Understanding Sponsorship
When you become a child sponsor, you will begin a relationship with your child. You will assist them in their progress through Primary and Secondary education, as well as help them remain healthy through their childhood. Every family faces different challenges, and you will have the opportunity to support your child through these challenges, ultimately taking part in allowing the child to realize their full God-given potential and come to a relationship with Jesus Christ, becoming a contributing member to Rwandan society.
This is made possible by your sponsorship donation, made by you annually, quarterly, or monthly, which pays for school fees, uniforms, health insurance, and more. To learn more, visit How Sponsorship Works.
Ideally, a sponsorship will last until the child has completed Secondary School and is prepared to either begin college or enter the workforce. You will have the opportunity to be a guiding force, an inspiration, and a provider to your child throughout their entire childhood and into young adulthood. Sponsorship is a commitment to a child for as long as it takes to raise them as a productive member of society. Your sponsorship will continue until secondary graduation with the approval of your yearly renewal.
The funds that you send your child through sponsorship are used to pay for things like health insurance and school fees. If the child’s family is in immediate need of basic things like food, clothing, or shelter, the money is used to purchase these things. The families are not given cash. This protects the integrity of the program and the ability to track spending, as well as allowing RCRI to more appropriately use funds for emergencies your child’s family may face. RCRI believes that the families, guardians, and communities that the children live in have the primary responsibility in providing a secure, full, and healthy life for the children. However, poverty is often a barrier to this. The only lasting solution to this is to develop a sense of community in the areas in which these families live, combined with education and funding projects like sanitation, agriculture, and independent income generation–not a cash handout.
About Reach the Children of Rwanda International
Reach the Children of Rwanda International (RCRI) is a Christian non-profit non-governmental organization with offices in Due West, South Carolina, USA and in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali. RCRI works in the three districts of Kigali City as well as the Nyabihu District of the Western Province of Rwanda, and currently serves over 400 children between the ages of 3 and 21. The children are served by providing education, health care, and basic needs such as clothing and food, as well as teaching Christian values and independence. RCRI has started a school in Nyabihu District called Nyabihu Christian Academy, in which upon completion all RCRI-supported children will live and study. Learn more about Nyabihu Christian Academy by clicking here. To learn more about RCRI, visit About Us.
RCRI holds a 501(c)3 non-profit status in the United States and is a recognized and regulated non-governmental organization in Rwanda, and thus is financially and ethically accountable to both governments. RCRI is overseen by a Board of Directors in Rwanda and an Advisory Board in the US.
General Questions
Rwanda is a beautiful country, full of culture and vibrant with life. However, the genocide and civil war of 1994 created significant challenges for the nation, ranging from social issues like high numbers of orphans and people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to economic issues such as the loss of infrastructure nationwide. In this climate, thousands of Rwandese find themselves in situations of extreme poverty and facing challenges that they are unprepared to overcome. Often, it is the children who suffer the most, and there are few organizations in place to help them. It is into this void that RCRI hopes to step in and share the love of Christ with these children and their families, sharing the hope of the promise of Christ, while at the same time offering real-world solutions to their problems and giving them a helping hand to becoming a new generation of Rwandese, who have the training and the independence to rebuild the nation.
Yes! We have hosted teams to come and do everything from construction work on the school, to home repairs for families of chldren in the program, to hosting Vacation Bible Schools for the chldren and more. If you, your group, or your church would like to seek more information on how you can come and help us on the ground in Rwanda, contact us here.