Praise God! 89 children from Rwanda and Uganda have been sponsored by members and friends of our church. Thanks to everyone who has made this commitment!

Church sees hope in Rwanda

By LAURA INCALCATERRA
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: January 31, 2005)

SUFFERN — Driving through Rwanda, Allen Kemp and George Cox could not miss the squalor, the impoverished conditions or the scores of orphans who roamed the streets.

It seemed overwhelming, they said, and they were doubtful that anything could be done to make meaningful improvements.

They eventually arrived in Mudasomwa, a village of about 70,000 people — 9,000 of whom live with AIDS, Kemp and Cox said.

The village is also home to 580 orphans, with 10,000 more children at risk of everything from malnutrition and hunger to malaria and diarrhea.

But this village was also different from the others Kemp and Cox had seen. Here, the children wore decent and clean clothing, they were the proper weight and, most of all, they smiled.

"They were all friendly and happy and smiling," Cox said. "I said to myself, 'They see potential and promise. Why am I so negative?' "

Kemp and Cox said they were convinced that a relief organization's efforts had brought about significant improvements to the village, and they were committed to joining the effort to bring about more.

Kemp is the pastor of the Suffern Presbyterian Church, where Cox is a parishioner. Cox is also a physician. The men visited Rwanda in November and paid their own way.

Kemp said Suffern Presbyterian had decided to become sponsors to 50 children in Rwanda as part of World Vision's Hope Initiative program. He said anyone living in Rockland could participate and become a sponsor.

World Vision describes itself as a Christian humanitarian organization that works to aid the world's poorest children and their families. The Hope Initiative program targets communities that have been severely impacted by HIV/AIDS.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where Rwanda is situated, HIV/AIDS is considered a pandemic; it has ravaged the region, infecting millions, killing thousands annually, and leaving thousands of children without one or both parents, said World Vision and the World Health Organization.

In Rwanda, a country of about 8.4 million people, an estimated 250,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2003, according to figures from WHO. An estimated 22,000 adults and children died of the disease in 2003; and 160,000 children under age 17 had lost a mother, a father or both parents in 2003.

In Mudasomwa, Kemp and Cox said, they saw people whose hope had been renewed simply because they had been given the basics — clean clothing, schools, and homes that were solid instead of crumbling.

The Hope Initiative program educates people about HIV/AIDS in an effort to curb its spread and its impact on those already infected, said Dean Owen, a World Vision spokesman.

Micro-economy projects that allow villagers to start small food-growing businesses have also been established, among other services. Owen said the goal was to help people become self-sufficient. He said the majority of World Vision staff were citizens of the country in which a relief effort was under way.

"We're nondenominational," Owen said. "We don't proselytize or evangelize. The staff feel called by their faith to do the work they do."

Kemp and Cox said Rwanda was a land of lush beauty, but both also said it had an unsettling recent history.

In 1994, about 800,000 Rwandans were massacred in 100 days of genocide. Members of the Hutu tribe mercilessly attacked members of the Tutsi tribe.

Today, HIV and AIDS pose the greatest threats, Kemp and Cox said.

"There, you die within 10 years," Cox said. "Here, it's a long-time illness."

So many parents have died of the disease that it was common for Kemp and Cox to see children roaming the streets because there was no one to look out for them. Many households are now headed by young teens who try to make ends meet for their younger siblings.

Suffern Presbyterian's effort is part of World Vision's effort to get 750 children sponsored by residents in greater New York, Kemp said.

Two years ago, another organization, Concerts of Prayer Greater New York, joined with World Vision in the Hope Initiative project. Concerts of Prayer leads networking efforts for churches to bring people together for prayer, outreach work and leadership training.

Brian Considine, a consultant with Concerts of Prayer, said outreach efforts to churches in the New York area the past two years netted sponsorships for 1,500 children around the world.

"That's at a level that's unprecedented anywhere else in the country," Considine said. "New York is the capital of the world. From a Christian point of view, I think God wants to use New York as an example to the world."

Churches around the world have been asleep concerning the pandemic of AIDS, and that needs to change, Considine said.

Owen said more than 2 million children in more than 100 countries are benefiting from the sponsorship program run by World Vision. The program helps put a face on the issue of poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, he said.

An estimated 29,000 children around the world die daily from diseases that are curable, such as diarrhea and malaria, and from hunger and violence, such as civil war, civil strife and other conflicts, Owen said.

"Numbers like that are overwhelming," Owen said. "But you can understand, get your arms around poverty through one child."

Kemp, who met the boy he is sponsoring, agreed.

"When you become friends with someone from one of these countries, they become like family to you," Kemp said.

Owen said no strings were attached to the assistance offered. He said the organization's ultimate goal was to shut down.

"We're committed to going out of business," Owen said. "Our goal is to eliminate poverty and injustice around the world."

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