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Helping Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Be Secure Be Healthy Be Connected Be Prepared

Umugisha “Blessing” Working Group, Rwanda

Partnered with Hendersonville FUMC, 2013-2015

The Umugisha Working Group in Rwanda will graduate this year, and in two and a half years they have

accomplished a lot. This year they began harvesting the bananas they planted in 2014. With the good

agricultural practices the children learned and the use of high quality fertilizers, the working group’s banana

plantation is the envy of its neighbors. Umugisha members are asked for advice by their neighbors on how to

grow such productive plants. Although bananas take a year and a half to mature, once they begin producing, the

children can harvest them every week. They now have bananas to eat and to sell. The profits go to the group’s

mutual savings fund to be reinvested in group projects or used for grants and loans to group members.

They also received land on which to grow corn (maize) and have had two corn harvests. The group is shown

below with their latest harvest.

Like with the sale of their bananas, this harvest also produces a group income. Over the last two years, the

orphans have learned to save both their money and seeds to plant in the next season. With money they have

saved they have bought piglets for each family and are raising them to sell for more money. In addition to the

group’s mutual savings fund, each individual family has its own savings account.

Over the past year, ZOE has given the youth resources to help them become more self-sufficient. For example,

ZOE provided the group with four cows. One family is responsible for each cow and when it has produced a calf,

the family keeps the calf and passes the cow off to the next family. The process repeats in this cooperative way

until all the families have a cow, which is a very high status animal in Rwandan communities.

Each head of household also received grants (approved by the group) to open and run small businesses like

selling vegetables, fruit drinks, chickens and eggs. Some of the members have several businesses.

The children have a prayer request: there has been a shortage of rain this season and it is getting late for the

current farming season. Please pray for rain for Rwanda so our orphans can plant their crops.

# # #

Focus On: Transforming lives through Health, Housing, Education, and Faith

ZOE’s approach to empowering children is comprehensive, touching on all the areas that hold them in poverty.

Only in this way can the children truly break free from the extreme poverty which holds them in bondage. In

ZOE’s empowerment model there are seven or eight areas in which ZOE helps the children to help themselves.

Listed below are explanations of a few of these areas.

Health and Disease Prevention

ZOE’s goal is to address immediate health needs, teach the children how to live healthy lives, and connect them

to medical resources. Preventative education includes basic hygiene practices such as encouraging children to

wash their hands, boil water, and keep their home and surroundings clean. The trainings also include in-depth

instruction on topics such as:

Nutrition (especially important for children who may have had accesses to very limited diets in the past)

How diseases are transmitted and, prevention and treatment of diseases; especially for malaria and HIV/AIDS

Dangers of substance abuse

Specialized training for girls personal health and safety

As a reward for meeting certain basic health and hygiene standards in their homes, ZOE will initially provide

mosquito nets (after training on how to use them appropriately) as well as blankets. ZOE also assists the children

or group in obtaining soap, water storage tanks, and pots for boiling water, especially during the first year of the

program. In later years the children need to purchase or replace items out of their own profits. Similarly, ZOE

will help the children enroll with health insurance plans or access medical care by providing partial initial financial

assistance, but the children are taught that they need to save money to cover these kinds of expenses on their

own. As needed, ZOE will also help with the cost of constructing toilet facilities.

Part of the health training also involves helping the children understand the importance of improving their

physical appearance and extending to the appearance of the home (in Rwanda the children are encouraged to

plant flowers on their property) to increase their status in the community. When the children look “smart” their

confidence increases, they feel better about themselves, and others in the community begin treating them with

respect and acceptance. In the 2nd and 3rd years of the program you can actually pick out the once-ragged ZOE

children because they are often the cleanest looking children in the village and hold themselves with pride and

dignity.

Housing

Often, children entering ZOE are living in houses, left by their deceased parents, that are in disrepair. At other

times the orphans and vulnerable children are working in fields or other tasks in exchange for a room, which

leaves them little time for any other activities. There are also street children in the program who sleep homeless

each night. Without a safe and secure place to live it is difficult for children to achieve and maintain economic

and social stability in their lives. In certain emergency situations ZOE will provide a housing grant to the working

group of children for a family in great need. This grant is not enough to pay for the entire amount of the home,

but for the expensive window, doors and roof. The working group then meets to decide who in the group is in

the most dire need, and the groups comes together to help construct a home for that child and the siblings for

whom they care. In some areas ZOE is even able to partner with local governments or villages to assist with

finding housing for these children. ZOE’s emphasis for the majority of the group is on helping the children find

appropriate housing while also teaching them how to save money to repair or purchase their own home.

