He's a year and a half old and adorable. He's scared of us, probably because we're some of the first white people he's ever seen! He lives with his grandparents and loves toy cars. His name translates to "God Saves" in Kinyarwanda.
Who is he? He's a little boy that has wedged his way into our hearts... without any effort on his part!
We came to know him when we were visiting Esperance's house when our church group, all the way from our hometown of Kerrville, was here! The sector leader asked us if we could help a little boy who's mother and father had abandoned him. After my parents talked and prayed, they came to the conclusion that God was calling them to help baby Irakiza!
At first, we thought that meant we were going to take him into our home to live with us. My parents had meetings with the social workers and found out that the situation was a lot more complicated than that. We had to sign papers for legal guardianship, they had to visit his home, interview his relatives, etc. At that point he was living with his uncle and aunt, along with their 6 kids.
After a long time of waiting, we found out that the grandparents didn't want to give up their little grandson after all. The grandpa even got up at 4 am to walk to Kibogora (the drive from his house to the hospital is two hours, and he walked that!) just to accompany the uncle and make sure he "didn't sell his grandson to the white people."
That day, my parents met Irakiza at the hospital for the first time. They loved him!
Soon after that, we bought his family a cow and they built a shed to keep it in (the last door on the right wall pictured below). A cow provides their family with milk and one day the cow will be old enough to breed providing income for the family.
Last Friday, we got to visit Irakiza at his home! We brought them a few essentials like food and cooking supplies, clothes, shoes, etc. But, even better than that, we gave Irakiza a couple of balls and a toy car meant for kids his age, which he loved!
You'll probably be hearing more about him in the future. Below are some pictures from our trip.
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| the cow and the new "shed" |
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| walking back to the car from his house |
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| the white house is where he lives |
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| the grandfather holding Irakiza |
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| Irakiza, "riding" in the back of the truck with us! haha! |
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| the grandmother with Irakiza |
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