CNS FILE PHOTO/REUTERS

Weapons burn near the Rwandan capital of Kigali in this 2005 file photo. Rwanda burned guns, mortar tubes and ammunition to show its commitment to a regional plan to stop the flow of arms fueling conflicts in Africa, according to government officials. Pope Benedict XV I called on Catholics in Rwanda, where 800,000 people were killed in ethnic violence in 1994, to remain steadfast in faith and hopeful for the future.

Bridge to Rwanda continues outreach

David Eck

DAYTON DEANERY — Not quite two years after it was formed, Bridge to Rwanda, Inc. continues to provide funds for orphanages in Muhororo Parish in Rwanda.

Through generous donors, Dayton-based Bridge to Rwanda was able to construct a two-story, 4,200 square-foot orphanage for 75 handicapped children in Muhororo Parish. The building has exercise and treatment rooms for resident children and others as well.

For much of the last year, the organization has sent $10,000 a month in support of three orphanages overseen by Franciscan Sister Patricia Mukanyonga in Muhororo Parish in northwest Rwanda.

Of those funds, $5,000 goes to feed the children, while the other $5,000 is for utilities and medical supplies and medical treatment of the orphans.

"It costs a minimum of $5,000 a month just to feed the orphans," said George Riess, a parishioner of Emmanuel Parish in Dayton and one of three founders of Bridge to Rwanda. "We’re trying to provide housing for the orphans. We are sending Sister money each month just to feed the 200 orphans."

Bridge to Rwanda also continues a virtual adoption program in which donors sponsor a needy Rwandan student with one or more years of high school education. The $400 sponsor cost for each student covers the cost of room and board, tuition, clothes and medical care for one year.

A member of the organization is providing funding for cows for milk, building a fence and feed.

"People have been very generous," Riess said. "It’s amazing."

Sister Patricia communicates with Bridge to Rwanda via email, saying she, the nuns who work with her, and the orphans are grateful for the donations.

Bridge to Rwanda got its start in 2005 when Riess and his wife, Joan, met Sister Patricia, who had come to Dayton to visit her biological sister. In September 2005, Joan Riess and Dr. Gary George visited Sister Patricia in Rwanda. That experience was the impetus for them, along with George Riess, to form Bridge to Rwanda.

"We know the desperate situation for Sister," Joan Riess said. "She was just bombarded with orphans. Those kids were dying. We felt like we had to do something."

The organization receives donations from various parts of the country including Dayton, North Carolina and even Oregon.

When Sister Patricia visited the United States in late 2006, she spoke at several churches in North Carolina, which has the largest community of Rwandan refugees outside of Dayton.

The Raleigh News and Observer did a story on her, which was picked up by Associated Press and appeared in papers in the northwest United States.

That in turn led to a man in Oregon calling Bridge to Rwanda and making a personal visit to Sister Patricia, George Riess said.

Tony Staub, a parishioner at Incarnation Parish in Centerville, who is active with Bridge to Rwanda, has seen firsthand what the money can do. He returned from a two-week visit to Muhororo Parish earlier this month. He worked with Sister Patricia.

"They live in the mountains," Staub said. "The roads are terrible, impassable at times. (Sister’s) day starts out early in the morning, and people are waiting on her doorstep wanting help."

One of the most touching things Staub experienced was the Rwandans’ faith. When he went to Mass at the church in Muhororo, he noticed the church was packed, but there were no cars in the parking lot.

"These people had to get up at three or four o’clock in the morning and walk to church," Staub said. "Their faith is great.’’

Staub stayed in and worked around the orphanage.

"I had to go over and see for myself what it was like," he said. "It kind of puts the puzzle together. You can see all the good everybody’s doing over there."

More information on Bridge to Rwanda can be found online at sisterpat.com. Donations can be mailed to Bridge to Rwanda, 4709 Briar Knoll Drive, Kettering, OH 45429.