Tuesday's Tribute - Sowers

I realize that again it is not Tuesday, and here I am doing another tribute. I thought about changing the name, but it kind of cracks me up.

Today's tribute is to three individuals, one of whom I've never met and two I know well. The energy and vision of these three individuals Emmanuel Mufla, Bernard Balibuno, and Alicia Vial has created a minor miracle in Panzie Village in the DR Congo. Alicia is my sister and Bernard is a friend from BYU-Hawaii where we were students together when he first shared his story. Their efforts with the help of many others have created a school for refugees in the middle of chaos. The school is called Sowers of Hope. Here is a bit of their story:

Bernard Balibuno and Emmanuel Mufla grew up in Panzie. After the Rwandan Genocide, the village of Panzie was turned into a refugee camp. The main Hutu army forces and rebels from Rwanda were based in Panzie and continued to cross the Rwandan boarder to harass the Tusties. The Rwandan government could not allow their people to be continually ambushed by these Hutu rebels, so they forced them to either return to Rwanda and go through mediation, or move further inland in DR Congo. In the confusion, many children were left behind as orphans. Bernard and Emmanuel, along with many of their childhood friends, could not stand by and do nothing to help these orphans.

In an area where for many young children death and violence are so familiar this school provides a future. This is an example from their website of the type of situation these children come from.

Marie Anyesi is a nine-year-old girl of Rwandese descent living in the Panzie village in Congo. She does not know who her parents are, or even when she should celebrate her birthday. She thinks she has brothers and sisters, but does not know where they are. Anyesi was found on the street by a Congolese woman. Although the sympathetic woman took her in, this woman's husband was an alcoholic, and neither of her caregivers had jobs. Sometimes Anyesi would go for days without eating. Her health was rapidly deteriorating, but she had no other options.
In 2002, Anyesi was recruited by the Sowers of Hope-Congo field director, Kwinja Balekembaka, to attend the Sowers of Hope school. She was immediately placed in a stable family, and now eats three meals a day. Moreover, she can read at a basic level. Her dream is to become a nurse.

Since 2001 the school has survived with little to no help from outside resources. After a visit there in 2007 by Alicia she came back with a vision to create a support here in the US to help those working so hard to save these children's lives over there.

If anyone is interested you can read more about Sowers of Hope on their website. It may take a while to load but please watch the video on their homepage.