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It's been 10 years now. Still, Rwanda's 100-day war casts a long shadow across the lives of its children. It is estimated that more than 1 million Rwandans were murdered during the 1994 war - most at the hands of machete-wielding neighbors, friends and fellow churchgoers - in a genocide rivaling the horrors of the Jewish holocaust and Cambodia's killing fields.
Though Rwandans are working hard to rebuild their broken nation, nearly every child and family has at least one relative who was murdered or who remains imprisoned because of the genocide.
Compassion International was one of the few organizations able to maintain a presence in Rwanda long before, during and after the war. Compassion is a holistic child development organization working with children living in poverty in more than 20 countries.
Today, Compassion ministers to more than 19,000 children in Rwanda, but the devastating effects of war on the children are still evident.
One such child is 9-year-old Tuyisingize Alexie. As an infant, Alexie was sent to prison with her mother who was indicted for war crimes in 1996. The young mother continues to emphatically maintain that she was not involved in the genocide.
In 2000, government officials declared that older children living in prison with their parents needed to have foster parents and attend school. The first couple Alexie lived with after prison made her do hard labor and often kept her from school. As a result, she had to repeat first grade.
The only family Alexie knows is the family she now lives with (her maternal aunt, uncle and three cousins), along with her Compassion sponsors.
Today, Alexie is a lively young girl who enjoys sports and helping at home. She is often seen laughing and playing with the other children as if they were all siblings.
Compassion staff members report that Alexie's development has improved over the past couple of years since living with her aunt's family and becoming involved in a Compassion project. She attends project activities and last semester she was second in her class. Alexie wants to finish school, become a primary school teacher and help other students like herself.
Although she misses her mother, Alexis is very thankful for her new family and the blessings of Compassion's ministry.
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Since 1952, Compassion has touched the lives of more than a million children. Learn more at www.compassion.com or call 1-800-336-7676. - NU
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