We Love Our Volunteers

Over the past five years since our inception, Hope For Life has been greatly impacted by the countless individuals who have generously shared their resources, talents, and time. They continue to make our work with the children on the streets possible.

One such individual we’ve depended on in numerous ways over the last year is Charlie Gladitsch.  After graduating in 2013, Charlie jumped at the opportunity to volunteer a year of his time as the HFLM Sustainability Coordinator. Over the past several years, we have wanted to focus more on self-sufficiency as an organization. That has been possible recently as a result of Charlie’s dedication. Here are just some of the things that have happened under Charlie’s creative leadership:

• A water catchment system was designed and built, which provides clean water and reduces water costs
• New farming techniques were developed that improve our ability to grow food and reduce our food costs
• Construction of a chicken coup and development of a plan to allow the boys to eat one of our goats each month which increases the boys’ protein intake
• A new sponsorship program was created
• An innovative and interactive communication workshop was held for our staff
• A new basketball court was funded and built

Charlie visits Baby and Pacifique at boarding school

Those were just a few of the extensive projects that Charlie orchestrated and was the mastermind behind. And now Charlie is hosting a fundraiser in his hometown of Vail, Colorado on October 3^rd. He saw firsthand that committed donors play a central role in HFLM’s sustainability.  Charlie exemplifies self-sacrifice, innovation, and generosity on a daily basis and we are so grateful for the role he plays.

Here’s a huge hug and a heartfelt thank you to each one of you who helps make transformation on Rwanda’s streets possible each month. Together we are making a difference.
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Business Loan Reunites Family

We are honored to invite you to a benefit dinner and silent auction on October 12th! Spend the evening with HFLM’s three co-founders (Chantal Umutesi is coming all the way from Rwanda!) to learn more about our transformative work and raise money to provide for the incredible children that have come into our lives. To learn more and RSVP for the event, click here. 

Over the past three years, we have been able to transition 11 boys from our center into their families’ homes. Although the work of reconciliation is difficult and requires extensive time and energy from all parties involved, seeing a child who was once living alone on the streets now smiling with his family, makes it all worth it. It has been amazing seeing God work in the families of our boys, and we want share Eric’s and Simeon’s stories with you.

Eric's Story

Watch Eric's testimony here!

8-year-old Eric came to HFLM covered with scabies with his life in danger. HFLM’s Children’s Director, Chantal, says, “The boys who lived with Eric on the streets were so violent. They used to beat him and give him drugs… it took him 3 weeks to recover upon coming to HFLM.” Over the past two years, HFLM has helped Eric’s mom, Yvette, leave an abusive relationship and relocate to a neighborhood near HFLM. She now sees Eric almost every day and is even employed tending our small vegetable farm. We are hopeful that as Yvette grows in stability, Eric will soon be able to return home. To “meet” Eric and his mom, watch his testimony on youtube by clicking here.

Simeon's Story6-year-old Simeon arrived at HFLM in 2009 as an extremely malnourished, shy, and sick child. His parents love him deeply but were unable to provide for his physical needs with their extremely small income of $18 per month.

Left: Simeon when we took him into HFLM; Right: Simeon now

Over the next three and a half years, HFLM staff worked extensively with his parents to develop their ability to generate enough income to meet their family’s needs. This journey began by connecting them with a local savings group where they participated in devotionals and learned basic business skills. Shortly after, HFLM helped them develop a business plan and granted them a loan to start a small shop. Each quarter, Simeon’s father would walk three hours to make his loan payment and never missed a single one. Through his new business, he has doubled his monthly income and Simeon was able to return to live with his parents and nine siblings in 2012.

HFLM staff visits Simeon (center in) and his family at their home.

Due to their demonstrated character, the success of their business and their commitment to honesty, we have recently granted their family a second loan of $240. By next year, Simeon’s family will have raised their monthly income to $50, enabling them to increase their provisions to their children.

To read more highlights of our work, view our 2013 annual report. Thank you for your participation in building God’s kingdom in Rwanda. We are deeply grateful for each one of you!