Sometimes this means moving in with another child in the group or finding a reasonable renting situation while

they save profits from businesses to buy land and build their own home.

Education

ZOE does not need to teach the children and young caregivers who join working groups about the importance of

education. These children desperately want to attend school. Prior to joining ZOE, many children participated in

school, but were forced to drop out due to chronic illness, hunger, social ostracism, lack of clothing, and/or lack

of money. Once in the program, the young heads of households (many of whom have been out of the

educational system for too long) are eager to see their younger siblings back in school as soon as possible.

So that children can quickly return to school, ZOE will meet with school administrators and assist with some of

the expenses such as uniforms, fees, and materials. The working group can also help to secure some of these

materials to help their members return to school. As with all other aspects of the ZOE program, the emphasis is

on empowering the children to pay for their own educational expenses. It is a great source of pride and self-

esteem for the children to be able to share how they are able to work to send their younger siblings to school. It

is like hearing parents brag about the accomplishments of their children and very moving to see in a sibling.

Faith

Often the isolation that the children feel when they begin the ZOE program extends to their thoughts about God.

Because they are abused and discriminated against by their community - and often this includes Christians in

their village - they believe God has also abandoned or even cursed them. At other times they believe that maybe

God does not exist, or if God does exist that they are somehow beyond God’s love. In the very first meeting the

staff often address the Lord’s prayer with the children, and talk about what it means, as an orphan, to call God

“Father.” They learn that they are not truly orphans because they have their heavenly Father who loves them.

ZOE shares the gospel with these children, but this sharing goes beyond words to deeds. The children both hear

and see the very best of the Christian message, and often respond to this in inspirational ways. At each meeting

they begin with Scripture readings, prayer and devotions given by a group member, but while this is available to

the children they are never coerced into the Christian faith. ZOE’s program is religiously non-restrictive, but

offers a compelling view of the love Christians show to others.

One of the most powerful parts of the empowerment program is the way these children put their faith into

action in their own community. They forgive those who have harmed them; feed others who are even poorer

than themselves; adopt other children and share their resources and knowledge with them; pray and care for

one another; and pay fair wages to those who had once taken advantage of their situation with hard labor and

poor pay. These children return good for evil and can be examples to all of what it means to live our faith.

A six month, combined report on all 45 second year working groups in Rwanda, July – Dec., 2014

ZOE working group members with their cassava harvest.

FOOD SECURITY

During July and August, all households harvested food crops from both their group farms and their individual

gardens and farms. The group projects included cabbage, carrots, corn, bananas and cassava; the family projects

featured beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, beetroots, tomatoes and egg plants.

September and October the children again planted their individual gardens and cash crops as well as the group

farms adding soybeans, rice and potatoes. After the crops were in, the groups created revolving funds that

enabled them to start rabbit keeping projects. November was spent weeding, adding fertilizers and spraying for

insects. Their individual and group agricultural projects are now sustainable and because of their success, none of

the children need to beg, steal or work for food. Community leaders have witnessed the accomplishments of the

children and are willing to provided material, technical and financial support as needed.

Working groups also received cows to strength their food security through the production of milk and manure.

Each group received several cows which belong to the whole group, but are cared for by individual households.

These select members are compensated by the group and also get to keep the milk produced. Calves are

returned to the group.

INCOME GENERATION & FINANCIAL SECURITY

ZOE continues in the second year to provide funds to the working groups for distribution as micro grants to

individual members. The youth have created a variety of small businesses including: selling beans, rice, bananas

and avocadoes; raising and selling chickens, rabbits and pigs; hair salons, barber shops, grocery and tailoring;

motorbike and bicycle taxi services; and cell phone charging services.

With their income the members are able to buy school materials for their siblings, clothing and begin savings

accounts. The young people who are heads of large households have difficulty reinvesting in their businesses

because they use such a large portion of their profits to buy food. This leads to business failures. During the

third year, ZOE program facilitators will spend extra time with these families to help them develop a sustainable

approach to being both food secure and financially self-sufficient.

