIMAGE TEAM INCLUDES: Henry, his parents, Jim and Linda, his two brothers, Sam and Owen, myself and my husband Eric.

We’re calling ourselves “TEAM HENRY SEVEN”

OUR PURPOSE is to grow personally by listening and working alongside our amazing Rwandan partners in Love with Actions and Shalom Community Organization to encourage them in their work of serving disabled children and their families by telling Henry's success story, providing inspiration and hope, and doing Christian community development work in various locations throughout our trip. This may include working with groups of pastors, families, widows, teenagers, orphans or other vulnerable people.

Our exact community service activities will be determined by the interests/skills of our team and the needs of Love with Actions and Shalom at that time. We will meet with various small groups and also visit families of disabled children in their homes. We will have the opportunity to listen to, encourage and pray for people. We will learn from one another and bring stories about this wonderful work back to our American friends and family.

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION NOW :-)

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MORE ABOUT OUR RWANDAN PARTNERS:

Love with Actions in Bumbogo Rwanda, Mission: To help children with disabilities from poor families have value in their community through advocacy and creation of opportunities for themselves and their families.

WEBSITE: LOVE WITH ACTIONS

FACEBOOK: LOVE WITH ACTIONS

Shalom Community Organization in Rubavu, Rwanda, Mission: To create transformed communities by forming reconciled groups that work together to creatively design and implement initiatives to meet their basic needs related to poverty, health, education, governance and the environment.

FACEBOOK: SHALOM COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

TEAM HENRY SEVEN will be participating in community service actions in each location we visit, including the homes of families who have children with disabilities.

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION NOW :-)

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KATHY'S STORY: MY JOURNEY TO RWANDA, 2022

Last year, my sister was invited to join a group of women going on a pilgrimage to Rwanda from her church, St. James Presbyterian, in Littleton Colorado. This would be her second trip to support Love with Actions and Shalom Ministries there. I mentioned that I really wish I could join and share the experience with her. She said, “well then let’s make it happen.” Next thing I knew I had an application filled out to join, and with some financial help from my family, was going to Rwanda as part of the team of nine

I have to say that traveling to Rwanda on a pilgrimage with a fabulous group of women was the most wonderful experience I have ever had and to get to do it with my sister was truly amazing. Seeing God in action in Rwanda working through Love with Actions and Shalom is something I will never forget. The people I met there will be in my heart and prayers forever.

Here's where my cousin, Henry Weidert comes in….

As part of the preparation for the trip to Rwanda we were asked to share a story while visiting about a way we have experienced God in our life. It seemed easy at first glance but I could not figure out where to begin, what would my testimony be? After much thought and after attending our family reunion in Wisconsin where I spent a great deal of time with my cousin, Henry – it just came to me – crystal clear…. I wanted to bring Henry with me to Rwanda… meaning share his story.

Henry has been such a blessing in my life, in our entire family's lives and so many others. I felt Henry’s story would be an inspiration to the mothers and their children living with disabilities as well as the physical therapists and occupational therapists that we would meet at Love With Actions as well as the founder and Director of Love with Actions, Gilbert Kubwimana and the Director of Shalom, Jean Paul Mukunzi and many other people along the way.

Jim and Linda wrote Henry’s story for me – it was the most cherished thing I took with me. Before I left, Henry was very curious about my trip, asking me many questions and when he realized I “was going to meet and help children like him”, he was thrilled. Henry tracked all my flights to and from Rwanda, and phoned to check on me a few times.

Henry’s story touched the Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, both at Love with Actions (Gilbert) and Shalom (Jean Paul). After my return home, Gilbert asked if he could meet Henry, so I set up a Zoom and introduced Henry and Jim to Gilbert. During the call Gilbert invited Henry and family to come and visit Love with Actions in Rwanda.

I set off to make a a new pilgrim trip happen, put together a budget and suggested itinerary, then pitched the idea to the Weidert family and my husband. We are so grateful for this opportunity to go on this life changing pilgrimage of service together as a family.

We are extremely lucky and grateful that several generous donors have come forward to offer a majority of the funds to make this trip happen. This GoFundMe campaign will be used to help fund the remaining travel expenses, travel visas, gifts and supplies for our Rwandan partners, disabled children, families, and any surplus will be given directly to Love with Actions - Good Shepard Academy and Shalom Community Organization to support their programming for families of disabled children in Rwanda.

Thank you so much for your support!

Kathy Homan

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION NOW :-)

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MORE ABOUT RWANDA

MORE INFO WIKIPEDIA

TOURISM WEBSITE: VISIT RWANDA

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION NOW :-)