Hardest Part of the Trip

I think the hardest part of the trip was visiting Kanombe, a church that takes care of several orphaned children in their village. The hardest part was the excitement and energy you could see in their eyes when we got there. They seemed so happy to have guests. When we got there they had us go into the church where they sang a few songs for us. About 4 or 5 older youth, who had been orphaned during the genocide sang some powerful songs for us (which Celestin interpreted for us at the time).

We shared a little with the kids and then we left. This is what was so hard about the trip! I hated showing up, saying hi, and then leaving. I wanted to hang out and play, especially since I was missing my kids so much! But this was the nature of our journey. We were meant to listen, collect stories, and then share their stories with you. Many of these kids, I am told, are orphaned as a result of their parents dying of AIDS. During the genocide men with AIDS were used as weapons of war, and they would rape women, infecting them with the virus. Many of these kids are orphaned as a result.

Another aspect that was hard, was that there was a girl sitting to my left, maybe 6 or 7 years old. As I looked at her, she loved me with her eyes. It was like she looked deep into my soul. I do not have a picture of her on film, but I do in my mind. I do not know her name or her story, I only know that she loved me with her eyes.

Before we left, one of the ladies told us not to forget the children of Kanombe. She said that they are often overlooked because they live in a village far away from the city (Kigali).

What can I do? I am not really sure at this point. I guess the first step is to tell you about the kids of Kanombe. Please do not forget them. Keep them in their prayers. Pray for their provision. Again if you would like to help out financially you could contat ALARM and they could give you details. http://alarm-inc.org/

-chris lahr