HEALTH, HYGIENE AND DISEASE PREVENTION

ZOE continued to help those individuals who needed health insurance or special medical attention, but emphasis

in the second year and into the third is on helping these young members become independent of such support.

ZOE has also been encouraging the construction of proper toilet facilities and has provided some building

materials, like iron sheets for roofing. The group members take turns helping each other dig the pits and

construct the building.

Country coordinator Epiphanie Mujawimana reports that after two years, the children’s personal hygiene has

greatly improved. Not only are the children suffering less from hygiene related illnesses, they are also more

welcomed by the community resulting in greater participation in community events and activities. Epiphanie

notes that ZOE children even look cleaner than others kids in the community

HOUSING Housing has been a significant issue for the children. Many became homeless when their parents or

grandparents died and they were chased away from the home, others came from orphanages and had no

resources to begin independent lives. ZOE has been providing the building materials and the group members

lend labor to repair or build homes as needed for each family.

EDUCATION Children who had dropped out of school, which often happens when the parents have passed away,

were assisted by ZOE to reintegrate. Not only have the children begun attending school more regularly, they

have also done better on their exams because of the improved stability in their lives. Some have received

government scholarships to attend the university.

CHILD RIGHTS Ignorance of child rights is the main cause of child abuse and child exploitation. During

September, the children were trained on child rights in accordance with the United Nation’s Rights of the Child.

ZOE also trained members on child abuse prevention and taught them how to defend their rights as needed. At

the same time, ZOE also tries to educate community leaders who are sometimes ignorant of these rights.

ZOE staff and mentors visit the homes of children in the program to help them feel more worthy and less lonely.

The group members are also encouraged visit each other. ZOE also worked to reunite families and to successfully

reclaim parental land that was claimed by others.

FAITH CULTIVATION In addition to praying weekly during their group meetings, the ZOE program facilitators

introduce the children to scripture readings to guide them in their empowerment journey. The children in turn

become leaders and models of how to live a Christian life; they lead their group in devotions, they become

members of their church choirs and they provide assistance not only to those in need within their working group,

but also to their neighbors.

A ZOE working group member leading her peers in devotions.

The Kicking Project

Written by Carol Watson What? Surely this is a misprint! No, in fact, a Kicking Project is practiced by a very entrepreneurial young orphan in Rwanda. Marie Goretti’s father died in 1994. Her mother died11 years later, leaving Marie Goretti, at age 11, responsible for her 4 siblings from her mother’s second marriage. They had a home but never enough food. All the children had to drop out of school to work on farms for food. But during the dry season there was no work, and the family often went days without eating. Because they were poor and dirty, no one visited them, and they felt outcast from their community. When Marie Goretti was invited to join ZOE’s Umugisha Working Group, her entrepreneurial spirit was ignited. With others in her group, she got a plot of land in the group’s farm which she planted. With money she earned, she started her Kicking Project which involves buying a piece of land already planted and after harvesting the crop, selling the land for a profit. Marie Goretti bought a piece of land planted in rice. When the rice matured, she harvested it for sale and sold the land. With her profits she bought avocado trees, from which she harvests avocados to sell. She now sells avocados and rice in her little store in town. She feels blessed by God to have her life transformed from outcast to role model. Now her siblings are all in school and have plenty of food to eat. They have clothes. Her friends come to visit. And, the community leaders told her that because she makes so much money she is no longer considered a “vulnerable child.” This means that she has to pay for her health insurance. She is very proud to pay and not be considered vulnerable. Her dream is to continue to save her money so she can go to university and get a good job. She wants to make enough money to care for her when she is old. If anyone can make it happen, Marie Goretti can.

Focus On: Income Generation

While learning how to grow food, keep livestock, and obtain an education is important, orphaned and vulnerable

children will not be able to escape extreme poverty or dependency unless they also learn how to make and

manage money.

ZOE helps the young family leaders develop multiple income sources. Their working group initiates group

business projects that will provide some money for all to share. This business project might be an agricultural

project or animal breeding since these are labor intensive and all can participate. Individual orphan households

also start small income generating activities. One example would be the buying and selling of a commodity such

as eggs they have boiled or mangos bought in bulk and sold individually. Before being given resources to start

these small businesses, ZOE trains the young people on how to be business savvy and manage the money they

earn. This includes reinvesting to grow the business.

