Our Rwanda Story

In January of 2023, Katie and Caleb Dickinson moved to Rwanda for 6 months with their three kids, Mazie, Athena, and Zae.  The family of 5 lived in a neighborhood that was quite poor.  While the home they lived in had running water, electricity, and reliable internet, their neighbors just 10 feet away had none of those basic needs.  Many live in 100-200 square foot homes with dirt floors and no water or power.  They carry water to their homes and cook on simple stoves fueled by charcoal. Most families consist of a dad who works for roughly $2/day, a mom who takes care of the family, and 2-4 kids that go to school or just play in the neighborhood.  Public education is relatively cheap and accessible with the annual tuition and uniforms being quite low.  Most of these families live on 30-100 dollars per month.  That's just enough for some food, clothes, and rent.  There is very little disposable income for any of these families to pay for new mattresses, shoes, or anything not absolutely essential.  They are unable to save up to move to a nicer home or access the basic utilities that we are accustomed to.  

 

After spending month after month with the wonderful children and mothers of the neighborhood, Katie and Caleb decided to create a way to give directly to these families to give them control over their finances and the ability to cover their basic needs.

 

Working with their Rwandan friend, Kevine, who speaks English and Kinyarwandan, they organized the 24 mothers of the children they befriended and helped each mama set up their own bank accounts at the local SACCO (Savings And Credit Co-op).  The bank accounts are controlled by the mamas, who are in the best position to decide how to use their monthly payment.  Each month, The Dickinson Family Foundation transfers the equivalent of 20-40 dollars into their accounts, based on family size.  They can then withdraw that money and use it for groceries, school fees, clothes, rent, or whatever else they need.  ​

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The foundation made our first deposit in June of 2023 and has continued to make payments each month without fail.  We know that this money helps them cover their basic needs each month and they are incredibly grateful for the generosity of The Dickinson Family Foundation and all those that donate to the foundation to support the program.

 

Katie and Caleb are traveling back to Rwanda at the end of the year to visit the families and evaluate the program's successes and failures.  In speaking with Kevine, it is clear that there will be two main requests (after lots of hugs).  First, each family would certainly benefit from a small increase in the monthly amount.  Second, there will definitely be more families that would like to be included in the program.  Both of these requests will require more money from the foundation.  

 

So, we're asking for your help in supporting these beautiful families.  Just $1 per day will feed a family of 4.

 

Can you give $30/month or $360/year?  Could you support 2 families?

 

The more support we get from our community, the more good we can do for their community.  If you're interested, click on the donate page and sign up for monthly contributions to the foundation so that we can rely on your contribution each month and support these perfect children in Rwanda.

 

Thank you,

The Dickinson Family Foundation