Hello all.. I hope that this message finds you all doing well and that you and all your family and friends are healthy and COVID-19 free. Just an FYI, one of the reasons I am using this FreeFunder site instead of GoFundMe is that GoFundMe takes 5% of every donation and this platform is free. That being said, in light of everyones current economic situation in the US and around the world, I knew I would be asking a lot of people to donate at a time such as this when money is tight for most, but this is a worthy cause and it won't cost much per person to realize its goal.

Without trying to beat any further around the bush, I'll get to the point of this request soon, but first a little background. I am currently in St. Petersburg, Russia, though about 2.5 years ago in September of 2017, I did a pilgrimage to Kibeho, Rwanda. Kibeho is one of the few Vatican approved Marian Apparition sites in the world, just the same as Lourdes and Fatima. Upon arrival in the small village of Kibeho, I was greeted by a group of seminarians who took me to the Kibeho Parish Church where I was introduced to the Pastor, Fr. Jean (Fr. John in English, Rwanda used to be a French Colony). Fr. John made arrangements for me to stay in a room attached to the church that is used for pilgrims. The accommodations were modest, no running water so we had to use a 5 gallon bucket to bathe, but clean. I spent about (5) days in Kibeho village where Fr. Jean and a seminarian looked out for me and even showed me around town and introduced me to their friends and family. He was so hospitable and kind to me that when I left Kibeho I told Fr. Jean that I couldn't make any promises but that if he and the people of Kibeho ever needed any assistance that he could get in touch with me on WhatsApp and that I would try to make something happen for his parishioners.

Fr. Jean and I have kept in contact over the past 2.5 years. He regularly sends me WhatsApp messages for all the church holidays like Christmas and Easter etc.., as well as just to say hello from time to time. And though he hadn't asked for emergency aide during this time, after I had shared this story with some family and friends, one time my brother Michael decided to organize a fund raiser for Kibeho Parish with the seminarians from Notre Dame on Carrollton, and another time my bother Sean and sister-in- law Amelia made a sizable donation to the village. That all being said, currently the people of Kibeho Village, just like the people of New Orleans and most people around the world, are on stay at home orders and aren't allowed to work. One major difference being that they are already very poor, far beyond what we as Americans typically think of as being poor, and their government is not going to be able to do a stimulus package that will give them the necessary support they need to get through this difficult time.

With that in mind, a few days ago Fr. Jean reached out to me and informed me of the current situation in Kibeho Village, stating that they had enough food right now, but that if they didn't get any further assistance then they would not have enough to feed the people of Kibeho for the rest of the month. I thought for a moment and then asked him how many people are in need of support. Fr. Jean stated that there were (187) families comprised of (871) individuals who would soon be in desperate need of food. I then asked him how much money it would take to feed all of these people for a month. I could not believe how small a sum of money he stated in his response. Fr. Jean stated that with about 2.5 million Rwandan Francs the village could eat for a month. Just so everyone understands, 2.5 million Rwandan Francs is about $2,625 USD, and divided over the total number of people in need, (871), that works out to only about $3 USD per person. So literally with a donation to this FreeFunder campaign of as little as (3) dollars you can feed a single person for an entire month in this village. Fr. Jean has confided in me that every morning there is a line of people waiting for him around the Church and that he is running out of food for them. According to Fr. Jean the money raised will be used to buy beans, corn flour, rice, salt and cooking oil, etc.. Fr. Jean will also send me pictures of what he buys with the money raised as well as pictures of him distributing those goods to the people of Kibeho village. Posted below are some pics of when I was in Kibeho and some other pics of what Fr. Jean did for the villagers with the aforementioned donation from about (15) months ago.

I know times are tough now, but I humbly ask on the part of Fr. Jean and all the people of Kibeho, to please consider giving whatever amount you can to keep these people from facing starvation. If anyone has any further questions of me about anything at all please feel free to email me at: [email protected], or you can add my WhatsApp number: +1-504-232-9247, and we can either talk or text by that method.. Thank you for your consideration in donating to this truly worthy cause..

Take Care.. God Bless.. Be Safe.. Be Healthy