ZOE helps the children dream larger dreams about how they can provide for themselves and their siblings in

more secure ways. For example, ZOE may help a child enroll in vocational classes to start a trade business (like

tailoring, auto mechanic, or hair styling), open a kiosk business to sell dry goods or enlarge their farm or livestock

breeding to produce surplus they can sell. It is typical for an ambitious young person in the ZOE program to run

several income generating activities simultaneously.

ZOE trains all working group members on how to craft a business plan and manage the business of their

choosing. After this training, the group takes the following steps:

Discusses what businesses could succeed in their community; and how they can cooperate to serve the

market if multiple children want to try the same business,

Creates individual and group business plans, presenting these to the group for discussion.

Votes to approve the proposal or help the member create a better plan.

Once the business plan is approved, the individual will receive a micro-grant and/or a start-up kit to begin.

Throughout this process the ZOE program facilitators/social workers is available to provide guidance, but not to

tell the group what to do or make decisions for them. In this way the children begin to learn how to make their

own decisions while assisting one another so they may continue this process beyond the three-year ZOE

program.

Rwanda – July/August 2014

Day 4 – Saturday – visited Umugisha (Hendersonville UMC) and Abakundana groups

We began our visit by stopping by Jeanette’s small stand in the village

where she sells cassava flour, potatoes, and vegetables. Prior to

joining the ZOE working group, Jeanett (plaid shirt at right) was

stigmatized as a dirty orphan. Her only source of food was begging or

a labor for food arrangement with a neighbor which frequently results

in abuse. She is now able to buy food with her profits and contribute

to the group savings program where each family contributes a set

amount each week. The money is pooled and given to a different

family each week so it can be leveraged to buy an animal such as a

goat. Families take rotating turns to share the opportunity with each

family.

Next we traveled to visit

Vestine (taller, blue shirt)

and Angelique (black shirt

#10). They have rented a

house in the village to use as

a storefront to sell the

sorghum drink they produce.

Angelique, 16, is the head of her household and responsible for her

two sisters who are 10 and 12 years old. She was 8 years old when her

parents passed. She had to drop out of school to provide for her

sisters. Most neighbors would not give her work because she was too

young. When she found herself sometimes eating only a couple times

a week, she decided to start stealing food out of desperation. She was

caught by her neighbor who miraculously took mercy on her when she

begged for forgiveness. This spared her from a fate faced by many

orphans caught stealing. She used a grant from ZOE to start the

sorghum drink business with Vestine. Today she is able to buy enough

food for her and her sisters to eat three meals per day. She is grateful to ZOE and currently saving to buy a cow.

Vestine faced many of the same difficulties prior to joining ZOE. Like so many orphans, she was forced to labor

for food. Even then she was paid an unfair wage of 200 francs while the other children received 500 francs for

the same work. Through the relationships and skills provided by ZOE she now has confidence and a mental

advantage over others in the village. She now grows maize, rice, and beans. Her younger brother assists in their

sorghum business by traveling to the market to sell their drink.

Goretti, 20, is another child in Umugisha. She lost her father in the genocide when she was an infant, and her

mother died when she was 13. She dropped out of school to provide for her 4 siblings because she was the only

one old enough to work. In addition to many days without food, her neighbors shunned her because they knew

she was coming to beg every time they saw her. They called her “disgusting” because she was so dirty. Since a

starting ZOE, she is pleased to have visitors because she is no longer a burden to her neighbors. She calls ZOE her

new family. Goretti runs a rice and avocado trading system which takes advantage of market timing. She buys

plots of avocadoes and rice at a low price when they are not ready, then sells the produce at a premium after

harvest. A hoe and a goat were gifts from ZOE helping her get started. Most of profit goes to pay for health

insurance since she no longer qualifies for the government subsidy. She said it is worth losing the subsidy not to

be labeled as “vulnerable” by the government. Today, she is thankful for the support, prayers, and love she has

received from ZOE. She is committed to helping other children. Her dream is to save money, go to the

university, and to have her siblings care for her when she

is old.

