~by Sally Stuart~
A very special part of our time in Rwanda is the opportunity to visit homes of Love With Actions children in order to meet their whole family and better understand each unique family situation. This afternoon we split into 2 groups and visited a total of 4 homes. At each home we brought a gift of food (porridge, sugar, rice, oil and soap) and spent about 20 minutes visiting, always ending with a prayer for the family.
My team (Jill, Steve, Elizabeth, Audrey and me) started off visiting the home of 6 yr. old Anicete where we were warmly welcomed by his mother Clementine, father Ildephonse and sister Jeanne D’Arc. They had just moved into a small new rental home 2 days ago after they were forced to leave their previous home.
Anicete was born with a major deformity of his left leg. Neighbors said he was “a punishment” and when they would hear him crawling to move about some would throw stones at him, thinking he was an animal. They found only dead ends when trying to get any help for his condition until Love With Actions came along one year ago. Within 3 months of Anicete being enrolled at LWA doctors had assessed his situation and arranged for him to have an amputation below the knee after which he was fitted with a prosthetic. He now moves about well with the help of a single crutch and with ongoing therapy from LWA he should be able to walk independently. Not only can Anicete now walk but he is also enrolled at the Love With Actions Academy where he is the nursery 2 class. This is something his parents never dreamed could happen. they expressed so much thanks to people who helped to make this possible for their son.
Several times they talked about the honor of having us come as visitors to their home. They said people who had ignored them before would take notice and start to believe this family was valuable and loved by others, even hosting white folks in their home.
What was most striking in this home was the love and commitment of the mother and father to each other and to their children. Dad said “how could I ever leave my family. Anicete is my own flesh and blood – my son.” Then Steve presented him with a solar light for their new home did a wonderful job affirming this dad for all he is doing for his family. Elizabeth presented a beautiful scarf to mom while Anicete played with his new lime green Koosh ball. This was a home filled with a history of sadness, but also filled with so much love for one another and new hopes for the future.
Our second visit was to the home of 12 yr. old Emmanuel who was born with cerebral palsy, due to delivery complications. Sadly this is still very common in Rwanda. Emmanuel is best know for having the most glorious smile you can imagine. He gets regular OT and PT at Love with Actions and is also in first grade at their school. His love for his mother is very special.
Last year I visited this family just days after his father had abandoned them, leaving Emmanuel, his mother Clementine, older brother Claude and sister Angelique with broken hearts and no way to support themselves. Love With Actions stepped in to provide rent for the home and Gilbert hired 18 yr old Claude to become one of the cooks for Love With Actions so he can support his family. They have been regaining their stability but when we asked how we could pray for her she said “for my husband to come back.” Heartbreaking, yet she knows she is not alone thanks to so many of you who help to keep the Love With Actions ministry going, caring not only for the disabled children but their entire families. You are making an amazing difference!
The second team (Renata, Tom, Peggy, Kath, Mike and Win) visited with the family of 14 yr. old Esperance. She also lives with cerebral palsy due to birth complications and some autism. Love With Actions provides her with anti-seizure medications and twice weekly OT and PT. She is also enrolled in the Nursery 2 class at Love With Actions Academy. She is blessed to be surrounded with a loving mom, dad and siblings, but they are certainly face many challenges due to poverty. Life is hard, but they are facing it together and so grateful for all of the help from LWA.
The last home visit was to the family of little Owen, another child with cerebral palsy due to lack of oxygen at birth. Owen can not walk or talk but he does hear and see, and responds with a big smile to attention and kindness. Owen has a little brother and sister and this family is strong and loving in spite of their challenges. His father is employed by LWA to wash all of the school buses and other vehicles each day and his mother is a part of the sewing group. Owen’s mom was delighted by our visit and asked us to pray for Owen to continue to make good progress with his therapy at LWA.
Leave a Reply