Prison Chaplains Reach Inmates by the Thousands With the Gospel

December 16 was a day of great celebration and sharing for Prison Fellowship Rwanda. All 15 prison chaplains, each dedicated to bringing programs for transformation and growth to prisons within a certain administrative sector in Rwanda, met together at the PFR office. The chaplains celebrated the Christmas season, shared stories, exchanged ideas, reflected on successes, and discussed their respective programs in detail. Each chaplain spoke at length about his or her experiences over the past several months.

The prison chaplains serving with PFR focus on four primary projects throughout the year: (1) Paying regular visits to prison inmates to share the Gospel ; (2) Teaching inmates about Restorative Justice (RJ), a practical gateway to reconciliation; (3) Encouraging confession and repentance among inmates for radical transformation; and (4) leading the ALPHA program, in which the inmates gather in small groups to discuss the meaning and importance of faith.

In the past year alone, PFR chaplains have reached more than 3,000 inmates in prisons throughout Rwanda. 800 have openly repented and have accepted Christ as their savior at gatherings led by PFR chaplains. PFR continues to work to reach the most desolate populations in Rwanda with the good news of Jesus Christ. The chaplains spoke of the tremendous response from the inmates to their words about salvation.

Training sessions in Restorative Justice have also met with great success. These trainings discuss the nature of conflict, causes of crime, the role of sin in crime, and practical ways to prevent and address conflict. The trainings are centered on engaging discussions between genocide perpetrators and victims, guided by a curriculum designed by experts in the field of RJ. 7,000 inmates have attended RJ training this year. More than 400 have confessed their crimes and written letters to their victims, asking for forgiveness and requesting an opportunity to meet with them as the first step in the reconciliation process. Many other inmates who did not write letters also confessed their crimes during RJ trainings.

The ALPHA program in Rwandan prisons is made possible by a recent organizational partnership with PFR. ALPHA seeks to create a safe and open environment for small-group discussion about the meaning of faith. The course is guided by a curriculum, comprised of thought-provoking discussion topics and questions. The purpose of ALPHA is to illuminate the importance and meaning of faith by encouraging people to think about what they believe in and why they believe it.

There are now 116 ALPHA groups, with ALPHA represented in all 14 prisons. 20 inmates participate in each group. This means that over 2,000 prisoners in Rwanda are diving deep into the promises of the Gospel, challenging one another, encouraging one another, and gaining a solid understanding of Christ’s love for His people. This is quite an amazing thought.

Joy and Self-Reliance: Women After the Genocide

During the genocide, thousands of women were raped as a mechanism of ethnic cleansing. As a result, many of these women are now living all over Rwanda with HIV/AIDS. While the government works to provide support to meet the health and physical needs of these women, many of them are left in desolation without families or a sense of self-reliance. Often, they suffer from the effects of experiencing great loss, and they seek retaliation for what happened to their husbands, families, and friends.

PFR has responded to the devastation of Rwanda’s women by introducing the concepts of reconciliation, forgiveness, empowerment, and self-reliance into an innovative program for 35 widows with HIV/AIDs. This program is built on the model of the cooperative, which creates opportunities for income-generating activities, self-sufficiency, and interpersonal cooperation. The women served by PFR are divided into 5 groups of 7 women each. Each group has regular meetings, works together to create handicraft goods, shares the income generated by the group’s members, and maintains a bank account.

To date, the women have specialized in making baskets (particularly peace baskets and picnic baskets), purses, placemats, jewelry, and photo frames. They sell these products in both domestic and overseas markets. 10 women are now learning to sew, and thanks to a recent shipment of 24 donated sewing machines - compliments of Katy Lee, PFR’s summer intern, and Tools for Self-Reliance – PFR now hopes to teach more women how to make fine sewn goods! These goods include: purses, laptop cases, backpacks, shopping bags, school uniforms for disadvantaged children, aprons, toiletry bags, slippers, and scarves.

The women have demonstrated a keen dedication to the cooperative, and they are always so joyful when they come to the office. PFR continues to work to develop and expand the program for the widows, as it has already met with notable success. The staff is focusing on teaching the women new crafts, improving the marketability of the goods presently crafted by the women, and expanding the number and type of markets interested in these goods.

What can you do to participate?

*Purchase something that the women make! It doesn’t matter where in the world you are. Whether it’s a beautiful homemade basket or purse, you will be partaking in the lives of these wonderful women and helping their cooperatives grow! If you are interested in any of the items listed in the above article, please contact info@pfrwanda.org. [Just a hint: These items make perfect Christmas gifts!]

*Pray for these 35 women, that they will experience the goodness and grace of God; that they will continue to have the strength, patience, and persistence to make the products that they need to make; and that they will work well together in groups.

*Pray for new markets for the women, that they will be able to generate more income.

*Suggest possible buyers for the products the women make, whether they are individuals, shops, local boutiques, restaurants, or hotels that you know might be interested. These buyers can be anywhere in the world – no limits! Please contact info@pfrwanda.org if you have any suggestions.

