Wayside parish expands Lenten project of livestock for Rwanda
April 22, 2025 at 3:37 p.m.
For the last three Lenten seasons, parishioners at St. Anselm Parish, Wayside, have been supporting a parish across the ocean and south of the equator by purchasing livestock.
“The first year we raised money for goats, and last year we raised money for cows,” said Father Brian T. Butch, pastor of St. Anselm. “This year we raised money for both cows and goats, and also chickens.”
St. Anselm parishioners developed their Lenten program after hearing Father Mathias Kayemba, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Gihengeri, Rwanda, speak about the poverty, malnutrition and lack of income his parishioners face. Father Kayemba had come to New Jersey for the installation of Father Evarist Kabagambe as pastor for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting.
Father Butch explained that, for a little more than a dollar a day, the price of a goat could be raised in about 40 days, the length of Lent. The animals, he explained, became a source of income for the Rwandan recipients, who can sell their milk and eggs and can also breed the livestock to grow their herds. Meanwhile, the children benefit from the nutrition the milk and eggs provide.
The senior population, Father Butch continued, does not “have social security or pensions, and many of their children have died of HIV/AIDS,” so they were the first beneficiaries of the Wayside parish’s efforts. As in many African countries hit by AIDS, the grandparents must raise their grandchildren. So the second year, St. Anselm parishioners focused on the children, “because many don’t have enough nutrition; food can be scarce, and when they are hungry at school, they can’t learn and focus on their studies.”
Father Kayemba keeps St. Anselm parishioners informed with photos to share his Rwandan parishioners’ appreciation.
“When you begin to have a personal relationship with someone else, it makes [their situation] very real,” Father Butch said of the encounter with Father Kayemba. “When you shake the hand of someone and you hear their story, it makes it real.”
“People of the parish have really been into it, and it’s connecting them,” said Father Butch, who added that “Every day you can put away a small amount … and it makes a difference.”
Surrounded by St. Anselm parishioners and Father Brian Butch, pastor, Father Kayemba, center, accepts a collection taken up for livestock for his Rwandan parish.
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For the last three Lenten seasons, parishioners at St. Anselm Parish, Wayside, have been supporting a parish across the ocean and south of the equator by purchasing livestock.
“The first year we raised money for goats, and last year we raised money for cows,” said Father Brian T. Butch, pastor of St. Anselm. “This year we raised money for both cows and goats, and also chickens.”
St. Anselm parishioners developed their Lenten program after hearing Father Mathias Kayemba, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Gihengeri, Rwanda, speak about the poverty, malnutrition and lack of income his parishioners face. Father Kayemba had come to New Jersey for the installation of Father Evarist Kabagambe as pastor for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting.
Father Butch explained that, for a little more than a dollar a day, the price of a goat could be raised in about 40 days, the length of Lent. The animals, he explained, became a source of income for the Rwandan recipients, who can sell their milk and eggs and can also breed the livestock to grow their herds. Meanwhile, the children benefit from the nutrition the milk and eggs provide.
The senior population, Father Butch continued, does not “have social security or pensions, and many of their children have died of HIV/AIDS,” so they were the first beneficiaries of the Wayside parish’s efforts. As in many African countries hit by AIDS, the grandparents must raise their grandchildren. So the second year, St. Anselm parishioners focused on the children, “because many don’t have enough nutrition; food can be scarce, and when they are hungry at school, they can’t learn and focus on their studies.”
Father Kayemba keeps St. Anselm parishioners informed with photos to share his Rwandan parishioners’ appreciation.
“When you begin to have a personal relationship with someone else, it makes [their situation] very real,” Father Butch said of the encounter with Father Kayemba. “When you shake the hand of someone and you hear their story, it makes it real.”
“People of the parish have really been into it, and it’s connecting them,” said Father Butch, who added that “Every day you can put away a small amount … and it makes a difference.”
Surrounded by St. Anselm parishioners and Father Brian Butch, pastor, Father Kayemba, center, accepts a collection taken up for livestock for his Rwandan parish.