 BACKGROUND: This strategy document was developed in 2019, and carried on through the Covid-19 Crisis in 2020, and is continuing to touch close to 30,000 individuals in more than 12 villages of Hope. Dufatanye Organization (DO)(which means “joining together”) is a local Non-Governmental Organization(LNGO) based in the Nyanza District, Southern Province of Rwanda. It began in 2004 as an association helping people living with HIVAids and became a registered NGO in 2015. Nyanza district has 77,522 households (323,719 individuals, 157,650 men, 166,069 women) in which 50% of the population is children. Within Nyanza the poverty rate is reported as 17.6%, but reality shows that the poverty is much higher in the villages. Along with the high poverty rate there is much hunger, malnutrition and illiteracy affecting 98% of the village households. The people living in the villages are unable to provide for their daily basic needs which then creates an ongoing predicament. Many make less than $0-$15 a month to live on. For 4 years Dufatanye has managed the project “Village of Hope” and has proven high success with the 100 marginalized, impoverished households within the village. The village is comprised of people who survived the 1994 Tutsi genocide, widows, orphans and those living with HIVAids. The organization worked to implement and improve agricultural practices (kitchen gardens, seeds, land use), decrease illiteracy by teaching adults how to read and write, repaired and built new homes, pit latrines and ended child labor by educating the parents and implementation of the Saturday Children’s Program. Dufatanye desires to implement this sustainable program, along with their proven knowledge and skills to other impoverished villages in the district suffering from a lack of resources and education. Through the “Village of Hope” program DO has positively impacted the lives of more than 4,000 individuals since its beginning in 2015. PROGRAM SUMMARY: In 2020, Dufatanye asked for $66,800 to begin a new 2 year “Village of Hope” program using their expertise gained from the ongoing program for 1,000 vulnerable families living in 10 villages of the Nyanza district. The project was designed to first create 10 community groups, one from each village, and provide them with multiple trainings by the experts from Dufatanye Organization. The weekly classes include, but not exclusively: improved agricultural practices, animal husbandry, balanced diet to fight malnutrition, savings group, cooperative formation, trauma education Once the trainings are completed in a village, the organization will provide each family with: 10 banana trees, 2 fruit trees, 2 laying hens, 1 kitchen garden, vegetable seeds, and fertilizer/manure The educational classes, provided supplies, monitoring and evaluation will assist the 1,000 families in beginning their journey out of poverty. Monitoring and evaluation will be done weekly and monthly by 3 managers from Dufatanye. The classes will be held weekly at a central point in the village, where the head of household can come and participate. The classes will be administered with both lecture, and practical application. At the end of each class there will be time for question and answers. The classes will be ongoing for 3 months and at the end of each months lectures the family will be supplied with the indicated products from the training and begin their improved farming. Two outstanding individuals from each village will train and provide continual support/coaching, so that hunger and malnutrition are decreased and resolved. As well, a Saturday children’s program will be established in each village to provide a child friendly and safe space for children of the villages to come and receive nutritious, enriched food, fun and educational lessons (nutrition, health, trauma, Bible, culture, song, etc.). The program is designed for children ages 5 – 12 years of age. Dufatanye has been managing a children’s program in the current “Village of Hope” for 8 years with improvements in children’s health, behaviour and social skills. The current program has approximately 500 children attending on Saturdays and recently more were registered. Still, there are more parents asking for their children to be allowed into the program. The program was also created for children to come and not be forced to do hard labor all day on the farm. Many to most of the children living in the area did not even have opportunity to attend school. The children’s program created a constructive environment for them to be children and learn new social skills they previously did not have. The parents eventually were making a small income and enabled their children an opportunity to attend school. The children’s program teaches children about: health and hygiene with handwashing food nutrition culture through song, dance, drama and drums character building through Bible stories BUDGET: $150 to support Saturday Children’s Program monthly $10 for 2 fruit trees, vegetable seeds and fertilizer $35 per kitchen garden $20 for 2 laying hens and 10 banana trees The cost for full support is $65 per family. 1000 families equals $65,000 12 months of Saturday Children’s Program equals $1,800 Total Budget for 1,000 families and 3,000 children is $66,800* *funds will be raised separately for the $16,800 above the $50,000 global giving campaign OUTCOMES: Dufatanye will “join together” with 10 villages in Nyanza district and provide the “Village of Hope” program to positively transform 10 villages, 1,000 families, 3,000 children and 5,000 individuals because they will have a constant food supply, so that they never have a single day of hunger again. Malnutrition and diseases associated with poverty and hunger will be eradicated. Families will learn how to save even from the little they will have and families will have an income for the first time by selling the surplus produce from their fruit trees and kitchen gardens. 3,000 children will no longer be subjected to hard labor because their parents will have the money required for them to go to school. The Saturday children’s program will allow 3,000 children the opportunity to participate in a fun, structured, educational environment that also provides them with a nutritious meal. Illiteracy will continually decrease because children are learning and teaching what they learn to their parents and relatives. The practice of agroecology will help to build on ancestral knowledge and nurture a healthy land. 
