Rwandan genocide survivor to share his inspiring story
Now a college graduate, Alex Nsengimana lives in North Carolina and serves with Operation Christmas Child, paying forward the hope and love he received through a shoe-box gift as a young boy.
LAHAINA – Alex Nsengimana, a Rwandan genocide survivor, is coming to Maui for speaking engagements on Saturday, Sept. 27, to share his compelling story of how a simple gift changed his life and set him on a path of hope and forgiveness.
He is sharing his story to inspire others to help children worldwide through Operation Christmas Child.
Nsengimana will speak from 10 to 11 a.m. at Grace Bible Church at 635 Hina Avenue in Kahului, 3 to 4 p.m. at Lahaina Baptist Church at 209 Shaw St. and 6 to 7 p.m. at Hope Chapel at 300 E. Welakahao Road in Kihei.
Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, transforms empty shoe-boxes into gifts by filling them with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, then delivering them to kids in more than 100 countries.
Growing up in the throes of an unstable Rwandan government, Nsengimana experienced first-hand the travesties of his nation’s genocide.
After his mother died of HIV/AIDS while he was still very young, Nsengimana and his brother and sister went to live with their grandmother and uncle.
At the height of tribal unrest in 1994, the genocide claimed the lives of his caregivers. Fleeing for his life, Nsengimana escaped gunmen when he fell and they took him for dead.
He ended up in an orphanage that would serve as his home for the next several years.
Nsengimana received a shoe-box from Operation Christmas Child one year after arriving at the orphanage, and he remembers being so excited to have a gift to call his own.
He was selected to join the African Children’s Choir, traveled to Uganda to train and began touring in the U.S.
On Saturday, Maui families and volunteers will kick off the upcoming collection season for 3,333 gift-filled shoe-boxes expected to be packed by island residents this year for children in need overseas through Operation Christmas Child.
During the week of Nov. 17-24, there will be three locations on Maui where residents can drop off shoe-boxes packed with toys, school supplies and hygiene items. To find the closest location, visit the Operation Christmas Child website and use the zip code locator.
The drop off locations will be the first stop on a journey across the world for thousands of gifts packed by local residents. The boxes are then prepared and delivered to hurting children overseas using whatever means necessary – boats, airplanes, trains and even elephants.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered gift-filled shoe-boxes to more than 113 million children in more than 100 countries.
In 2014, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoe-box gifts to reach another ten million children, with 3,333 supported by Maui.
Rwandan genocide survivor to share his inspiring story
Now a college graduate, Alex Nsengimana lives in North Carolina and serves with Operation Christmas Child, paying forward the hope and love he received through a shoe-box gift as a young boy.
LAHAINA – Alex Nsengimana, a Rwandan genocide survivor, is coming to Maui for speaking engagements on Saturday, Sept. 27, to share his compelling story of how a simple gift changed his life and set him on a path of hope and forgiveness.
He is sharing his story to inspire others to help children worldwide through Operation Christmas Child.
Nsengimana will speak from 10 to 11 a.m. at Grace Bible Church at 635 Hina Avenue in Kahului, 3 to 4 p.m. at Lahaina Baptist Church at 209 Shaw St. and 6 to 7 p.m. at Hope Chapel at 300 E. Welakahao Road in Kihei.
Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, transforms empty shoe-boxes into gifts by filling them with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, then delivering them to kids in more than 100 countries.
Growing up in the throes of an unstable Rwandan government, Nsengimana experienced first-hand the travesties of his nation’s genocide.
After his mother died of HIV/AIDS while he was still very young, Nsengimana and his brother and sister went to live with their grandmother and uncle.
At the height of tribal unrest in 1994, the genocide claimed the lives of his caregivers. Fleeing for his life, Nsengimana escaped gunmen when he fell and they took him for dead.
He ended up in an orphanage that would serve as his home for the next several years.
Nsengimana received a shoe-box from Operation Christmas Child one year after arriving at the orphanage, and he remembers being so excited to have a gift to call his own.
He was selected to join the African Children’s Choir, traveled to Uganda to train and began touring in the U.S.
On Saturday, Maui families and volunteers will kick off the upcoming collection season for 3,333 gift-filled shoe-boxes expected to be packed by island residents this year for children in need overseas through Operation Christmas Child.
During the week of Nov. 17-24, there will be three locations on Maui where residents can drop off shoe-boxes packed with toys, school supplies and hygiene items. To find the closest location, visit the Operation Christmas Child website and use the zip code locator.
The drop off locations will be the first stop on a journey across the world for thousands of gifts packed by local residents. The boxes are then prepared and delivered to hurting children overseas using whatever means necessary – boats, airplanes, trains and even elephants.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered gift-filled shoe-boxes to more than 113 million children in more than 100 countries.
In 2014, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoe-box gifts to reach another ten million children, with 3,333 supported by Maui.
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