DEVELOPING TIMES: Reports out of the Congo

Welcome

Mission Statement
Rural Empowerment Initiatives (REI) mission is to collaborate in the reduction of poverty through investment in rural areas and training of local people.

Vision Statement
REI's vision is to treat every created being with dignity, respect and love. We strive to work with those most in need by empowering people to recognize their God given talents, enabling them to make the world a better place and providing them hope for the future.

Our Principles
REI believes that all people are created equal.
REI will develop small to medium businesses (SMEs) as one approach to reach those most in need by creating jobs that build the economy in rural areas.
REI's partner businesses will be led, managed and majority owned by local people.
REI will always seek a triple bottom line of economic, spiritual and social transformation.
REI seeks to build sustainable community-oriented business models.
REI's focus of support is to the economically disadvantaged.
REI will seek attractive market and growth opportunities.
REI will incubate pilot projects with capable management.
REI believes in collaboration. We seek partners whose strengths complement our own in an effort to build well-rounded projects of lasting economic value for the communities in which we work.
REI is inspired by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and is therefore rooted in the Christian faith.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Reports out of the Congo

This is a report i recently got out of DRC...this woman gave her story in video below. She also made a beautiful dress for my wife. Pray that God will restore her.

Also, I hope you heard that one of our students, Seraphine, had a terribly car accident. A pick up knocked here and crashed her left arm. We praise the Lord because it missed her head just centimeters and also the bone was not broken. The whole flesh on the bone was unwrapped. It was hard even for me to see. This afternoon I visited her at hospital. I hope she will be okay. They removed the strings from the wound today and it became even more painful. But I hope now the final healing process has start.
It is amazing to see how supportive students are in all this. Everyday there are 4, 5 to 10 volunteers who come to the hospital to spend the night with her. And the next morning they are all at school. Then two or three stay to be with her. They are doing rotations. And this has been so encouraging for Seraphine and her family. In the beginning her mother would always collapse when she sees her daughter suffer but students stood beside her and the family.