We had a wonderful group meeting in the banana farm

(group project) that included a many crickets, a few

spiders, and at least one high jumping toad which helped

break the ice with the mzungus! The land was granted

to them by the government. We learned the group has

37 families and 75 children. Most were hungry, abused,

and living on the streets prior to ZOE. Today, 21 children

are in school and they have used hoes, seed, and goats

provided by ZOE to generate income leaving them clean,

well-fed, and happy. Immaculee (white shirt) read a

beautiful poem in which she called ZOE her mother.

We heard testimonials from several children. Venantie,

15, felt God was calling her to join the working group

and she was willing to say yes. Bellancille was reunited

with her sisters Pronie and Faida after escaping a sex

trafficking ring in Kigali where she went looking for opportunity. They have purchased a plot of land and started

growing rice with their share of the profits from the banana farm. Balthazar, 17, cares for his 10 year old brother

and is happy to have clean clothes and soap. He says ZOE has taught him the business principles that allowed

him to buy 2 piglets from 10,000 francs total and re-sell one pig for 20,000 franc and keep the other. He has

learned of God’s love and hope for and was recently baptized.

Head of Household: Beatha (written as Beata on the name list), 19 Sister: Nsabimana, 10

Challenges Faced

When their mother died in 2004, Beatha and her sister were left totally alone in the world. With no relatives to

care for her baby sister and herself, Beatha struggled for years by working in exchange for a small room and

begging for food. They ate only four times a week and what they ate often had little nutritional value. No one

taught them how to care for themselves, how to prevent illness, how to grow vegetables or cook them, or that

God loves and cares for them. For 10 years they lived as outcasts. Even if they had been invited to church, they

had no clothes to wear. They both suffered from malaria and had worms. Their lives were full of despair and

empty of hope. Then ZOE came to their village, and they were welcomed into the Umugisha Working Group.

Beatha’s Dream

Each vulnerable child in the ZOE empowerment program begins their journey out of extreme poverty by creating

a “Dream” document to identify goals help them stay focused. Here are the Dream responses from Beatha:

1. What makes you feel sad? Death of my parents

2. What makes you happy? Drinking milk

3. What happens in the community that you do not like? Child abuse

4. What is your dream for the future? To have enough food; to have our own house

5. What will be your guiding principles? Work hard; saving; pray

Focus on: Connections

One of the greatest disadvantages orphans and vulnerable children face is isolation from peers and the larger

community. ZOE works to address these conditions in many ways.

Peer group. Even though there may be hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children living in a community or

village, they often self-segregate because of the conditions of their poverty, disease, and/or the stigma of AIDS.

When they hear the stories of other orphans during their first working group meeting, they are greatly

encouraged to find that there are others who share their same struggles. No longer are they alone.

Social worker and mentor. Each working group is assigned a social worker. These ZOE staff members usually

speak the mother tongue of the region, hold a diploma in social work or related fields and have experience

working with children. The social worker for the Umugisha Working Group is Albertine Umubyeyi. Albertine

holds a bachelor’s degree in development studies, and has been working with ZOE to empower orphans since

2008. Prior to joining ZOE’s staff, she was a secondary school teacher for five years. She is married with three

daughters.

Additionally, the working group members select a person from the local community to serve as a mentor and

advocate for the children within the community. Mentors received training from ZOE and then attend weekly

meetings, make home visits and help ZOE resolve challenges the group may face in the community.

And a powerful connection is you! All ZOE working groups know the opportunities they receive are from God,

through the love and concern coming from their partners far away. They are amazed that you would care for

them without ever having met them. This powerful connection is further strengthened when a Hope Companion

visits the children to witness what they have achieved. In many ways you stand in place of their parents, and to

hear that you are proud of what they have accomplished is transformative for these children. Thank you for

being a part of building God’s Kingdom in this way.

Family Accomplishments since Joining ZOE:

Beatha has been working hard. Initially she received a grant to sell bananas so that she could quickly earn money

to buy food for her and her sister. Then with her group, she attended classes on agriculture and nutrition. ZOE

gave her grants of plots of land on which to grow bananas and maize. Through ZOE she also got vegetable seeds

and a hoe to plant a kitchen garden. Like other members of her working group, she participated in animal care

training and received a goat to raise and breed. Now she and her sister have nutritious food to cook and eat.

