BARBER SHOP

Lift Up Their Hearts provides a barber shop for young genocide survivors. Many of them were able to cut hair but had no funds to set up a shop. We bought them the necessary equipment (razors, clippers, chairs) and rented a shop for them. This provides them with needed income. They are now doing 200 haircuts a week. In the spirit of giving back some of their proceeds go to young orphans for education.

RUGANGO SEWING PROJECT

Recently a group of 15 young adults requested that we finance a tailor shop for them. Three of them had trained as tailors and they were willing to teach others. Lift Up Their Hearts provided sewing machines, a building and the necessary equipment. This business has been quite a success! These tailors now have a contract with the local school to provide uniforms for students. In keeping with Lift up Their Hearts policy to give back part of their proceeds go to fund housing for older widows and to pay tuition for young orphans.

Livestock for Life

Lift Up Their Hearts has adopted a group of elderly genocide survivors in the large village of Nyanza. These widows had no way of supporting themselves and were dependent on charity for food. Immaculee Kayitesi, our advisor in Rwanda suggested we provide them with goats to breed and sell at the market. Goats reproduce quickly and they are the most common source of meat in East Africa. They are easy to feed and in turn produce fertilizer for vegetable gardens. This project has been a major improvement in their lives. It has provided them with a sense of self-worth and hope for their future.

Highschool & College Tuition

Education is vital to all developing nations but especially Rwanda. For Rwanda to be successful in the ICT industry their children must have an education. In Rwanda education is provided free of charge through the ninth grade. After that children must pay tuition and board at school. Lift Up Their Hearts provides tuition for orphaned children to attend school. This arrangement works well for older orphans who need a place to live and the discipline and caring presence of an adult. Those students who excel at their studies are then eligible to apply to us for college tuition. Many of Rwanda’s well-educated adults were targeted in the genocide. We are happy to help Rwanda in its struggle to replace these irreplaceable beacons of hope.

Other Ways we Help:

Team Rwanda visits Rwanda yearly to ensure our projects are effective. During those visits requests are often made for assistance with the necessities of survival. Many of these projects cost little and reap life-saving benefits. Thanks to you we’ve answered these pleas for help:

A plot of land for destitute widows to grow cassava (an essential dietary staple in Rwanda).

Shoes for schoolchildren (children cannot attend school without shoes, also they guard against many serious foot infections in this rural country).

Housing for widows: A group of elderly destitute widows with no relatives were living in very poor housing with no windows or doors or beds. They slept on the cold ground wtih no blankets in 50 degree weather. Lift up Their Hearts provided doors, windows and bedding for these widows in need. Sometimes the smallest comforts are the most important.