New Mercies Ministries: Opportunities

Child Sponsorship
A larger organization could commit to sponsoring a full home of children (6 kids) at the orphanage for the first year.

COST: $40 per month per child. 1 child for 1 year = $480, 1 home for 1 year (6 children) = $2,880
Excess funds not used on living expenses will be saved for a child's schooling.

Sports Ministry with Victims of Gender-Based Violence
There are groups whom we have served that are comprised of children (mostly girls) who are victims of gender-based violence (physical/sexual). They love simply having someone spend time with them. We enjoyed playing soccer with these children and would love to do this more intentionally and consistently.

COST: $200 for balls, cones and other sports equipment – even little “pinny” jerseys.

Wound Care and Basic First-Aid Training
We would like to do wound care for street children – especially those in villages and in the community surrounding the orphanage site. We have also observed significant need for basic first-aid training (things that we take for granted). For example, many people do not know to keep wounds clean, or that a sprained ankle is not helped by spreading mud over the affected area.

COST: $500 for wound care supplies (ointment, gauze, band-aids, etc.) and $500 for first-aid training supplies (graphic-rich publications, other visual aids and possibly a specialized manikin for training the Heimlich maneuver and/or CPR).

Snacks for Children with HIV/AIDS
Vulnerable children infected with HIV/AIDS typically have access to medication (anti-retrovirals). However, these medications can make one very sick when taken on an empty stomach. Many infected children are poor, so often have little food. Providing a small snack for these children during school helps them to stay healthier and continue attending school. Because of the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS, many of these kids do not like others to know that they are infected, so it works well to open a small snack bar where all children can buy something, but infected children know that they do not have to pay. This extra income from other kids also helps with project sustainability.

COST: About .30 cents per child per day for snacks. $100 could get a school started.

Hospital Feeding with Rwanda for Jesus
We have been partnering with Rwanda for Jesus church for two years on their hospital feeding project. The first year, we used $500 of reallocated ROC funds to buy food and then spent time making it and serving it to people in the city hospital (SERGCA). We were able to continue the ministry this year with funds from another donor. We bought fruit, milk (straight from the cow), bread, candy, laundry soap and the public transportation to get it all there. We then have a chance to pray, talk with and love on the patients. This is the main city hospital where the poor and very sick (many with HIV/AIDS) are able to go for care. We would like to continue to partner with this church and bring both physical and spiritual nourishment to vulnerable patients.

COST: Approximately $1.00 per person for food (depending on quantity for whom one is cooking), $200 dollars provides one meal for most of the hospital’s patients (who are able to eat). Milk is given to all, especially those who cannot eat. 1-2 cows can be purchased for $500. Excess milk may then be sold to help financially sustain the feeding project in the future.

Orphanage/Children’s Community Project: Nutrition Training
The prevention of malnutrition is important in general, but also to be effective with our Orphanage Project. Without an effort to educate area mothers and help them care for their children, the likelihood of them abandoning their children for a better life at the orphanage is high. Our goal is not to fill the Orphanage but to eliminate the need for one. Therefore, this program is a wise precursor to orphanage construction and, Lord willing, will be ongoing.

COST: $1000 TOTAL: $600: food for 50 participants, $150: Instructor housing, $250: Educational materials

Orphanage/Children’s Community Project: Building
This project is clearly bigger than our natural ability to carry it out and we trust that God’s vision is accompanied by His provision. This non-traditional orphanage is a place where children will live in homes as a “family” with caregivers and other orphans. At the center of this project is, “To reflect God’s heart of love for the rejected and forgotten of the world by providing a place and opportunity for orphaned and abandoned children to grow into leaders in their communities, the nation, the world and the Body of Christ. More info online at www.newmerciesministries.org.

COST: The next step for us is beginning to fence and build. The fencing costs about $10,000. Each home costs $34,000. This cost may be reduced if we are able to provide a short-term team or individuals to assist with construction. Though it’s not glamorous or even quickly satisfying, if a bunch of individuals are willing to be a drop in the bucket, the job will soon be done!

Computer/IT Training
We have been doing computer training in Rwanda for the last four years. We can hardly teach quickly enough! As computers have become commonplace in much of the world, some level of basic computer knowledge is becoming increasingly essential for developing nations to remain connected to the rest of the world and to the resources many of these relationships offer. We are in the initial phases of developing an IT training center. We began this process on our last short-term trip and hope to see it through. A Center would eventually provide a self-sustaining income and would increase the efficiency of churches and organizations in ultimately reaching the lost using today’s technology. The classes themselves can also be offered to unbelievers as a means of delivering God’s Truth to them.

COST: $1000 TOTAL: $300 to subsidize the purchase of a ~$600 computer for training use and then offer for a trainee to purchase for $300, $200 for books, simple software and other training materials and $500 to help pay a salary for a part-time trainer (who we would train and then launch).

Kigarama Health Centre
We have an ongoing relationship with this rural Health Center. On each of the last four visits we have been given a chance to pray for patients and workers and also delivered prescription and over the counter medicine for their use. Due to a dramatic shortage of water in this area, it is a great effort to keep their instruments and bed linens clean. We have also consistently provided fresh bed linens to cover rutty foam mattresses with shredded covers. They have expressed deep gratitude for these blessings and we would like to continue our relationship on both a spiritual and material level.

COST: Purchasing sheets in-country is both practical and supports the Rwandan economy. A single flat sheet costs $5 and two sheets are commonly used per bed. Though any financial support for medication is a blessing, amounts of $500 or more typically make for the most efficient use of resources in time and travel.

Kibungo/Nyamata Vocational Orphaned Girls Tailoring Project
This program is comprised of orphans and other at-risk young women. Several program participants began heading their household after being orphaned at a very young age (some as young as 8 years). The tailoring and other handiwork skills they learn in this class give them a way to provide for themselves and their younger siblings for whom they care. Funding this training is a far more productive and sustainable alternative than continually paying children’s school fees. There are costs associated both with running the school and with getting the participants launched out on their own. When the girls graduate, they are able to start their own business but need help getting started. For example, they can purchase their own sewing machine for $150 and can use $100 for the purchase of equipment (material, thread, etc.) to give them a start on making something to sell. As each woman begins to make a profit, these loans are paid back and passed on to benefit another person. About 80% of women actually pay this money back.

COST: $250: Microloans in $250 increments to help girls get started (explained above), $150 - $200: Sewing Machines for the school, Any amount: purchase materials to help defray the cost of running the school.