Inspiring Deeds (Part 3)
This is the third in a series of three short shout-outs this week about individuals or groups who are actively doing good works in Rwanda. Each of the groups has become a Speak Rwanda friend in the last week making use of our Kinyarwanda travel language materials.
Hope for a Thousand Hills is a non-profit initiative focused on the restoration of the Cyimbili Coffee Plantation in western Rwanda. The project aims to rehabilitate a once productive plantation, and through it rebuild the local economy. The transformation will carry over into necessary community development projects which include: providing clean water, sanitary systems and electrical power generation to meet the urgent needs of a people, and to bring healing and hope to those who long for reconciliation with their neighbor… and their Creator.
Cyimbili’s lush green hills on the shores of Lake Kivu are breathtaking. The people who live in those hills grabbed hold of my heart. However, for their lives to change for the better, three things need to happen. Relief: The people need clean running water, electricity, and a functioning, safe sanitation system to reduce the risk of disease and other potential health crises. Restoration: Dilapidated buildings, inaccessible roads, and spent coffee trees need to be replaced, fixed, and renewed. This plantation has incredible potential to help the lives of its community, but it can’t reach that potential until it is restored. Renewal: As I listened to the young people who crowded around us, they spoke of the need to know–”really know”–that God has a good purpose and a plan for their lives and that He has not forgotten them. They need new hope.
–Jamie Longo, Founder
We all look forward to seeing the progress in this coffee community.
–Diana Dettwyler
Speak Rwanda Web Admin
Posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
