Her Voice & Our Next Steps, April 2014

Traditional Rwandan dancers

April 2014
 
She has no voice. Awful things have been done to her, but she has no voice. It’s not just that the system does not give her a voice, which is very often true here, as judges and prosecutors give very little weight to the testimony of sexually abused minor girls. It is that she simply does not have the ability to speak. You see, she was born with a disability such that she has never been able to talk.  

Anna with some of the IJM staff ladies

Her neighbor knew she could not talk. One day, as she was going to get water for her family (there is no indoor plumbing in most houses here), he grabbed her and raped her. He knew she could not tell her family or anyone else who had done it to her. She might point at him, but what proof was that? He would go free. She has no voice.

A few months later, however, she realized she was pregnant. When her guardian noticed, she asked the girl who had done this to her. She pointed at the neighbor. The police arrested him but then let him free because what evidence did they have? She has no voice. 

After her baby was born, a prosecutor asked IJM to assist in making sure DNA samples were taken from the girl, her baby and the neighbor. The neighbor was no fool; he ducked every request to come and give his DNA sample. But, the prosecutor and IJM were relentless, eventually getting a warrant and forcing him to come and give a sample.

Two months later, the DNA test funded by IJM showed with near certainty that the neighbor was the father of the girl’s baby. She has no voice, but the prosecutor, IJM and science spoke for her. 

In February 2014, a judge found the neighbor guilty and sentenced him to prison for life. In the meantime, IJM is teaching the girl sign language so that she can communicate with those closest to her and providing her and her child with social services so that she is less vulnerable to further abuse. She has no voice, but she is learning to communicate, and until she can do so on her own we have been blessed to speak for her.

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Lane hiking down a volcano in Rwanda

A Personal Note

I pray all is well with you. This week marks three and a half years for our family in Rwanda (four and a half total in Africa!). It has been a time of stretching and blessing, hardship and fun, difficulty and great joy, and we are so thankful for this opportunity and your partnership in it. We have decided it is time to move on, however. 

As of June 13, I will leave my role as IJM Rwanda field office director.  

We do not yet know what is next (or where) but we are looking forward to a couple months this summer in Dallas and Austin to decompress, rest and pray about what is next. 

I leave IJM with great thankfulness for my team, our clients and the amazing privilege it has been to serve with such a passionate, fun, godly and professional group of people, in Rwanda, DC and around the world. Though I am leaving IJM, I will always be an advocate and supporter of the work – it is too important, too urgent and too close to God’s heart to ever really leave it. I hope you all will remain active supporters and advocates of IJM as well.

Our plan is to land back in Dallas on June 24, spend a couple weeks with our families, then head to Colorado for a week-long missionary debrief (kids included), and trips to see great-grandparents in Baytown and friends in Austin.  We look forward to spending time with you all soon.

Blessings from Rwanda, 

The Mearskats
Lane & Anna
Caleb 11, Abby 8, Luke 5, Joshua 2

Mears Family - March 2014 in Kigali, Rwanda