*Donate fabrics, materials, or other items that the women might be able to use given their growing skill set. PFR would greatly appreciate it!

Pastor Deo Gashagaza Meets With Success on U.S. Tour

Pastor Deo GASHAGAZA, Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Rwanda, recently embarked on a tour in the U.S. to spread awareness about the mission, vision, and initiatives of PFR. His trip began in early October and will continue through mid-November. While in the U.S., Gashagaza has visited universities and colleges, urging members of the youthful generations to step up to the plate and participate in positive change in Rwanda. He has encouraged audiences in different parts of the U.S. to actively engage in Rwanda’s future. He was a keynote speaker at the One Life Rwanda Gala event, held in Washington D.C. to benefit the Street Children Program, made possible through the Mustard Seed Project.

Building a good number of relationships and contacts with people in the U.S. so far has been one of the great successes of the trip. Pastor Gashagaza says that God has been faithful in speaking through him as he travels.

On October 26, Gashagaza visited Wake Forest University, where he connected with Mary Martin Niepold, a journalism instructor at WFU. Niepold, who visited Rwanda last summer, is the founder of the Nyanza Project, a non-profit initiative that seeks to intervene in the lives of grandmothers caring for grandchildren orphaned by AIDS in Africa. Gashagaza is now working with Niepold to plan the construction of a preschool in one of PFR’s Reconciliation Villages. The preschool will serve not only to educate the children in the villages, but also to provide employment opportunities in the village. The preschool is foreseen as a necessary and fruitful part of the community, offering much to villagers and to the transformation of Rwanda in these decades immediately following the genocide.

To see the full press release about Gashagaza’s visit to WFU and about this partnership with Niepold Nyanza Project, go here: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2010/oct/27/waging-peace-advocate-of-radical-forgiveness-in-rw-ar-485869/.

Last Photo Credit: Gashagaza speaks at WFU. Jennifer Rotenizer, Winston-Salem Journal

Pastor Deo's Street Children Ministry Launches a New Child Sponsorship Program!

Pastor Deo GASHAGAZA is pleased to announce that we are launching a new Child Sponsorship Program (CSP)! This program will enable friends of the street children project all over the globe to learn about happenings in the ministry to street children and youth. It will also provide an opportunity for individuals and families to sponsor a child or teen now living on the streets of Kigali. The sponsorship will enable these children and teens to attend school - an important step in the effort to reduce crime and to ensure a future of peace, hope, and stability in Rwanda.

The Need

The 1994 Rwandan genocide left thousands of children to fend for themselves on the streets. Many of them lost one or both parents. Many have witnessed members of their own families killed at a very young age, which has left them angry, confused, and hopeless. They are now living on the streets, often malnourished, sick, and abused. All live in extreme poverty, turning to begging, stealing, or raiding garbage cans to provide for themselves.

This project is dedicated to promoting the welfare of Rwandan street children and guarding them from a life of crime. PFR considers transformation, reconciliation, and crime prevention to be key components to restoring Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide. Crime prevention in Rwanda's youngest generations is the focus of the Child Sponsorship Program.

The project sees 85 children three times per week at the PFR office. While at the office, the children receive hot meals, sing songs, play games and participate in physically and mentally stimulating activities, have the opportunity to bathe, and learn about God. The project also offers some lessons in Kinyarwanda, English, geography, and other subjects to help the children better understand their world and integrate into society.

When the sessions are over, we have to say good-bye to these children. They go out the office gate and return to the streets. While we love to shine some light in their lives, it is impossible to provide for all of them all the time. For this reason, the THE CHILD SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM (CSP) was created. This program will provide a sustainable way for children to enroll in schools in the Kigali area where they can learn, grow, discover ways to live peacefully together, and find hope and stability. In school, they will learn valuable skills that will equip them for a successful future. With the help of committed sponsors, the youthful generation in Rwanda will contribute positively to the character and development of nation that was once torn to pieces.

If you choose to sponsor a child, you will receive regular updates about the child’s progress in school, messages written by the child, and photographs. You are also welcome to tune into the lives of these wonderful children on Facebook. Just join the group designed specially for these children, titled “Prison Fellowship Rwanda Forum for Street Children & Youth”, where you can view a growing number of photos and profiles of children in need of and/or receiving sponsorship, learn how to sponsor a child, write messages (prayers, words of encouragement, etc.) to these children that will be translated to them when they visit the office, read updates about PFR’s ministry to street children, and more.

How It Works

Contact the CSP Liaison, Grace Lilienthal, at grace.pfrwanda@gmail.com to opt to sponsor a child. You commit to a donation amount of your choice, bearing in mind the needs of the child you wish to sponsor. You can contribute:

• The cost for 1 child to go to school for 1 or more years. You voluntarily specify the number of years.
• The partial cost for 1 child to go to school for 1 or more years
• The cost for more than 1 child to go to school for 1 or more years
• Any amount of your choice, which you may specify to go towards tuition/board, books, or uniforms.

You may donate the entire amount at once, or you may opt to donate in monthly, bi-monthly, or yearly installments.

To view photos and profiles of the children we serve, check out our Facebook group.

