The Elevation Project is a partnership between Greater Vancouver Youth Unlimited and Rwanda Youth For Christ. We have committed in the beginning to find donors for 50 kids in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Kigali so that they can have hope for the future through and education. After those 50 there are 50 more and then 50 more. The more sponsors we can find, means more children getting an education which means more hope for the future.
Reviving the Women of Rwanda
“If you want to know the pulse and strength of Africa, spend a day with the women of a village. In the midst of deep suffering, domestic abuse, societal and poverty constraints, the women are the stability of Africa. They will carry the buckets upon their heads, touch the wounds of the sick, accept the burdens of helping the village survive - and all the while, they will be singing praises to God.”
~ Jena Lee
Hope in the Dark
Each woman’s story is unique, but they all include more
hardship and pain than anyone should ever have to face. War, rape, HIV, and poverty are things that these women know all
too well. But now, for them, it is a different story. Now they
have hope.
By employing these womem, Rwanda YFC has not only provided
them with a source of income, but also a place for them to belong and feel accepted. We at Greater Vancouver Youth for
Christ would like to join with Rwanda YFC and walk beside
these women as they journey towards wholeness: spiritually,
physically and socially.
HERE'S HOW WE WILL HELP...
Aim
To work with disadvantaged women in order to empower them
to live lives of all fullness, spiritually, physically and socially.
Objectives
Phase 1: Crisis Support
Phase 2: Advanced Life Skills Training
Phase 3: Micro-Credit Fund
Phase 1 Greater Vancouver YFC will work with Rwanda YFC in order to
develop Phase 1 Crisis Support for the women already involved
in the program. This will be a transferable program that can run
with more women in the future, and will include: counselling,
mentoring, advocacy, and basic life skills, and will always
encourage self-reliance rather than dependence.
For those able to go further, they will graduate to Phase 2.
Phase 2 A Life Skills program will be developed that will enable training
to be given, allowing the women to assume a productive and
fulfilled life. This will have a spiritual component as well as a
practical one, and will include advanced life skills training, job
training, plus further counseling, mentoring and rehabilitation
in order to assist the women in breaking the cycle of poverty
they find themselves in.
As well, skills and gifts will be identified that could be used in
the building of basic business plans, and developed into income
generating ventures in Phase 3.
Phase 3 A Micro-Credit Fund will be established to provide small
business loans to women who have been identified in Phase 2 as
having the ability to take part in an income generating project.
The aim will be to give these women the ability to provide for
themselves and others, thus allowing them to break free from
the desperate situations they are trapped in. Utilizing the skills
and resources these women have gained during this program,
as well as their own natural abilities, will give them the dignity
to go forward with their lives and the ability to help others just
like themselves in the future. It is expected that the loan repayment will go to funding
further ventures in the future, providing sustainability for the
program and help for even more women.
If you are interested in supporting this project, please click here to read personal stories of change from 3 Rwandan women and to learn more about the project.
