Hardship Campaign: Support Needed during COVID-19

This campaign was not expected and certainly has never happened before but we are in pressing times as a small nonprofit. Nonprofits all over the world do amazing work, and especially the ones fighting COVID-19! This doesn't mean we can discount the ones also keeping people alive and thriving such as the work done in Rwanda at Hope Shines.

Rwanda is currently locked down with tight security measures in place. Our 42 students cannot gain access to the FULL provisional support offered due to the greatly limited movements allowed. That said, we ARE able to allocate dry food stuffs and SOAP and Feminine hygiene products to our families. We base this amount on the families that need it the most. Each week, our on-site facility manager is able to hand out these items that are so crucial to have for many reasons.

1) Our families that can get work ALL work at jobs that pay them daily. They use this money daily to provide for their families. Right now, none are able to work.
2) Nearly half of our families have underlying health conditions such as HIV and they are dependent on provisional support from their neighbors and working family members. Those with these conditions rely on their child receiving food and clean water from us as one part of being enrolled in our programs.
3) We make soap! We are supplied with over 2000 bars of recycled soap at the moment and can distribute to our kids and their families, as well as the greater community.

In 2020, Hope Shines will take a financial hit...how much?? we don't know yet but by estimates already, our income from donors, events, and grants could be reduced by a whopping 50%!!! This will SEVERELY hamper our ability to run programs, provide food, and employee our staff of 12 in Rwanda.

We understand that everyone is situational at the moment with their personal health and financial abilities but we are proactively reaching out to gain some cushion for this near future of degrading financials in an effort to be better prepared. Please know that we are a lean-run organization and our financials are all transparent and online at Guidestar.com. Please, if you can support us in any amount, we will be better off and our kids and families will still have a platform (Hope Shines) in the future that has been providing HOPE and opportunity in Rwanda since 2007! Thank you!

With LOVE,
Dan
Executive Director (and donor)