YEGO Rwanda Update: July 2021
These last few months, Rwanda has experienced various events and situations – some sad and some celebratory.
COVID-19
COVID-19 is rampant and getting worse. Last year we often had less than 100 new cases daily, but now we have close to 1,000 new infections and more that 10 deaths per day. It’s scary. We have friends both old and young who have died. Some were our neighbours. There’s panic among the people because of the rise of the virus, especially due to the new variant which is even more deadly.
YEGO Rwanda Beneficiaries
We know only one woman who got sick from COVID-19, two months ago. She spent three weeks in the hospital but she has healed. Many people here are depressed, worried because of this terrible virus which has significantly affected their social, economic, physical and psychological lives. The situation is bad. The challenge is that if infection rates don’t decrease soon, our hospitals may become overwhelmed and access to medical treatment will be difficult.
Food Distribution
Each month we supply food to 10 families who are most needy. We strictly observe health measures against COVID-19. During this stressful time, we keep in touch with our beneficiaries and provide them with counselling by telephone and a few visits, especially to those who are unwell.
Gatesi Excellence Daycare
The daycare has been doing well. We have 79 children and 5 staff. Their second quarter recently ended well. We are happy that none of them caught COVID-19. The majority of these children come from vulnerable families with malnutrition. We have made efforts to ensure they get healthy nutrition when they are with us. We have recently added milk to their menu.
Volcano
Mount Nyiragongo erupted in the north of Rwanda, near the border with the Republic Democratic of Congo.
This volcanic eruption caused deaths and infrastructure damage to many houses and roads.
July 4
July 4th marks the end of the 1994 Genocide memorial, a three-month period of mourning over the killing of more than 1 million Rwandans. July 4th is also a day of liberation for Rwandans to celebrate the defeat of the evil forces that committed Genocide. This liberation put an end to the refugee status of thousands of Rwandan Tutsi who spent more than 30 years of exile in the neighbouring countries of Burundi, Uganda, Congo and Tanzania.
Staff Vacation
YEGO Rwanda staff have been working so hard without rest. From June 17-22 we took a 5-day vacation at Kingfisher Resort, located 60 kms north of Kigali near Muhazi Lake. It was a great time for us to relax. We used two hours a day together to reflect upon our work, evaluate and think about the future of our ministry. We used the rest of our time for a personal retreat. We returned very relaxed and determined to do more to make a difference for our people. The pictures testify that we had a good time.
Submitted by : Emmanuel Gatera
P. O. Box 5536 Kigali – Rwanda
Tel: +250 788301878 / 0788759414 | Email: yegorwanda11@gmail.com