Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church in Pender Harbour will be kicking it up a notch on Nov. 16 in a fundraising event for a small village in Africa.
Kick Start for Kigeme will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the church (13625 Sunshine Coast Highway). Tickets are $15 each or two for $25 available by calling Paola at 604-883-9833 or Linda at 604-747-2029.
Kigeme is a small rural village located approximately three hours by bus from Rwanda's capital, Kigale. Kigeme lives with the heartache and devastating memories of the genocide and was significantly affected by the violence that took place nearly 20 years ago.
During the past nine years, as a sister parish to Christ the Redeemer in Pender Harbour, many significant ties and relationships have formed between the two communities thanks in no small part to Christ the Redeemer's pastoral assistant Carolyn Spence, who visits the community every summer. Spence and her sister Rachel's dedication to improving the lives of people in Kigeme has encouraged other church members to accompany her and form relationships of their own. Through their organizations (Kids4Kids and The Udder Project), which are supported by the church and others, incredible strides forward have been made.
The Alan Stewart family of five accompanied Spence in her travels in the summer of 2011 and recorded their experience in photographs and video, which will be shared at the fundraiser. Florence Drent will be drumming as part of the evening's entertainment. Drent is originally from East Africa, and works for Power to Change, formerly Campus Crusade.
All proceeds raised at this event will go to supporting the continued construction of a commercial building project in the heart of Kigeme. The building, located at a bus stop intersection, will provide rental space at reasonable rates to entrepreneurs and local manufacturers and will allow them to offer services to people in neighbouring communities as well as locals.
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