Over 100 days in 1994 the small east African nation of Rwanda was plunged into a horrible genocide—a time in which a million people brutally lost their lives. The world sat by and did nothing as tribal tensions, inflamed for many years by colonial powers, erupted. Following the genocide there were hundreds of thousands of orphans and shattered families, looking for a way to rebuild the nation and embrace hope.

In the late 1990’s a bishop in the Anglican church of Rwanda began to move towards a dream to educate the next generation of Rwandans, so that there would be peace, hope and faithful strength across the land. Church of the Redeemer was one of the first groups in the United States to partner with Bishop John Rucyahana to launch Sonrise School, a school that would offer Christian education to those whose lives had been upended by war, murder and poverty.

Ten years ago a few people at Church of the Redeemer organized a fundraising banquet to support the work of the school. Three years later the school was officially opened, even as the banquet has continued each year to provide vital operational funding for the school. Hundreds of children are being lovingly nurtured and shaped to know the power of knowledge, the power of God’s love and the power of forgiveness. Church of the Redeemer is now entering a special relationship with St. Michael’s, the school’s chapel, as it serves the spiritual needs of students and nearby families.