Egide Rusanganwa is a 21-year-old Genocide survivor. He graduated with honors from St Andre High School in 2008, and was awarded a merit-based Rwandan Government scholarship to join the National University of Rwanda. Egide, an active member and former leader of AERG (Students Association Survivors of the Genocide), survived the Genocide with both his parents, regular peasants residing in Mutara, Eastern Province.

While Egide is expected to start his university education in January 2010, he is in an urgent need of medical treatment if he has to live on. He has been suffering from failure of both his kidneys and has been undergoing dialysis treatment twice a week, for more than 10 months at the University Central Hospital of Butare (CHUB).

Despite the doctors’ efforts to save his kidneys, Egide was recently informed that he needs to undergo kidney transplantation as soon as possible. Although his father has been approved as a potential donor, there are no qualified doctors in Rwanda to perform such a high-end operation. Egide was therefore advised to transfer to a qualified foreign hospital that can save his life. 

Contacts have been made and the lowest treatment offer came from MIOT Hospitals, located in India, for US$ 20,000. Although this might sound so little compared to the treatment needed, neither Egide’s family nor AERG was able to come up with this money.

So far, only the Fund for Assistance to the Survivors of the Genocide (FARG) has agreed to cover his and his father’s travel expenses to MIOT. However, Egide needs to provide the hospital a proof of funds that will cover his operation, before the hospital can receive him.

As Genocide survivors, we are concerned about Egide’s health issue and we have decided to spread the word to anyone in our network, praying miracles to happen. Besides praying for Egide, here are three ways we think you can help us.

1.    Make any financial contribution you can afford ($5/$10/$5000, anything) towards Egide’s treatment in India. (See contacts by region at the end of this letter)

2.    Contact or put us in touch with any hospitals, institutions or NGOs that you think may be able to provide him with free treatment.

3.    Spread the word: the only way we can help in this process is make sure the message reaches as many people as possible.

Please note that Egide will receive the proper transfer papers required to process his visa only if we can come up with the required funding. Despite these trying times, Egide, his family and all of us survivors are full of hope, as we believe in you.