Odette Mukakabera lives in Rwanda, East Africa. Many of her family died in the terrible time of killings in her country in 1994. Odette’s sadness was not over because six years later her husband died of AIDS, and then she found that she herself had the illness. Many of her remaining family kept away from her when they learned of this and she had to continue looking after her three children and a foster daughter alone.

But Odette has found the strength to make sure that good things have come out of her difficulties, and the Bible has been a great source of inspiration to her in this. “I find much comfort in the Bible,” she says. The Bible’s description of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 is a favourite because it reminds her of her own experience. This passage speaks about Jesus and Odette says, “Christ is the one who suffered for us all. He has compassion and love.” Odette has mirrored this compassion in her own life with the help of Bible Society. Her experience has led her to campaign for the rights of other people with her illness and to set up a support group to help infected people. A Bible Society booklet and training materials called Where is the Good Samaritan Today are a big help in her work. “We need to create Good Samaritans to help each other,” she says. “Christ is our best example: his constant love gives me strength.”

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