July 2014 - Sustainability & Water

For the past several years, HFLM has been pursuing ideas related to our self-sufficiency as an organization. One such idea has been a water distribution project to supply water for our home and farming operations. Last fall, HFLM was connected with Santa Clara University and two seniors, Colin and Scott, chose HFLM as their project for their Senior Engineering Design Course. During this course, they designed a rain catcher water system for HFLM that would meet 100% of our water demand during the rainy season and up to 50% of our needs during the dry season. Over the course of the school year, they spent hours studying Rwanda’s rainfall, HFLM’s water usage and our housing architecture.

Colin and Scott with the boys and staff at HFLM

As Colin and Scott became invested into their project, they decided that they wanted to personally visit the boys and build the water system themselves. After much fundraising to cover all the building and travel costs, Colin and Scott arrived in April and spent the next two weeks living with the boys and bringing their project into fruition. The system catches rainfall from our roof and funnels it into two large tanks where the water is purified and dispersed throughout the house.

One of the best parts of their trip was that they had our older boys work alongside them to construct the water system. 19-year-old Baby and 16-year-old Ja’ Rule quickly became experts in using the power drill and would stay up late into the night with head lamps on to assist and collect tools for Colin and Scott. Since the older boys helped build the entire water system, they understand it and are fully capable of making any future repairs themselves!

Ja' Rule and Baby using the power drill to install the rain catcher pipes.

We are extremely grateful for Colin and Scott. Choosing our project was a blessing in itself, but going the extra 9,000 miles to build the system and raise all the funds was amazing! Our new water system will reduce our overhead costs each month and ensures that we will have water amidst the frequent water outages that are experienced in our community. Not only will this save us up to $700 a year on water bills, but more importantly, it enables the boys to have easy access to clean water. Hooray!

Left: The boys rolling the new water tank to the top of the hill. Right: The low maintenance sand filter that purifies the rain water.

We love our community of supporters and are truly blown away by the creative ways you merge your talents and skills with our needs. We are blessed!

June 2014 - Professionalism Field Trip

With your help over the past five years, our boys have grown into young men before our eyes. As the oldest youth continue succeeding in secondary school, we have increasingly focused on preparing them for their futures beyond formal education. We recently partnered with Karisimbi Business Partners and Asili Natural Oils to take our eldest six youth on a professional field trip. To prepare for the day, the boys spent time learning about professionalism, practicing hand shakes, and learning to introduce themselves with confidence, eye contact, and clear voices. 19-year old Paul was so excited for the field trip that he couldn’t sleep the night before. When the day of their trip finally arrived, these young men took an hour and a half to get ready! They were bursting with anticipation and excitement. 

From left to right: Jon Porter of Karisimbi Business Partners, David, D'Amour, Paul, Baby, Jack & Pacifique

David, D’Amour, Paul, Baby, Jack, and Pacifique visited Asili Natural Oils and spent the day job shadowing and learning about business, professionalism, and future careers offered within the field. They were inspired by a current employee who was a former street child. This man was hired after completing school, and he shared that through hard work and integrity, he was promoted multiple times and is now a supervisor. It was an incredibly eye-opening experience for our youth to see that after they complete secondary school, a future career is indeed attainable. 19-year-old Baby said of the experience, “Seeing their company gave me hope. I saw that you can start at something small but through hard work, you can develop. I can make it in life. I’m so happy for this experience.”

After the visit, the manager of Asili Natural Oils commented on how impressed he was by our boys’ focus and attentiveness. Because of how professionally our boys behaved, we are now coordinating with Asili management possible internships this coming winter.

We are so proud of our young men! Five years ago, their only dream was to survive. Today, they are not only exploring potential careers, but have developed hope, self-confidence, and a strong work ethic. May the hope that is so tangibly displayed in these young men’s futures bring you great encouragement. They could not have gotten to where they are without the HFLM community at large standing beside them. Thank you!