In March 2005 Dativa Mushimiyimana, a child whose name means “I thank God for her,” was born in a tiny Rwandan village. Like millions of other Sub-Saharan children, Dativa’s family subsisted on less than one dollar a day. When Dativa was three years old, her mother died from HIV/AIDS. She and her newborn sister Hope were sent to live with their grandmother who lived in a dirt hut near a swamp. Elderly, infirm, and impoverished, the grandmother found it difficult to feed the girls and frequently sought help from neighbors to support the girls. In January 2009, Hope and Dativa arrived at the Rafiki Training Village in Rwanda frightened and suffering from Kwashiorkor—a type of malnourishment due to a lack of protein and calories in the diet.
After several months in Rafiki’s care, both girls have been restored to health and they have begun to attend the school at the Rafiki Training Village. They were rescued from physical death through medical care and nutrition, and they are being rescued from spiritual darkness as they learn about the God of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. These little girls are an answer to prayer poured out from groups around the world who support this ministry through prayer.
Rafiki Prayer Groups (RPGs) provide monthly prayer support for Rafiki missionaries, Rafiki Villages, and the Home Office. The prayer groups range in size from two to fifty members. These groups are valuable partners in our ministry to care for orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. Prayer groups meet once a month to pray for the requests from the Villages, missionaries, and from the Home Office. Prayer group members may include your friends, family, neighbors, and church members. Rafiki Area Representatives (RARs) are available to work with prayer groups to provide additional support.
Individuals interested in starting a Rafiki Prayer Group may contact the Home Office at 352-483-9131 or e-mail RafikiPrayerGroup@rafikifoundation.org. Your group will receive a copy of the Rafiki Prayer Group manual, prayer cards for the missionaries, brochures, a Rafiki calendar, a copy of the Rafiki Report, and a DVD of the Rafiki video. The Home Office registers the group and works with the group leader to select a Rafiki Training Village needing prayer support. RPGs may adopt more than one Village to support in prayer. Prayer requests and updates are sent via e-mail.
RPGs not only support this ministry by their prayers, but also by volunteering at a Rafiki Training Village as a short-term missionaries, by donating money to provide Bibles for the children who live in the Villages, by hosting informational coffees for long-term missionaries who are raising support, and in many other vital ways. Join a RPG and get in on this life changing action!