The Unsung Hero award is given out every year by our District to deserving people who are not in the spotlight yet work selflessly and deserve to be recognized for their community service.Charles Rukwaro – Written by Jamie Booth
Charles Rukwaro serves as an Associate Pastor at Calvary Christian Church and as the Director of Good Hope, a non-profit located right here in Lynnfield. Under his leadership as the Director of Good Hope,
Charles has seen what started as a small food distribution program grow into an organization that has now helped tens of thousands of people.
Locally, Good Hope is active on several fronts. First, they have Good Hope Foods, which has partnered with The Greater Boston Food Bank, local grocery stores, and others, to provide food to hundreds of
families from across the North Shore area every single week. Each Thursday, individuals who are in need can go to Good Hope and receive not just canned goods and boxed items, but also high-quality
foods such as milk, meat, fruits and vegetables.
Second, Good Hope also runs Good Hope Inmate Support, which ministers to prisoners while incarcerated but also attempts to assist with some first steps after being released through mentoring and
job training. Good Hope Inmate Support also ministers to the inmate’s families, by providing scholarships for the children of inmates to go to summer camp, receive Christmas presents, and more.
Additionally, Good Hope runs Good Hope Education, which provides English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) training free of charge throughout the year. Finally, on the local front, this year
Good Hope also conducted its first Love Week, where it saw dozens of volunteers go into the community and serve at local police stations, various non-profits, senior seniors, and other places with
the simple task of giving back to the local community.
Internationally, Good Hope has provided numerous health clinics in various countries. Most recently, this past summer, they were in Kenya, where they conducted a health clinic in Nairobi focusing on
vision care. Through the help of an ophthalmologist, they were able to provide reading glasses and vision treatment for hundreds of people.
Also, internationally, for many years Good Hope Wells has been raising money to dig wells in various countries in Africa. To date, they have dug six wells in the countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana,
and Morocco. These wells provide clean, easily accessible drinking water to tens of thousands of people. Good Hope has also donated $15,000 to Rotary, which we are putting towards an international grant,
to have the money matched and another well dug in Kenya.
When Charles began in his role seven years ago, there was only a small food distribution program that helped a handful of people. Now, there are thousands of people being helped with food, clean water,
education, and medical care locally and around the world.