A new school year is about to start in September. For families with children in school, especially those with lower financial means, this is a crucial period of time. The cost of sending a child to school is a huge burden.
Fort Barachel came up with the idea “Back to School”, an initiative to provide school materials to the needy. Chantal, Eliane, Jeannette and Patrick are among the beneficiaries of for the last edition. They share with us how the school materials came at the very time when they really needed them.
Chantal: “God has his own ways of granting us favors!”
Chantal is a mother of three children, from Songa commune, Bururi province. She is a widow and has been raising her children alone for seven years. “When my husband died, our children were still very young,” she says. “And when it was time for the oldest child to start school, it was challenging for me. I wondered where I was going to get the school supplies. I realized that my family wasn’t ready to help me either and didn’t know where to turn.”
Chantal NDAYIKUNDA/Photo/FortBarachel
“That’s when the opportunity to get copybooks through this organization – Fort Barachel – showed up. It was a huge joy for me and my children. I was able to send two of my children to school at the same time – the oldest and the second. I realized that God has his own ways of answering our prayers. I had never heard of Fort Barachel, yet it was this organization that God used to answer my prayers to prove his love for me and my children. Chantal concluded, “I thank this organization very much and ask that you continue to support us.”
Eliane: “The copybooks I received were a great help to me”
Eliane lives in the Matana commune, Bururi province. She has four children that she has been raising alone – one of the children lives with her older sister – for over seven years. Her husband abandoned her in January 2014. “I was really excited when I heard about this organization,” says Mrs Eliane. “The materials I received were a great help to me considering the problems I had been going through. The money I would have used to buy copybooks for my children, I used to buy flip flops for them to wear. She continues.
Eliane NDAYITWAYEKO/Photo/FortBarachel
“Even the administration is aware of my problems, they allowed me to send my children to school without paying a fee. I have a lot to thank God for. My children are smart and bright. They are doing well in school. The youngest child often gets the first place. I thank you very much and may God continue to bless you” she concludes.
Jeannette: “God is using you”
Jeannette is a student from Mugamba commune in Bururi province. Problems in her family led to the separation of her parents. She even got separated from her parent who was taking care of her. “However, God was kind to me and I was able to find a foster home,” she reveals with a look of gratitude. “This situation made it difficult for me to continue my studies. At times I even thought of dropping out of school. But God always manages things in his ways. She sorted it out.”
Jeannette NIYOMWUNGERE/Photo/FortBarachel
“So, getting the materials was a divine intervention for me,” she affirms, her head bowed. “Always asking for copybooks and school fees from the family that had taken me into their home created a sense of shame in me since I felt that I was asking too much anyway. God bless you for intervening in 2019, an year in which there was a particular problem with obtaining school fees and school materials. God is using you so that I can continue my studies. May He bless you abundantly”
Patrick: “God has filled our gap through Fort Barachel.”
He is the youngest of six children. He is fatherless and originate from the Matana commune in Bururi province. “My prayer since I was a child has been based on the Bible verse that says that Jesus is the Father of orphans and the husband of widows,” says Patrick, a young man in his final year of high school.
Patrick BAYUBAHE/Photo/FortBarachel
“Because of the number of children that our mother had to support in terms of the cost of purchasing school materials, this forced her to give us an insufficient number of copybooks. In 2020, through Fort Barachel, God made up for the lack of school materials that our mother was able to offer us. May God multiply his blessings on you.”