After jamming all our purchases into our suitcases, we met Joy and her financial manager at Opportunity Bank for the meeting with Jeffrey. Part way into the meeting, Joy was telling about some of their awards and suddenly Jeffrey’s face lit up. He recognized her as the woman who told an inspiring story at a World Bank Conference earlier in the year, and he was thrilled to finally meet her! His wife loves their products, and he promised to do everything he could to bring her cooperatives into Opportunities’ loan programs. It was truly a Divinely planned meeting and we felt so blessed to be a part of it.
Afterward, we met Annonciata at her orphanage located in the first real “slum” area we had seen in Rwanda. The contrast to Chantal’s home was stark and alarming. After Annonciata’s husband died not long ago, a dispute arose with the church that owns the land where the orphanage is located. When Ashley’s group visited this orphanage in March, she described it as her favorite, and the children were vibrant and full of fun. Just six months later, the church has cut off the electricity and these children are now living in horrible conditions. There were multiple children napping in each bunk bed, with very young children on top and no guard rails. Older teenagers were laying in dark bedrooms with nothing to do. Much of the furniture that had been in the common areas was gone. We left food and toys with Annonciata and we promised to do everything we could to improve conditions for the children.Jonathan and Tim took us to the airport for our 7:15pm flight, and we were very sad to leave. The trip that I had worried about being too long was really much too short. I now understand why Ashley is determined to come back, because we are, too!
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