The Noel Orphanage - A Life Changing Experience

 In October 2009 our Managing Director, Steven Gallagher, and his wife Sharon, were asked to attend a fundraising event in London to raise money for a newly founded charity called The Point Foundation.

This charity had been set-up by their good friends Charles and Karen Trace, to support orphanages in Africa and in particular, The Noel Orphanage in Rwanda. 

The Noel was introduced to Charles whilst he was on a business trip to Rwanda to visit the Pfunda Tea Company, who produces Imporient Tea - the tea which Gem uses in all of its hot drinks vending machines.

The orphanage is situated across the road from the tea plantation and is home to over 560 children, ranging in age from only a few hours to 20+ years.

On his first visit, Charles was truly shocked by what he saw, and the conditions in which the children were living. The children were well cared for and loved by the volunteer mothers from the local villages, but they lived in very cramped, smelly and extremely hot conditions, with 4 children to a single mattress in dormitories of 70+.

They survived on one meal of maize per day, and their only possessions were the clothes they wore.

Around 40 children lived in a separate block and were either physically or severely mentally disabled as a result of the horrendous genocide, which took place in 1994, when families turned on each other, and in which millions lost their lives. 

The Point Foundation has been supporting the orphanage since 2008, and in that time they have been able to make a massive difference to the young lives.

However, this is a huge and on-going task, and with above 650 children to feed, clothe and educate every day, and new-born babies regularly being left at the gates, the project is endless, and often heart-breaking. 

After the charity ball of 2009, Steven and Sharon decided to visit the Noel for themselves, and set off for Rwanda in October 2010, along with their 12 year old son James.

Little did they know that The Noel Orphanage would change their lives, and not only capture their hearts, but also all the hearts of the people within Gem Vending.

Sharon Gallagher is now a Director of The Point Foundation, supporting The Noel Orphanage on an ongoing basis.

To follow Sharon's blog of her trip to The Noel Orphanage, visit our blog page and select 'Charity Updates'.