Beatha also attended training sessions on health and hygiene to improve their lives. She learned how to keep

themselves and their home clean and free from pests. They were given mosquito nets and taught how to use

them. Now they are less vulnerable to disease. ZOE provided initial help for Nsabimana to go to school by

providing school supplies. When Beatha is earning enough money, she will be able to pay the fees and buy

supplies.

Just as importantly, the girls have become part of a community that supports and cares about them. Each week

Beatha meets with other orphan heads of households to share their challenges and successes. They have

devotions and pray for each other. Group members, as well as her mentor, visit her and her sister. They are no

longer alone. Because of your partnership with the Umugisha Working Group, Beatha’s life has been

transformed from hopeless to hopeful as her dreams begin to come true.

Head of Household: Bellancille, 19

Siblings: Pronie, 16 and Faida, 13

Challenges: The children’s parents died in 2008 and 2010

leaving them with no place to live and no way to support

themselves. Fortunately an aunt took them into her home,

but she could not afford to feed them. In order to work to

get food, the older two children had to drop out of school.

Even then, they were eating only four times each week.

Bellancille may have left to look for work because her

name is not on the original list, but now she is back with

the family and working to make them food secure, thanks

to help from your partnership with ZOE.

Family achievements because of your partnership:

Bellancille and her siblings have accomplished much in the

past year. First she participated in the agriculture and

nutrition training as well as training in small animal husbandry. After completing the training, she received a hoe

and vegetable seeds and a goat. She planted a kitchen garden, and the goat provided protein for the family and

fertilizer for the garden. However, it is not enough for the children to grow food for themselves; they need to

generate income to help them support themselves and meet their other needs.

Bellancille attended training to start an income generating activity. She learned about business and money

management. Then she developed a business plan which she presented to her working group. Your partnership

provides the funds for business micro-grants, but the working group manages the money and approves the

grants. As of February of this year she has received banana, maize, and soya seeds along with manure and

technical support to start her farm. And she has opened a bank account! She is achieving her dream to grow her

own food without having to work for others.

This year ZOE provided the funds for her youngest sibling to attend school, but as Bellancille sells her farm goods,

she will be able to pay for Faida’s education.

Bellancille’s Life Dream

Early in the first year, each working group member completes the Dream process to help them examine their

current situation and set goals for transforming their lives. After a discussion with her family, these are

Bellancille’s “Dream” responses:

6. What makes you feel sad? Parent’s death

7. What makes you happy? To eat beans and rice

8. What happens in the community that you do not like? Insults

9. What is your dream for the future? To have my own food without working for others; to grow my own

food; to have a goat; to have a house

10. What will be your guiding principles to achieve your dream? To work hard; savings

Thanks to your partnership, Bellancille has a new life with her own food to eat—a dream come true.

Head of Household: Philomen, 15

Challenges Faced: Philomen was slowly fading

from her community. The death of her parents left

her alone with no siblings or relatives with whom

to live or even visit. Others shunned her and even

abused her because of her low status. School was

too socially painful for her to attend. Philomen

spent her days working to pay for housing and

sometimes begging in order to eat her single daily

meal. She suffered chronic stomach pains and

malnutrition as well as social isolation. Philomen

needed help in many areas of her life, but ZOE’s

first concern was to make sure she had access to a

steady source of nutritional food.

Focus On: Food Security

Food scarcity and hunger is an everyday struggle

for most children entering the ZOE empowerment

program. Because they lack status or an adult advocate, when orphans and vulnerable children try to work to

support themselves and their dependents they are paid extremely low wages, small amounts of food, or in

exchange for lodging. Children often go two or three days without eating. Even if they have a meal or two a day,

the nutritional quality is often poor.

With guidance provided by ZOE's social workers, new working groups explore their options for food security and

create a detailed plan to achieve their goals. Within the year, sometimes within several months, children are

harvesting crops for their own sustenance and to sell for profit. Most of families also plant kitchen gardens to

provide a variety of food for their daily meals and to counter malnutrition. In some regions, ZOE distributes goats

to families after they have received appropriate training. The goats in Rwanda are usually dairy goats which

provide milk, fertilizer and offspring to be sold or shared with other ZOE families. In Kenya, goats are raised as

livestock and sold for meat.

The ZOE method of empowerment means the children are not told what to do, but take an active role in

developing a plan to become food secure and self-sufficient. The working group discusses what resources they

can access (i.e. land, government services to support agriculture, which children can work the land, etc.) and

what items they need to purchase. Because of your partnership, ZOE is able to provide the training, seeds and

tools the children need to implement their plans.

