Helping the Helpless-A Mother Reunited with her Son

When Gideon was born in Western Rwanda ten years ago, his mother was overwhelmed with the thought of caring for a child. She was physically disabled and did not have full use of her legs. She used crutches to walk on the hilly dirt roads and could find shelter only with her brother and sister-in-law who advised her to place her son in an orphanage nearby. She reluctantly agreed.

Gideon lived in the orphanage and worked each day planting and cultivating produce that would fill the orphanage coffers. He labored without the affirmation and love of a mother or father to help him through the day. Gideon had food. He had a bed. He had a place to live. But he didn’t have a home.

Recently, the Rwanda Purpose Driven and PEACE Orphan Care Initiative began teaching the church in Gideon’s neighborhood about the negative effects of orphanages on children. Church members learned that life without the one-on-one care and attention of a parent takes a serious toll on a child’s mental, physical, and psychological development. Once they heard that families were God’s best design for children, the churches resolved to get children out of their local orphanages as quickly as possible. They committed themselves to finding loving families for all the children in the orphanages, including Gideon.

Volunteers from the local church tracked down the story of each child and invited their relatives to the orphanage to meet their children again and receive parenting training and support. They presented the parents with the opportunity to reunite; and Gideon’s mother was one of the family members in attendance.

Her heart broke for her son as she sat there, yet she felt helpless to change his situation. She raised her hand to state her fears, “I understand the orphanage is bad, and I don’t want my son to be here, but I don’t know what to do. I don’t have another choice. I cannot take him to the place where I am staying—it is too small and the people who are kindly accommodating me won’t allow my son. Is there anyone who can help me find a different living situation where I will have room for my son? I am in a training program for the disabled. I have a good job and can care for my son if I just have a little help in finding a new place to live. I’d like my son to leave this orphanage today, but I can’t take him home with me today.”  Her love for her son and eagerness to never part from him again was palpable and everyone in the training longed to help.

From the front of the room came the words that filled her with hope. A pastor who had been visiting the orphanage and providing some of the training looked at her and replied, “Yes, the church will help you. I know your son. I have spoken to my wife and we have agreed to offer our home to you for your son until you can make the preparations for him to come back home to live with you. My wife and I and our family—we will help you take your son home today.”

The pastor committed to take Gideon home so his mom would be able to visit and interact with the son she had been separated from for so many years. She made plans to visit him the very next day.

The orphanage staff couldn’t believe their eyes. “We did not believe it was possible for children to be reunited with family. We thought families were too desperate or poor. Surely a mom with such disabilities wouldn’t be able.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” the pastor gently offered. “The church is a family to families. When the church steps up and steps in, the load is lighter and the road is brighter. We are not alone.”

Leaving the orphanage later that day, Gideon sat on the pastor’s lap in a big white van, waving at everyone passing with both hands. From his ecstatic grin it was easy to see his overwhelming joy at being free from the orphanage and the promise of being permanently reunited with his mom. He waved wildly at every passer-by on the road.  

For the first time in many years, Gideon will be taken care of by a mother and a father who will give him the care and attention he needs to flourish until his mom is able to care for him, too. Gideon has a home. He has a family. What once seemed like a helpless, hopeless situation has now been redeemed through God and his church.

Want to learn more about Orphan Care and how you can sponsor orphans like Gideon? Visit the Orphan Care page.