EPISODE · Mar 9, 2026 · 34 MIN
Leading With Hope: Saying Yes Again and Again!
from Always Hope · host Chuck Kizer
Send us Fan MailA hundred kids on a hillside could see a bright green soccer pitch they weren’t allowed to touch. We followed Ryan and Kara Higgins down that hill—first to rent the field for the cost of a sandwich, then to build Imana Kids, a nonprofit that helps Rwandan children move from the margins into school, safety, and a future they can name. What began with a lollipop, a photo, and three questions—What’s your name? What do you like? What do you want to be?—grew into sponsorships, a school, and a community that refuses to say goodbye.We talk about the moments that changed everything: finding an unregistered orphanage in Kigali, watching children press their faces into turf they had only seen from afar, and the jet-lagged 4 a.m. decision to start a nonprofit with no credentials but a lot of conviction. Kara brings the lens of a women’s health nurse practitioner and midwife who fights for attachment and family preservation; Ryan brings a teacher’s steady heart that widens fatherhood beyond science & engineering. Together, they share how adoption taught them its limits, why fostering can heal fractures before they widen, and how trauma-informed care reshapes volunteers, not just kids.The road hasn’t been neat. We unpack legal battles, cultural complexity, lost friendships, and the surprising leadership advice that helped them keep going: be a benevolent dictator to the calling that’s yours. Grounding practices matter—Scripture, hot tea, cold water, exercise, telling the old stories until they become fuel. And the best part? The kids themselves now lead. The early “street kids” have graduated, some finished college, and an A-team of young adults is guiding programs on the ground in Rwanda.If you’re wrestling with where to start, this conversation offers a simple charge: Go. Be. Love. Take the next faithful step, tell the story, protect dignity, and center local voices. If this moved you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review with the one small yes you plan to make this week. https://www.allcarehealthcenter.org/
What this episode covers
Send us Fan Mail A hundred kids on a hillside could see a bright green soccer pitch they weren’t allowed to touch. We followed Ryan and Kara Higgins down that hill—first to rent the field for the cost of a sandwich, then to build Imana Kids, a nonprofit that helps Rwandan children move from the margins into school, safety, and a future they can name. What began with a lollipop, a photo, and three questions—What’s your name? What do you like? What do you want to be?—grew into sponsorships, a s...
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Leading With Hope: Saying Yes Again and Again!
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