Philomen’s Dream

During the first or second meeting of a working group, each family completes the Dream process to help them

examine their current situation and set goals for transforming their lives. These are Phiomen’s “Dream”

responses:

1. What makes you feel sad? Parents’ death

2. What makes you happy? Food

3. What are things in the community that you do not like? When someone beats kids

4. What is your dream doe the future? A goat, having enough food to eat, a proper house

5. To achieve your dream for the future, what must you do every day? Work hard and pray

Family specific achievements because of your partnership

In February, Philomen attended ZOE led training in food security and nutrition and received a hoe and vegetable

seeds to begin her own garden. Although ZOE refrains from distributing “relief” supplies, if Philomen’s life was

at risk ZOE would provide assistance. More often, the other children in the working group share what they can

until the first harvest is gathered. However, in June, your partnership enabled Philomen to achieve another part

of her dream – she received a goat—and was on her way to food security.

So that Philomen could earn money to support herself, ZOE provided her training and resources to start a banana

farm. In addition to learning on how to grow banana trees, she also received training on how to manage both

the business side of the farm and the money she will earn. Her working group members provide support to plant

and tend the farm and to think through a plan for harvesting, ripening and getting the bananas to market.

Philomen no longer has to face her challenges alone. Each week she meets with the other children in her

Umugisha Working Group and they share their difficulties, celebrate successes and join in prayer and

devotionals. She also knows she has the prayers and support of FUMC Hendersonville. Together Umugisha, ZOE

and FUMC Hendersonville will help Philomen complete her dream to have a house of her own.

Head of Household: Jean Baptiste, 17, pictured here with one of the goats distributed to the Umugisha Working

Group members after they received training in animal husbandry.

Challenges Faced: The greatest challenge for Jean Baptiste has been loneliness. No parents, no siblings, no one

to provide emotional or physical support. Jean Baptiste suffered terribly after his parents died: eating only every

other day, malnourished, infected with worms, not attending school, home in disrepair, no friends or relatives for

social interaction, and no church support. When he was identified and invited to join the Umugisha Working

Group, he began his journey out of abject poverty. And it started with a dream.

Focus on: The Dream

Most orphans and vulnerable children entering the ZOE empowerment program face a daily struggle to survive.

With their energy consumed by the need to find food for themselves and their siblings, there is neither time to

think about the future nor reason to hope for something better. But through ZOE and your partnership, the

children learn to imagine a new life and prepare to make it a reality.

During one of the early working group meetings, the ZOE social worker will lead members through an exercise

called the Dream process where they explore their current situation and then consider what they want and how

to get it. They then create a poster of their responses to a standard set of questions the social worker provides.

The head of each family presents their Dream to the rest of the working group members who express support

and give feedback. These Dream documents help the social worker better understand the conditions of the

children’s lives so they can address specific needs or traumas suffered. The family keeps a copy of their Dream,

often displaying it in their home to provide daily motivation as they strive to create their new life.

The following is the response from Jean Baptiste Ndayisaba to the dream questions:

1. What makes you feel sad? Parents’ death

2. What makes you happy? Food

3. What are things that you do not like? When someone beats kids.

4. What is it that you dream of when you imagine your future? Having enough food to eat and a repaired

house.

5. To achieve your dream for the future, what must you do every day? Obey God, love other children and

neighbors, work hard.

What Jean Baptiste Ndayisaba has achievemented because of your partnership:

Food Security: The entire Umugisha Working Group received training in February on how to create a

kitchen garden and how to grow and manage a cash crop. Along with the other members of his working

group, Jean Baptiste received a hoe and vegetable seeds (carrots, cabbages, onions and beet root, beans)

which he immediately began to grow. By June he had his first harvest.

Income Generation: Jean Baptiste has planted a banana farm. Many other ZOE children have also begun

banana farms with start plants from ZOE and have found this activity provides a reliable source of

income.

Health and Disease Prevention: The ZOE social worker who is working with the Umugisha Working

Group made sure Jean Baptiste received medical treatment for his case of worms as soon as possible. In

May, he attended a health and hygiene training session to learn what steps he can take to avoid diseases

and illnesses common to his region.

