In Partnership with Nyamagabe, Rwanda
We are excited that the partnership between Christ Presbyterian Church and Nyamagabe, Rwanda, continues to grow. CPC members and friends now sponsor 220 children – with 70 new sponsors signing up in recent months.
If you're interested in becoming a sponsor, please mail in a Sponsorship Form (PDF) or stop at the church office (944 East Gorham Street, open 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday and Friday 8:30am-noon). Questions? Please contact Sarah Spencer at 608.831.1797 (otisitis@charter.net).
How did all of this get started? And why have so many Madison families decided to sponsor children in Nyamagabe?
It’s simple. They know child sponsorship is the link between children in need and adults who can help them. Many orphans and vulnerable children are already being helped by a remarkable program in Nyamagabe – the World Vision Area Development Program. With additional sponsorship funds, more children will get the help they need.
It all began with becoming aware of the need, and responding when we learned about tangible ways to do so.
How We Started
When Dale Chapin, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, returned from Rwanda in February 2004, he showed pictures and videos of the children he met in Nyamagabe, and hoped a few families would be willing to sponsor a child there. Within two weeks, 60 families committed to sponsoring children in Nyamagabe, Rwanda. The number continues to grow.
The problems in Rwanda are daunting; recovery from the 1994 genocide, HIV/AIDS pandemic, and poverty. Rather than giving in to hopelessness, World Vision is helping the community to rebuild and look to the future.
The Area Development Program (ADP) in Nyamagabe is guided by local leaders and staffed entirely by Rwandans. It emphasizes education, self-sufficiency, sustainable development, and strong local institutions. World Vision works closely with local leaders and churches in Nyamagabe. Our encouragement, prayers, and financial support are vital.
The results of the program are apparent. Hope is replacing fear. The stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS is giving way to knowledge, understanding and compassion. Once desperately poor and traumatized, children now have food, shelter, clothing and adults in the community who care. Churches are leading the difficult process toward truth, justice, and reconciliation after the genocide.
Who Can Sponsor a Child?
Sponsorship is open to anyone who wants to help a child. The cost of sponsoring a child in Nyamagabe through World Vision is $35 per month. Sponsorship dramatically improves a child’s current living situation and his/her chances for a better life. The child’s family and the surrounding community benefit as well.
Sponsors receive reports annually and are encouraged to exchange letters and photographs with the child during the year. Consider gathering a few friends or family members to sponsor a child together.
Why Sponsor a Child?
For every sponsored child in Nyamagabe, there is another child who needs a sponsor. With your help, community members and leaders can reach out to these orphaned and vulnerable children. With your help, Nyamagabe can continue to rebuild.
"We’re focused on what we can do, not what we can't,"
says Christ Presbyterian member Doug Madsen.
World Vision and C2C
World Vision is an international Christian humanitarian organization, that serves people regardless of race, religion, ethnic group or gender. In 2004, World Vision began the C2C program (Church to Community) which links a U.S. church with a specific Area Development Program (ADP).
The World Vision Nyamagabe ADP is community-based and focused on the needs of children. The goal is to improve the well-being of children and their families through holistic transformational development.
World Vision expects to complete the project in 2017.
Linking Madison and Nyamagabe
Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC) in Madison, Wisconsin and the Nyamagabe ADP became C2C partners in March 2004. Church members and friends currently sponsor 220 children and have raised an additional $200,000 for special projects in Nyamagabe.
Goal for 2007
CPC’s goal for 2007 is to invite many more individuals, families, community groups and churches in the Madison area to participate in the partnership. We are very encouraged by the response to date!
As a sponsor, you have the opportunity to change a child’s life. As part of the C2C partnership, you have a close connection to the Nyamagabe community. You’ll have a chance to meet other sponsors, talk with people who’ve visited Nyamagabe, and meet with World Vision staff.
About Nyamagabe, Rwanda
Nyamagabe is located in southwest Rwanda, about 100 miles from the capital city of Kigali. Nyamagabe is a rural area with a population of 33,000.
In 1994, over 1 million Rwandans were slaughtered in the worst genocide since World War II, including many residents in the Nyamagabe area. Many others fled the country.
Rwanda has a population of 6.6 million. It is the second smallest country in Africa and the most densely populated.
Rwanda is located near the equator in the Great Lakes region of Africa and is bordered by Uganda, Congo, Burundi and Tanzania. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons. It is known as “the land of a thousand hills”.
Official languages are Kinyarwanda, French and English. The per capita income is US $220 per year and the life expectancy is 40 years.
In November 2005, seven Christ Presbyterian Church members and sponsors spent a week in Nyamagabe, Rwanda. They brought letters, pictures, school supplies, and backpacks from Madison sponsors, community groups and businesses.
In November, 2006, a second group visited Nyamagabe. There were ten people on that trip, including three students – one eighth grader, one high schooler and one UW-Madison student. Another trip is scheduled for November, 2007.
Will you consider joining in what God is doing in Madison and Nyamagabe through this partnership?
For information about sponsorship contact:
Sarah Spencer
608.831.1797
otisitis@charter.netShannon Wardall
608.257.4845
swardall@tds.net
For brochures, videos or to arrange a presentation about the Nyamagabe project contact:
Ellen Murdoch
608.256.5775
epmurdoch@ameritech.netDoug Madsen
608.236.0344
dthor2@charter.net
"Whatever you have done for the
least of these, you have done for me."
- Jesus
We welcome you to come and learn along with us at Christ Presbyterian Church as we seek to follow Jesus together on this journey.
Watch these videos about CPC's partnership with Nyamagabe:
The Prayer of the Children (song and images)
If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
- Isaiah 58:10