A gift of shoes will ease the journey of more than 80 orphans at Gasogi Village in Rwanda.

Donations of all sizes of new or gently used athletic shoes, flip-flops, sandals and flats for boys and girls, ages 8 – 23, can be dropped off at Go the Second Mile, or contact s-lasswell@hotmail.com to arrange a pickup.

Monetary donations are also accepted, and gifts are tax deductible.

Heidi wrote this piece: In Gasogi we visited the households led by children. When we first arrived they treated us to an amazing demonstration of native dance and even invited us to join in. Afterwards we tromped the dusty paths to two of their homes. As we walked between the banana trees, I couldn’t help but think of terrified Tutsis hiding in these very bushes while the Hutus were hunting for them. It touched my heart to then see the deteriorating clay huts where 12 boys (10-17 yrs old) were scraping out a living. These boys had become family and were doing their best to care for one another. Some of them are able to go to school but not all. I ask myself “Why am I here?” How can I make sense of what I’m seeing when I return to a world full of conveniences and comforts? All I can do is tell these people’s story. So for now, I’m doing my best to drink it all in and let it touch my heart.
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Now our friends from Burundi have arrived for a couple of days. We’ll be spending time with them and hearing their stories. As some may know, we had to re-direct our trip from Burundi due to political unrest, and came to Rwanda, as we already had relationships here. So, we brought a few of those friends to visit with us here. We are calling it our Burundi days.

More on that later . . .

Everyone take care,

Leigh

They are diligently working on a sewing project in order to make fabric into clothes and sell at the market. G2M (Go the Second Mile) delivered a sewing machine about a year and a half ago. Since then they have 10 more machines and have begun some training. The need is for much more training in order to adequately gain the skills necessary to produce appropriate clothing for market.

Steven has also discovered an enclave of about 80 children, aged 5 yrs to 20 yrs old, who are raising themselves due to genocide related issues, loss of parents, loss of supporting family, inadequate help of any kind.

We’ll be helping Steven, along with a group, Friends of Steven, to gain more valuable information to determine what is needed to further their self sustaining goals.  Some of the time we will be working side by side with them, as we learn together what their needs are. We are looking forward to the opportunity of spending time with the widows and youth in gaining information that will help determine their future.

Everyone deserves an opportunity for livelihood, for working towards a goal that will create a future for them and their children. We are very excited for the opportunity to do so. We believe that poverty can be overcome by working together.

They are thriving with their foster family, attending school, doing their studies, helping around the house and being a part of a wonderful family.

Sarah is doing so well in school that she is now in the top 5% of her class. She plans on becoming a doctor.

Jefferson is so grateful for the opportunity he has been given that he regularly visits the area of the city where he came from, “Belin,” bringing food and clothing. He gives back because he knows that it makes a difference in their lives.