Hope for Life Names Executive Director

Hope For Life’s talented Rwandan staff unanimously elected Chantal (right in blue) 
to serve as our new Executive Director.

As a young child, HFL Co-Founder Chantal Umutesi dreamed of opening a home for vulnerable children in her community. She used her time and resources to care for her neighbors even as a 10-year-old. Chantal visited the homes of poverty stricken families, offering food, clothing, and friendship. She recalls, “I hated seeing children suffering. I dreamt of my country becoming a place of peace, where the vulnerable were valued.” Eventually, Chantal became the Children’s Director at her church, serving families that lived on $2 per day or less. 

In 2008, God used Chantal to help launch Hope For Life and continue fulfilling her call to love children. Without her, we are convinced that HFL never would have started or flourished. Every day, she invests all of herself into seeing the poor in her community come to know Jesus, and equipped to better their lives. She is a true model of what it looks like to love God and her neighbors as herself.

This year, our boards decided it was time to name a Rwandan Executive Director. With a unanimous vote, our boards and staff elected Chantal to be our new leader. With her experience in management and budgeting, her deep commitment to her neighbors, and her natural ability to lead, we are excited to watch Hope For Life continue to grow under her leadership.

Congratulations, Chantal! Your faithful devotion and deep commitment to your community is an inspiration to us all.

A tragic first for Hope For Life

We didn’t expect to start the New Year with both celebration and tears. And yet we find ourselves almost daily with both a smile on our face and tears in our eyes.

2015 was a year of major accomplishment. We transitioned to local Rwandan leadership, watched our community in the States reach new heights of generosity, witnessed a six-year-old take his first steps, and cheered as seven-year-old Benjamin met his relatives for the first time.  In the midst of these successes, no one expected to also have to say goodbye to a member of our family.

Brothers from left to right: Patrick, Mahoro, and Olivier.

Patrick, 12, moved to our neighborhood a year ago with his mom and brother to escape eviction and be closer to his oldest brother, Olivier, who lives at our home. Patrick and his older brother, Mahoro, were both part of our preventative sponsorship program and therefore could attend school. Life was looking better.

In early November, however, Patrick suddenly fell ill. As his fever grew worse, he was brought to our home so staff could better monitor him. On their own initiative, our boys took turns washing his clothes and keeping him company. Many days, you could find three or four boys in his room at a time constructing with Legos in bed, or surrounding Patrick in prayer. One day, one of our older boys voluntarily carried him all the way to the clinic and back.

Patrick being voluntarily carried by one of our older boys to the clinic.

When treatment wasn’t working, Patrick was transferred to a hospital where his condition continued to advance. Despite the best care and treatments available, Patrick passed away without a cause of death. This has been very hard on Patrick’s family and our staff who have done everything they could for Patrick. A day later, we arranged a burial and participated in our first funeral alongside his family and our neighboring community.

Patrick's grave.

In the midst of tragedy, we are reminded that life is precious, that God’s plans are greater than we can understand, and that your partnership is vital. Your generosity saves lives and offers second chances to build better futures. While we will greatly miss Patrick and his gentle, caring spirit, we rejoice in the fact that we will see him again someday. Please continue to keep the boys and staff in prayer as we navigate life without our friend.