River's Promise

In early December 2004, a newborn baby boy was found abandoned in a drainage culvert during an evening rainstorm in the Gikondo District near Kigali, Rwanda. The lady who found the abandoned boy brought him into her home and began to seek help. After several days, the baby was brought to the PEFA orphanage where he would spend the next 3 1/2 years.

Fast Forward to 2006. This is when Jimmy & Carrie Lakey began the process of adopting a child from Rwanda. During this process they saw a single photo a young boy at the PEFA orphanage. They knew that he was to be their son. The photo was of the same boy who had been abandoned in a rainstorm in 2004.

Jimmy & Carrie realized it would be a great blessing for River to come to the USA; but they also thought about the many children who would still be left behind in the orphanage.

Jimmy & Carrie then made a promise to their son. They promised to do everything possible to assure that River’s earliest friends would have the opportunity to attend school and receive the education needed. They wanted these children to have the hope of a brighter future.

In 2007, Jimmy & Carrie Lakey traveled to Rwanda to pick up their son. The adoption was completed and a final signature was needed from a Rwandan government official. For unknown reasons, the signature was delayed and Jimmy & Carrie had to return home without their son.

Work on the adoption continued from the other side of the globe and in the Fall 2008, the needed signature was granted. River arrived home to the USA on September 10, 2008, almost 2 years after the adoption process was begun and 3½ years after he had been found abandoned in the rainstorm.

River has now left Rwanda but the promise remains to remember orphans in Africa. Under the umbrella of World Changers International, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Jimmy & Carrie Lakey have launched “RIVER’S PROMISE” to help fund education and other basic needs for African orphans.