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Matthew 18:1-35 (ESV) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 10:13-16 (ESV) And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. Luke 18:15-17 (ESV) Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Matthew 19:13-15 (ESV) Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away. Author: M Vetter
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts . . . Even the sparrow finds a home at your altar . . .” Psalm 84:1,3 I am grateful to several who have prayed for my little sparrow in Rwanda. Fraterine is a ten-year-old boy, who until the last year, has led a solitary life, away from school, and simply drifting during the days because so many children made fun of his discomfiting, facial skin condition. Since discovering God’s little sparrow last summer, we from the Dufatanye Organization have sought to assist him and his family by taking him to see multiple doctors for treatment, building a new house and a chicken coop, and providing more nutritious foods for his family. Three weeks ago, a maxillofacial surgeon performed oral surgery to biopsy portions of Fraterine’s lips that had become ulcerated and looked suspicious. We were worried that he might have oral cancer in addition to his serious skin disease. Many of you have prayed for the results of this biopsy. I am thrilled to share that Fraterine does NOT have oral cancer! Not only that, this past Saturday, he attended our “Bible and Breakfast Club” and was all smiles! Two hundred fifty-one children gathered and, in addition to hearing the Bible lesson and enjoying porridge and bread, the children received numerous gifts including a bag of maize flour, notebooks, pens, Vaseline, and a long bar of soap. Our team also met with the parents to emphasize good habits in nutrition, sanitary practices and safety. A sparrow is a small, seemingly insignificant bird that spends much time alone. Despite its diminutive size, God values sparrows and not one falls to the earth apart from our Father’s care (Matthew 10:29). Often, a sparrow is associated with finding its home in the sanctuary or altars of the Lord. A “sanctuary” can denote a physical place where people worship God, even as we do today. But it can also figuratively imply a solitary, spiritual “place” where a Christian may worship the Lord and seek His face. Our little sparrow in Rwanda, Fraterine, sensed he knew where to find help. At the time, he may not have known that it was our Lord directing his steps, but I believe he knows now. God had seen his humble heart as he sat one day in a hot, glaring solitary place and cried out within his soul for help. What a beautiful metaphor for us. If a sparrow instinctively knows to draw close to its Creator near the Lord’s altar, how much more should we know to build our lives gazing upon that same altar in the sanctuary of the Lord. The gospel writer, Matthew, encourages, “ . . . do not be anxious about your life . . . Look at the birds [Greek word for “sparrow”] of the air: they neither sow nor reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them . . . “. Will He not also feed us? Ask yourself, “Where is my sanctuary? Who provides spiritual nourishment for me? Do I seek to dwell at the altar of God, in the courts of the living Lord?” Be like the sparrow. Set your heart on things above. Seek the Lord’s face. Draw near to God. He WILL draw near to you. [Source: Dr. R. Mark Gaffney, in Where the Birds Make Their Nests] |
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