The Rev. Claudine Leary was one of a few children in her Rwandan village to attend primary school through high school. But the year she entered Rwanda National University, civil war engulfed the country and a time of horrific genocide ensued. Leary survived by fleeing the country, residing in different refugee camps for years. There was no opportunity for completing her education in the camps, but she found a way. Today, Leary serves as the director of development at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and is also involved with a nonprofit she co-founded to resource and advocate for the education of children living in refugee camps in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Claudine is one of the average 50 scholars who receive United Methodist scholarships for higher education through the World Communion Sunday offering each year. The lives these scholarships impact and the dreams and aspirations they fulfill are not just those of the scholars, but of the many people reached by them as they complete their studies and develop ways to fulfil God’s calling in their lives.
Your gifts on World Communion Sunday, supports the Ethnic Scholarship which enables The United Methodist Church to equip gifted, qualified students from around the globe to become the world changers God created them to be.
“I traveled with all those refugee children in my heart.”
Although Claudine Leary was already in her early twenties when she fled Rwanda, she spent a lot of time with the children in the refugee camps she where she lived. “Some of them genuinely saved my life because playing with them and caring for them made camp life bearable. I promised myself that if ever life gives me an opportunity, I will serve disadvantaged children and their families,” Leary said.
Finally, the Jesuits Refugee Services sponsored her first year to finish her undergraduate studies at Africa University in Zimbabwe and she then received additional scholarships from the UMC to complete her degree. From there, she was able to secure a visa to the U.S., completed her MBA and later received a scholarship to study at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, earning her Master of Divinity, and is ordained as an elder in the West Ohio Conference.
“When I lived in the refugee camps, the greatest pains parents around me had was how their children would resume school. There were no schools in those camps back then.”
Leary worked with friends to establish a nonprofit run by volunteers called “Watoto Read” (www.watotoread.com). Watoto is a Swahili word for children. The nonprofit started work in 2016 and has since built multiple schools in the refugee camps of Chad.
“We provided benches, latrines and menstrual hygiene kits to 21,000 girls in the 13 refugee camps of Chad,” notes Leary. “We are currently supporting preschools in these refugee camps while also paying tuition for 14 high school girls in Dzaleka Refugee camp in Malawi, a camp I lived in over 27 years ago.”
Leary’s current studies for a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change at Antioch University in the U.S. are helping her to increase involvement in advocacy and join a larger community to work on the issue of poverty. She hopes to ensure that children can access quality education and other resources to succeed in life.
story by Christie R. House, consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, World Communion Sunday calls the church to reach out to all people and model diversity among God’s children. The special offering provides World Communion Scholarships, the Ethnic Scholarship Program and the Ethnic In-Service Training Program.
When you give generously on World Communion Sunday, you equip gifted, qualified students from around the globe to become the world changers God created them to be. Give now.
World Communion Sunday
The World Communion Sunday offering provides scholarships and leadership development opportunities for international students and U.S. racial-ethnic students who are pursuing advanced degrees. Gifts not only make an impact in the lives of individual students, but also the religious, social and civic communities in which they lead and serve. These funds are administered by Global Ministries in collaboration with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
Connect here to give online and mark World Communion Sunday.
