They are trying to raise $100,000 to build the health center in Kibungo. They don't need a reason and Callawegians don't even ask for one.

"It's not should we do it. It's just how we do it ... People know why we're doing it. It's the right thing to do," Dr. Bob Hansen said.

Hansen says that Rwandans are frequently asking why they want to help and that Rwandans desperately need healthcare.

"Outside of Kibungo where we're going to build this clinic, if you wanted to get medical care, it would be like asking you to walk down to Jefferson City to get your care," Hansen said.

Bringing this care to Rwandans will help save lives. Many volunteers are surprised by the conditions they see in the country.

"Americans we think we know poverty. But you really can't understand poverty until you're in one of these places and you smell it and see it," volunteer Kent Glover said.

This sister county idea was born on a sabbatical. Dr. Hansen went to Africa for the Group Humanity for Children. His travels connected him to another Fultonian, Nancy McCue, who'd been volunteering in Kibungo for three years.

"It was obvious that here was a place that we could really do some good work. Wouldn't it be great if we could link Fulton and Callaway County with Ngoma district? That was the spark, and then as we started talking about it... It became a for sure thing," Hansen said.

Hansen brought his idea to the Westminster College community, and city and county leaders.

"To get all the community involved... Not just the city, not just the community of the college, but an entire county and then try and relate to that overseas... Looked like a really good opportunity," Callaway County Commissioner Doc Kritzer said.

The partnership with Rwanda is an inspiration to many, including Edward Munyeshuli, a junior at Westminster. He was born in Rwanda but fled with his family to Swaziland at the age of twleve. He knows firsthand the importance of this project.

"Especially after the war, the government didn't focus so much on community development. There was so much focus on security. So, external unput has been a major factor in helping ... We asked for asylum in Swaziland, and when you get the refugee status, you could lose your refugee status if you return to your home country. I feel homesick sometimes... at the same time, I am still kind of scared of being in Rwanda. Because when I left Rwanda, there was so much violence," Munyeshuli said.

He never returned to his home country, but the Rwanda Project gives him renewed hope someday he might go home.

Clayton Jordan, a pre-med student at Westminster, also feels the impact of the project. He went to Kibungo with Hansen in May. He hopes this clinic will heal the Rwandans in more ways than just the physical.

"Doing efforts like this, we are really helping the country as well... Promoting them moving forward from their past," Jordan said.

What was spearheaded in the halls of Westminster has become the topic of conversation all over the county. Kent Glover owns a local construction company and plans to help build the clinic in Kibungo. This won't be Glover's first mission trip. He says this selfless work actually makes him feel selfish.

"Really it's been such a blessing to me that I almost feel guilty at times. You get blessed twice what you think that you're giving up. You almost look forward to the discomforts and the fasting from America. And, it's good - its good for your soul," Glover said.

Hansen and his team won't stop with Kibungo. They want to inspire others.

"If this model works and we can take it ito other Missouri towns, other towns in the Midwest, other towns in the United States, wouldn't it be cool if we have hundreds of these kinds of partnerships going on?" Hansen said.

In giving, you shall receive. These Callawegians already have.