The Story of One Exceptional Mother

This Mothers Day I want to tell you the story of Immaculate, a woman that touched my heart.

I am always honored to meet the mamas of the children CHABHA supports. Due to the AIDS crisis in sub-Sahara Africa, several children are taken care of by grandmothers, aunts and neighbors. I have met some remarkably strong women who provide love, and security for these children under very difficult and challenging conditions. On this recent trip to Burundi, I had a chance to visit with one of these women.

Immaculate, is the only surviving child of her family. She cares for her 10 nieces and nephews that have been orphaned by AIDS. She is a beautiful young woman with a welcoming smile. She has never married and has no children of her own. She lives with these children in her 10 by 12 foot one room home. On the day we visited Immaculate she was dealing with a collapsed roof of her small home, and it was about to rain. A man was trying to provide a temporary solution and all the sleeping mats were stacked outside of the home. After a quick inspection, the leaders organized the children to move the mats into another unit. During all of this, Immaculate quickly welcomed us into her mother’s home and instructed the children to make the proper introductions with the rain pouring into her home next door.

With the house temporarily secured and the children inside, the afternoon quickly became an opportunity to share about the children’s recent report cards and success in school. We also discussed in great detail the new business Immaculate has started with the assistance of a micro finance loan from CHABHA. Immaculate created a business of buying goats and selling them to local restaurants in Bujumbura at a profit of about $8.00 per goat. The income from her business has provided food for the children and some security for the future. This success has allowed her to pay back the loan to CHABHA which qualifies her for a larger loan from a microfinance institution in Burundi, that will assist her in growing her business.

This Mothers Day in honor of all the exceptional mothers around the world please donate in honor of your exceptional mother to help CHABHA continue our important work in Rwanda and Burundi.