PROJECT UPDATES
The School
The school at Cyimbili is home to over 1,400 students. Currently the high school has 525 students that live at the plantation with limited facilities.
The Economy
The plantation has just completed Phase 1 of the restoration program. The land has been terraced, nearly 69,000 new plantings, and most important a new coffee washing station has been completed.
The Community
With the work that has been made available the community has begun to be restored. The Cyimbili Women's Organization has formed along with other inner workings of a viable and productive community.
The Church
As part of the community the church provides stability to a community and a place for fellowship and personal restoration.
Our Mission
It’s been said that “everything
important in Rwanda happens on a hill.”
I have to agree. In the early 1960s something important did happen on a
hill in a place called Cyimbili. God gave missionary Elvin Kile a vision
to plant and nurture the hope of Jesus there. He built a school, a
church, and a clinic. He taught the young men carpentry skills and
mentored them in the Scriptures. He remained faithful to his calling
until God took him home in 1983. Sadly, time and national conflict have
taken a toll on the Cyimbili plantation since then. But I believe that
change is coming. I pray that we may continue the great work that Elvin
Kile started, that the message of hope and renewal might again echo
from the lush hills of Cyimbili, pointing people to the One who said:
Cyimbili’s lush green hills on the shores of Lake Kivu are breathtaking. The people who live in those hills grabbed hold of my heart. However, for their lives to change for the better, three things need to happen. Relief: The people need clean running water, electricity, and a functioning, safe sanitation system to reduce the risk of disease and other potential health crises. Restoration: Dilapidated buildings, inaccessible roads, and spent coffee trees need to be replaced, fixed, and renewed. This plantation has incredible potential to help the lives of its community, but it can’t reach that potential until it is restored. Renewal: As I listened to the young people who crowded around us, they spoke of the need to know--"really know"--that God has a good purpose and a plan for their lives and that He has not forgotten them. They need new hope.
--Jamie Longo, Founder