Change Feels Like a Home Filled With Peace Instead of Fear

For Isaac and Karabo, change feels like living in a home filled with peace instead of fear.

It feels like a husband choosing his family over alcohol and crime.

It feels like trust being restored.

A Couple in Need of Breakthrough

When Rwandan couple, Isaac and Karabo attended an Empower program together in late 2025, things began to shift. Before Empower, their lives were marked by conflict, instability and pain. Isaac struggled with alcohol addiction, gang involvement and theft. He drank heavily every day and often became violent toward those around him. The community feared him. When people saw him approaching, they would shut their doors, afraid he might steal from them.

At home, the struggles in their marriage were equally painful. Karabo had pleaded with Isaac to stop stealing and change his behaviour, but nothing seemed to work. She gave up hope of change and instead lived fearing for his safety and life.

And then...

Through the Empower program, they encountered the powerful possibility that their lives did not have to stay the same.

A Decision That Changed Everything

During the program, Isaac began confronting the reality of the life he had been living. The lessons taught in Empowerchallenged his identity and way of living and his eyes were opened to his need for change. Isaac publicly asked the community for forgiveness and openly declared that he had stopped stealing completely.

Today, his life looks very different. Isaac has significantly reduced his alcohol intake and now prioritises providing for his family and saving money. He has walked away from gang activities and is focused on honest work and building a peaceful life. The deep change within his heart has meant a rebuilding of trust with his wife - a gift she never thought possible.

Isaac has reflected, “I am no longer the same thief you knew. The community is safe, and they feel free and no longer fear me. Nobody trusted me, but today I notice the trust being restored. My wife is proud of me. And my family is now safe.”

Rebuilding Together

For Karabo, this change has filled her heart and home with peace. Since attending the Empower program, she has expressed that she now feels safe with her husband and that their relationship has become healthier, more respectful and more united. Together, they’ve begun rebuilding their lives.

Before Empower, neither of them had motivation to work, and their home environment reflected the pain they carried. Now, they work side by side with renewed purpose. Isaac has found employment digging sand, while Karabo started a small potato-selling business. Together, they’ve also started a rabbit-raising project with the goal of building sustainable income for their future.

Be Part of the Change

Programs like Empower are creating lasting change in communities by helping people develop healthier relationships, stronger life skills and renewed purpose. Isaac and Karabo have experienced change firsthand and are now living in peace.

Your support can help more families experience transformation like this. Change is more than just a difference in outward behaviour. It feels like trust being restored. It feels like peace in a home. We invite you to be part of the change by giving today.