Other Ways You Can Help

• Pray that these children experience and understand the love of Christ in the midst of chaotic lives.

• Pray that PFR will receive the funding and resources needed to send these children to school.

• Pray that PFR’s ministry to these children will grow and thrive.

• Join the Facebook Group to keep up-to-date about happenings in the life of PFR and the lives of these children.

• Follow the Prison Fellowship Rwanda blog (http://prisonfellowshiprwanda.blogspot.com), which is regularly updated with news and happenings at PFR.

• Spread the word about the needs of Rwanda’s street children and youth in the wake of the 1994 genocide.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. We'd love to hear from you!


In humble service to Him,


The Street Children Ministry and Prison Fellowship Rwanda Staff

Kicukiro District - Kigali, Rwanda

P.O. Box 2098

Kigali, Rwanda

www.pfrwanda.org

http://prisonfellowshiprwanda.blogspot.com

info@pfrwanda.org

The Reconciliation Village: Remarkable Stories of Transformation in Rwanda

There is nothing that speaks to the power of forgiveness like the Reconciliation Village: Perpetrators and victims who came face-to-face during the brutal events of the genocide have chosen to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and commit to living out the future together in peace. They have, in fact, gone beyond forgiveness. They have made a choice not only to move forward, but also to move forward together as neighbors and friends. It seems impossible. It is, without God’s presence in the hearts and minds of Rwandans. It is God’s grace, provision, and amazing love now reflected in the lives of the villagers that makes these communities of reconciliation grow and thrive. Reconciliation is the key to restoring Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide.

Thanks to Prison Fellowship Rwanda and several partner organizations, Rwanda is now home to 5 Reconciliation Villages scattered throughout the rural countryside. Villagers care for one another, tend to crops and livestock (particularly cows and goats) together, and sell the products from their farms in the markets to earn a profit. They create small businesses together that ensure sustainable livelihoods. They are trained in efficient and effective farming methods; they participate in reconciliation workshops hosted by PFR; and they hold one another accountable in God’s love. PFR visits the villages regularly to assess developments and needs and to encourage and pray for the residents. PFR continues to partner with Norwegian Church Aid and other organizations to make these villages successful communities that embody peace, transformation, and economic well-being.

During a recent visit to one village, the PFR staff was reminded of the power of forgiveness and reconciliation as we heard the stories of Leanard Rucyogazo, a genocidaire who had participated in mass militia destruction during the genocide, and Louis Umamungo, one of his victims. They are pictured together in the second picture. Leanard, now 60 years old, described the destructive ideology that prevailed in 1994, the anger and hatred that provoked him to kill 4 people with his bare hands and countless others as a participant in mobs, and what compelled him to understand his actions and ask for forgiveness.

Their Stories

After the genocide, Leanard spent 7 ½ years in prison. Faced with overcrowding and a broken nation, government officials began to enter the prisons and encourage offenders to ask for forgiveness. Leanard did not understand this request: What is forgiveness? Why should I ask my victims for forgiveness? PFR visited the prison where he had been staying, and only when Leanard heard about the reality of God’s presence and of Christ’s life on Earth did he truly understand what it means to forgive. Leanard accepted Christ, asked for forgiveness, was released from prison, and began a life centered on reconciliation. His story is remarkable evidence of God’s undying love and prevailing intervention in the lives of perpetrators.

Louis, one of his victims, witnessed the atrocities committed by Leanard and others. She lost 16 family members in the genocide. In the aftermath of the conflict, she wanted revenge on those who had harmed her and her family. She was angry that the government was offering offenders an opportunity to be released from prison. This is when the Umuvumu Tree Project (UTP), one of PFR’s initiatives to teach offenders and victims about the importance of forgiveness, changed Louis’s heart. Through UTP, Louis learned about the necessity of forgiveness. Armed with Christ’s love, she viewed her offenders in a different light. She learned to forgive them and to ask for repentance. She told PFR that when a person repents, they are healed of trauma; as a result, she and Leanard can tell their stories to others. They hope to do so with the help of PFR.

PFR continues to build more houses in these villages, which now have anywhere from 20 to 100 homes.

What you can do to help:

>Pray for the perpetrators and victims living in the reconciliation villages. Pray that they continue to seek God’s will for their lives, understand His love, and live out His grace as they live and work together.

>Pray for the God’s direction and guidance for the PFR staff who continue to teach about reconciliation and productive cooperation in the villages. Pray also that PFR receives the financial support needed to continue to improve the lives of residents of the reconciliation villages.

>Make a financial contribution for one or more of the following:

-Construction of more houses in the reconciliation villages

-Clothing for adults and children who live in the villages

-Umuvumu Tree Project training materials

-Electricity and running water for the homes in the villages

-Cows and goats, used for nourishment and sold for income

>Continue to visit PFR’s blog to stay up-to-date on happenings in the Reconciliation Villages.

Contact us at info@pfrwanda.org or grace.pfrwanda@gmail.com with questions or to find out more about how you can participate in what God is doing in the Reconciliation Villages!