Genocide survivor tells CIU students how Operation Christmas Child made a difference in his life

Genocide survivor tells CIU students how Operation Christmas Child made a difference in his life

Operation Christmas Child shoe box

Operation Christmas Child shoe box

Columbia International University students are already thinking about Christmas. That’s because it’s the time of year to get ready for Operation Christmas Child. The program is a ministry of the international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, providing donated gifts for children in 130 countries delivered in a shoe box.

At a Sept. 29 Chapel service, CIU students heard from Alex Nsengimana, a Rwandan who survived the tribal genocide in his country in the 1990s. He lost his entire family and ended up in an orphanage where he received one of those shoeboxes, a significant event in his life.

CIU students will compete to see which residence hall packs the most boxes at a packing party Oct. 6.

The Operation Christmas Child Chapel drew the attention of WIS-TV in Columbia. View their report here