“If I give, it is not because I have a lot, but because I feel compassion for others who are struggling as I did before. God has fulfilled my needs that’s why I cannot close my eyes when it comes to helping others.”
People familiar with Zoe Empowers witness how it changes the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children forever, but there is also a pervasive ripple effect that is hard to document.
Like Thacien shared in the quote above, once ZOE children experience improvements in their lives they feel compelled to share their blessings. Some do so by hiring other vulnerable people in their community. For example, with a small grant from Zoe Empowers, Thacien quickly built his wealth running a “canteen” and selling produce. With his profits he purchased a cassava farm. Now he employees others – at fair rates.
ZOE working groups will often visit and supply food to elderly living in isolation. They will also adopt other vulnerable children and use their own earnings to provide them with a similar Zoe Empowers transformation. During graduation ceremonies, Rwanda working groups will pass on the gift of empowerment by distributing goats or business grants to those in need so that they too may start their own journey to self-sufficiency.
The way ZOE’s empowerment program touches the entire community is amazing, especially how the transformative ripple expands far beyond the program itself.
Thacien shares his dream chart with Rwanda Director, Epiphanie.