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In a video explaining his arrival, a local man points to where the baby was found, another where clothes were strewn. He imagines the protective energy that emanated from the heavens.

There was plenty of rain on Dec. 4, 2004, as is the norm, and the newborn was left in the dark, in a downpour and presumably abandoned by his parents.

Before everyone was asleep for the night, the infant was spotted. At that moment, his life, that of a U.S. citizen and the hope of a small village in Rwanda were altered.

River Lakey was adopted from an orphanage and now is a freshman with the Lindenwood football team. He remembers nothing about life in his home country, the people who saved his life or those who raised him for three years.

But he has had plenty of time to contemplate the events that landed him in Colorado, where he became a star high school player with a charity organization branded with his poetic name.

“They said I was either hours old or maybe a day,” Lakey said. “I could have been born in that city or miles away. But I know the people who did leave me did it because they loved me. They would have tried to take care of me but didn’t have the resources. They wanted better for me. That’s the way I look at it.”

Lakey returned to Kigali with his father, Jimmy, and others in the spring to visit members of the family at the house where he was found, a woman who cared for him and the school that is being built called Legacy Christian Academy.

He already had generated interest from the football staff at Lindenwood, where he has yet to play due to a knee injury. The story has followed him, becoming all the more movie-like with each step that he takes.

On their trip, River and his father spoke to the children enrolled in the academy and were able to tell them that one of their own was headed to a university.

“It was my second time to that spot where he was found,” Jimmy Lakey said. “I was there with the lady who found him. She told me the story. That was pretty powerful. The second time was equally amazing. Here he was, a grown young man going to college after being left in a ditch. They thought he’d die that night and now he’s playing Division I football.”

River’s Promise

Jimmy Lakey was a chaperone on a church mission trip to Rwanda when he decided he wanted to adopt a child from that country and had the idea embraced by his wife. Willy Rumenera, an acquaintance in Kigali, agreed to help look into options.

He visited an orphanage and took photos of the children. All posed and smiled except for one little boy. When Rumenera sent photos to Lakey, he honed in on a 2-year-old who went by the name Moise, whose sad look caught his eye.

Rwanda was in the process of phasing out adoptions to people outside of the country. When he finally left with his new father, the newly named River Lakey was believed to be the final child approved to leave the African nation the size of Maryland. He has no memory of Rwanda, but maybe some things wedged in his subconscious.

“I would have dreams of sleeping on the floor or sharing a bed with someone,” River Lakey said. “I’d be sleeping in an old bed or like a concrete floor. I’m not sure, but I don’t think the orphanage was a good place when I was there.”

He was cared for by a woman named Tabo, who worked at the orphanage. She also had him in her home, which to this day is a mud hut. In the video made to document this year’s visit, Tabo recalled River being so sick and hospitalized at one point it was thought he wouldn’t survive.

River was 3½ years old when Jimmy Lakey returned to take him to San Francisco, where he lived at the time. He departed Rwanda with a cheat sheet of Kinyarwanda phrases to help communicate during the trip and during the initial phase of the transition.

One of the first things the young boy wanted to know was what would happen to the rest of the children at the orphanage. Jimmy Lakey formed a group to sponsor the children who remained and worked with officials to get them adopted by Rwandan families. Then the orphanage was shut down.

“I thought, ‘My work here is done,’” Jimmy Lakey said. “But when I was there, Willy said he wanted to take me to see something and drove me to a village. It was off the beaten path. The kids were naked or in rags. Willy said, ‘I want you to pray about doing something.’”

He formed River’s Promise with the intent of building a school in the remote village about 45 minutes outside of Kigali. Donors have helped build the initial phase. Land has been secured for remaining construction, including a cafeteria, computer lab and housing for teachers.

River Lakey, a defensive back at Lindenwood, is the face of the school.

Learning his story

The rain in Rwanda is known to create devastating results. Earlier this year, more than 100 were killed by mudslides during the heaviest rain season, which gives way to slightly lighter rain seasons.

One theory about the spot where River was abandoned is the people in the home were known to have more money than most and a reputation for caring for others. Maybe a rush of water pushed him to that spot. Regardless, last year, he met some remaining members of that family who took him in.

In the video, a group gathers outside a gate around the location he was found. Among them is Rumenera, who says, “There was angel activity around him like Moses. They say, ‘You will not die. You will not die.’”

“I know everyone was real emotional. It was so surreal,” River said. “They welcomed us and talked about the past. I was emotional but felt happy and welcome in the house.

“I always knew my story but didn’t put all the pieces together,” River Lakey said. “I knew I was adopted but started to realize how crazy a story it was, I’d say, in middle school. People asked why I didn’t tell my story. I didn’t know I could inspire middle school kids.”

River met with Tabo, who was emotional and showed photos from his youth. He saw two men, who were children with him at the orphanage. He spoke to the children who will learn in the school.

As for his name, Jimmy Lakey said it was not chosen simply because his son was “found in a virtual river.” Or because of the pairing with the last name. He just liked the sound and kept Moise as a middle name.

River grew up to be an athlete and had a successful high school career as a running back, rushing for more than 1,700 yards in Frederick, Colorado. He considered walking on at Wyoming or Colorado State but late in the recruiting process was connected with Lindenwood coach Jed Stugart.

He recently had surgery to repair ligament damage, but his recovery is the least of the obstacles he has faced.

“Sure, I ask, ‘Why me?’” he said of his good fortune. “My question is: What is God trying to do with me? I got such a blessing, and I can pass it on to others.”