Hannah Ministry Tumurere

Dear Friends and Partners,
 
Since 2005 Hannah Ministry Tumurere (HMT) has been working as a local Rwandan organization ministering to orphans who are heads of households. Orphans and HIV positive children make up the target group for HMT services. HMT aims to provide both educational and psychosocial support for these children.
 
Approximately 200 children benefit from HMT services. Specific activities of this ministry include payment of school fees and distribution of uniforms and scholastic materials to children in high school, vocational, and primary schools. HMT services also provide food for poor children who are HIV positive and taking antiretroviral drugs. Feeding these children is necessary but very costly. In reading Isaiah 58:6-7, we find that this kind of mission work benefits both the recipient and the giver and glorifies God in the community and nation. God is pleased when we intervene for the helpless.
 
We want to share with you some wonderful and encouraging news. The results from the state exam were recently reported, and 42 of the 44 students from Kibagabaga Primary School who took the examination passed. The headmistress was overjoyed with the results!

The majority of the students of Kibagabaga Primary School are from the slums in nearby Gasabo district. Most eat only once a day. Crowded classes are organized on a shift basis. Teachers are on a meager salary and sometimes lack motivation in their job. But last year, First Presbyterian Church of Nashville visited and helped HMT with support for the 200 pupils. FPC Nashville gave money for school fees, school uniforms, and other scholastic materials to the students. They also donated some new desks to the school. Students who were scheduled to take the state exam were provided tutoring and extra classes. The school leadership of Hannah Ministry Tumurere is grateful to the members of First Presbyterian Nashville for their generosity and encouragement. FPC Nashville and The Outreach Foundation have been supporting Hannah Ministry’s activities for several years. We are so thankful for this partnership that is really making a huge difference in the lives of children here in Rwanda.
 
Why does Kibagabaga Primary School struggle? Many children from slum areas who cannot afford to pay school fees to attend nearby private schools come to this government school. The Parent Teachers Association (PTA) charges a fee that is hard for these parents from the slums to pay. So teachers are not well-paid, and while some teachers work diligently in spite of low pay some show a lack of motivation. Hannah Ministry helps these needy parents cover the PTA fee and works with students and teachers to offer the tutoring needed for these kids to succeed. Offering education is a very important step in poverty eradication and in changing lives in communities.
 
Grateful for your partnership,
Josephine Mujawiyera
Hannah Ministry Tumurere