Community Connections: The ZOE working group is making sure Jean Baptist is no longer isolated from

a community. Not only does he join other group members for community work projects, he also

receives visits at his home from his peers and ZOE staff. Jean Baptist also began attending prayer

meetings with other group members in February and by April was comfortable enough to attend church

services.

Umugisha “Blessing” Working Group, Rwanda

In order to boost the income and food security of the members of the Umugisha Working Group, ZOE provided each household a goat. Goats provide these orphan families with milk, fertilizer for their gardens and farms, and 2-3 offspring per year for income. ZOE social workers and local agricultural officials taught the children about how to care for farm animals at a regional training session to ensure they would have the skills they needed to care for their goats. Focus On: Working Group Formation Poverty often means a life lived in isolation, unconnected even from those who share the same struggles and

challenges. A ZOE working group provides orphans and vulnerable children a community where they experience

understanding, compassion and acceptance. Together, they begin their journey towards a better life.

To form a working group, ZOE social workers first contact community leaders and local officials to educate them

about the empowerment approach and to ask for their help in identifying children. During the first meeting, the

children and their young caregivers learn how they will change and improve their lives within three years. Then

ZOE takes a step back.

Working group members elect their own leadership, make rules to guide their meetings, choose a group name

and decide where to hold weekly gatherings. These once-marginalized children learn from ZOE staff that their

community and their Hope Companion partner have faith in their ability to succeed.

The eldest child from each family attends the weekly meetings to discuss their activities and share both success

stories and challenges. Additionally, ZOE’s staff and selected community members host regional training sessions

covering food security, health and disease prevention, business management and child rights.

One of the first actions the group takes is to select a project, such as a group farm, which they undertake

together to quickly secure food and generate income. Because of your support, ZOE is then able to provide the

basic training and resources they need to begin.

Umugisha “Blessing” Working Group, Rwanda

Below is the list of names recorded by our ZOE social worker during group formation; there are 36 households

and a total of 77 members. The first name in bold is the head of the household, followed by their

siblings. Occasionally, an older person lives with the family, but is unable to provide for them due to age or

illness. Although ZOE's original name lists include both first and last names, ZOE uses first names only in public

lists to preserve the privacy of children in the program. ZOE works with orphaned and vulnerable children ages

infant through college age.

Please note, children joining the ZOE program are living in extreme poverty situations. Often they have no

parents or birth documentation and have suffered multiple traumas in their young lives. Occasionally the

children give conflicting information on their names and ages. Additional orphans are frequently adopted by the

group, and a small percentage of children will leave the group due to family reunification or other reasons. ZOE

strives to keep the list as up-to-date as possible. All the names on this list represent real children in need of your

prayers.

Stephano Emmanuel 20 Marie Goreth 18 Kwizera 15 Nyiracumu 10 Erichabimana 14 Twagirimana 11 Alexia 18 Pierre Celestin 19 Josiane 13 Vivine 6 Venantie 15 Jean Claude N. 21 Jean Claude B. 19 Jean Claude N. 16 Gerardine Usanase 14 Marie Agnes 13 John 12 Donacien 10 Stephanie 21 Antoine 20

Nyiramana 20 Seraphine 20 Emmanuel 18 Bizumuremyi 18 Emmanuel 16 Eric 14 Twagirimana 11 Jeanette 18 Emmanuelia 15 Christophe 20 Claudine 18 Claudine 15 Samuel 14 Pronie 16 Faida 13 Chantal 17 Goretti 20 Hanyurwimfura 12 Samuel 10

Vestine 20 Augustin 18 Emmanuel 17 Vestine 21 Balthazar 17 Emashel 9 Jean Damascene 21 Louise 20 Emmanuel 21 Marie Agnes 16 Candida 22 Immaculee 20 Beata 19 Beata 16 Nsabimana 7 Angelique 14 Ange 10 Clementine 12

Etienne 21 Elisabeth 18 Selaphine 16 Selaphie 7 Emmanuel 20 Jean Marie Vianney 17 Emmanuel 16 Beatrice 13 Baptiste 15

Jean Baptiste 17

Innocent 20

Claudine 16

Emmanuel 21

Clementine 19

Beata 21

Françoise 15

Innocent 19

Jacqueline 20

Violette 16

Philomen 15