Congo schools

Comfort Congo are now running three schools for some of the most vulnerable and poor people on earth. These schools are: Kizeye school in Kaziba, Salugaba Secondary School at Karambi (a small secondary school most of the older children from the area are fully occupied trying to find food or ways to get some money to survive but it is important to encourage children to continue in education to prepare them for the future) and Walugaba Primary School at Karambi which has 222 pupils of which 42 are pygmy children, 124 are refugees from the camps, 34 are vulnerables and orphans, and 20 others. It is particularly encouraging to see the care taken to include the pygmy children who are traditionally despised and marginalised. The head teachers of the schools have asked us to consider the following urgent needs: chalk, desks, benches, toilets, books, a table and chair for an office, staples, notebooks, paint and teacher salaries (some are currently are unpaid, others receive 30 per month). In the medium term we would like to help the schools buy the land they are situated on and build proper breeze block classrooms. This will cost around 6000 per classroom.

New slett Aut er u mn 20 13

Comfort Rwanda invite you to this years Comfort Ceilidh. This is a great opportunity to meet up with the wonderful Comfort Rwanda family of supporters, hear project updates, share great food and enjoy music played by the fabulous Sporrandipity. The Ceilidh will be held at Chryston Parish Church (Main Street, Chryston, Glasgow G69 9LA) on St Andrews night, Saturday 30th November, from 7pm. Tickets are 5 for an adult or 15 a family. Available from your Comfort Rwanda church rep, the Comfort Rwanda ofce (82 Arden Grove, Kilsyth G65 9NU, enquiry@comfortrwanda.org.uk) or if you can assure us of your attendance we can put tickets aside for collection. Last year was very full so do please get a ticket in advance. There will be crafts on sale and an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing work of Comfort Rwanda. Christian Training College of Rwanda (CTCR) - Our Autumn Appeal
This October saw the completion of the second of eight two week trainings at the CTCR. Phil Arbon and Alistair Macindoe taught on the gospels and pastoral care respectively. Izzy teaching at the new venue in Muhanga

Comfort Ceilidh - St Andrews Night

We are pleased to announce that Comfort Rwandas Callum Henderson has been conrmed as the Honorary Consul for Rwanda to Scotland.
Cattle project
The two cows purchased in the spring are expecting happy arrivals next month. Both cows are yielding milk which has been drunk by visiting groups at the guest house! The cattle shed is finished, the herders accommodation is built and the area is fenced. Much work has been done (some by visiting groups) to extend the area of fodder grown on the 5 hectare site. This has been successful and we expect to add a further two cows shortly. Due to the clay content of the lower valley the small well that had been sunk is not yielding water as hoped and a piped water source has been brought in from a nearby spring. In the medium term we would want to extend the project to cover 15 hectares and build up a high quality herd of Friesian cows. In the long term we would want to extend the project to other areas of Rwanda.

TEXT GIVING If you would like to donate a small amount (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10) to Comfort Rwanda you can now do so by text....Just text RWAN22 x to 70070
Comfort Rwanda, 82 Arden Grove, Kilsyth, G65 9NU, Scotland E-mail: enquiry@comfortrwanda.org.uk ! 01236-827251 Web: www.comfortrwanda.org.uk SCOTTISH CHARITY: SC030369

The CTCR, administered in partnership with the Free Methodist Church in Rwanda under the bishop KAYINAMURA Samuel, but also open to other denominations coodinated by RUGABIRA Theophile from Harvest Church, takes place at two locations in Rwanda Muhanga (formerly Gitarama) and Kigali. The course has been designed to equip pastors with some of the skills and knowledge required to lead local churches. The assessed programme of study requires significant commitment from the nearly 60 students enrolled

CTCR - Our Autumn Appeal cont...

and for some this is quite a challenge! The passion and sincerity of the men and women on the course is moving and challenging to us and we want to meet that challenge by providing them with the best training possible. Most of the pastors come from very poor backgrounds and the programme is offered free. The aim is to equip church leaders who have been denied training because of war, exile or poverty with a quality programme of accredited study which may also lead to further training at suitable theological institutes. Comfort Rwanda covers the salaries of two translators/administrators (who are doing an excellent job), the accommodation and food costs of pastors, administrative and venue costs totalling over 20,000 per year. (Lecturers cover all their own travel and accommodation costs). At present there is very little income designated to the CTCR and we would like to build a stream of income that can help sustain this programme of teaching and prepare the way for expansion in the future. We are already being asked about extensions to the programme for further levels of study.

Our Autumn Appeal is to ask if you would like to support the

CTCR. If so please either download and fill in a standing order form from http://comfortrwanda.org.uk/resources/ CR_Bankers_Order.pdf. One-off donations can be made by cheque to Comfort Rwanda, 82 Arden Grove, Kilsyth, G65 9NU, or via http:// www.charitychoice.co.uk/comfortrwanda/ Live links are at the

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

Plans for Coffee for Congo events are coming together all over. Coffee for Congo is encouraging as many people as possible to host events, big and small, to raise funds for building the maternity clinic at Rusayo, North Kivu. This maternity clinic will serve refugees and displaced people of the area. More than 1 in 30 women in the area are die in childbirth and the people are urgently and deeply in need of this facility. We need around 35,000 to finish the building, fit it out and equip it. We are aiming to raise 10,000 of this by having as many Coffee for Congo events going on as we can. The target week to do something is the week beginning 20th October, but we are The Maternity Clinic so far... delighted for any events to take place at any time! There are lots of resources available at http://www.comfortrwanda.org.uk/ comfortcongo/ or ask us for paper copies. Get involved and make a difference!

Dumbarton Village
In September a visiting group were privileged to be in Jari for the opening and consecrating of a new house for a surviving widow, Veneranda. Veneranda has shown amazing grace and love in the way she has recovered from the genocide. She is always thinking of how to help others and has looked after a genocide orphan with considerable challenges in their behaviour. At the ceremony the sector executive secretary announced that he would like the village to be called after the partner church and so a sign has been made at the VTC announcing this part of Rwanda as Dumbarton village.

Ihmure Vocational Training Centre

We know you will be keen for news of the IVTC. The team in Rwanda are gearing up for next year and an electricity course will be added to the syllabus. It is exciting to see the workshop now being built and we are hopeful this will be ready for the new year. The students are making some excellent items and we are looking at ways to utilise the VTC for other projects such as house building and benches and blackboards for school.

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Summer visits to Rwanda

We have had some terrific visits to Rwanda over the summer period. Visits by school groups from Kilsyth Academy and Arbroath Academy were hugely enjoyable and informative, with great groups of students and teachers. Two large church groups of 20 and 22 people from a variety of churches throughout Scotland also visited as did representatives from Tools With A Mission. Two groups went to DR Congo, one of 11 in July and another of 5 in September. Visits were made to the building work at the maternity clinic as well as to Gesom hospital where we are presently sending rape survivors for surgery. A number of rape survivors groups were visited and encouraged and shared their very difficult stories with us. Our partners were very keen for us to visit the schools they are running and the Comfort Congos fields in Rusayo which were out of bounds due to rebel activity in July but were showing good growth of cassava, beans, cabbage and sweet potatoes in September. We also visited the sewing projects for vulnerable women and rape survivors, and the pineapple juicing project for ex-child soldiers.

Building the workshops at the IVTC