A New Opportunity for the PFR Children

Prison Fellowship Rwanda has for the past three years served 85 children ranging in age from 3 to 26 years. These children fall into three different categories: Children who live on the street without any external care, children who have only one parent either because the mother or father is in prison or died in the 1994 genocide, and children who are vulnerable (live in extreme poverty with their families). Despite their different backgrounds all these children share a common story. All live in extreme poverty, normally on the streets of Kigali. All dropped out of school at a young age as they could not afford to pay school fees. And all dream of a building a better future for themselves.

With the help of our US partners, Mustard Seed, since April these children have been receiving an increased number of hot meals, drinks, counselling and Bible teachings. Previously PFR could only afford for these children to visit the PFR office once or occasionally twice a week. Now they come three times a week! Furthermore, Mustard Seed has generously provided health insurance for the children for 2010 ensuring that when they are sick, they can receive medication that they could not previously afford.

The children listen to Bible teachings in the PFR garden

By spending just a few afternoons with these children it becomes clear how determined they are to continue their education. They try hard to learn English and show off their maths skills in exercise books they have found. They listen ardently to Bible teachings and enthusiastically participate in recreational sports. When talking to any one of them you will hear a similar dream, that of wanting to go back to school and then to find a job that would enable them to rise above the extreme poverty they now live in.

One of the youngest girls takes the opportunity to read some notes aloud in English

PFR is hopeful that this opportunity may have arrived for some of the older children. Amizero Training Centre offers six month, hands-on, vocational training courses in studies such as Mechanics, Carpentry, and Fabrication. These courses would teach the children the skills needed and reward them with the qualifications necessary to find a job. The courses start in September 2010 and so there is now an urgent need for funding. PFR are currently working closely with partners Douglas and Susan Milton towards this end.

Hikizimana Celeste considers not being able to go to school his only current problem despite having many other social issues. He dreams of going back to school as he says it would make his life more meaningful, he hopes that God will provide him the opportunity to make a better future for himself.

To send one child on a six month training course would cost US $593 in school fees and US $176 for school materials, totalling US $769. Unfortunately, school fees in Rwanda are very expensive and the government offers little support, but this $769 could completely transform a child’s life, enabling them to support themselves, family members still living and even the younger street children. In the grand scheme of things, this $769 could prevent these children, many of which have witnessed incomprehensible violence during the 1994 genocide, from falling into drug use, prostitution, or petty crime. PFR’s long-term vision is to establish a comprehensive care housing establishment for the 85 children that they serve, but for now, please show your support in the next step of their journey and help give them the opportunity to better themselves through an education that was made inaccessible to them through no fault of their own. To donate or get involved, please visit our website visit at www.pfrwanda.org or email us: info@pfrwanda.org.

Success in Kimonyi Reconciliation Village

Over the past five years, with the help of our partner Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) PFR has built over 438 homes in five reconciliation villages throughout Rwanda in an initiative entitled the Umuvumu Tree Project. These villages are a place for ex-combatants, ex-prisoners, and genocide survivors alike to live together again in peace.

PFR emphasizes the importance of ‘practical reconciliation’, the idea that true reconciliation can only be achieved through social and economic development, without which tensions can fester. PFR therefore not only provides houses, but also agricultural projects and education. Ntirenganiya’s story below is a real testament to the positive transformations occurring within these villages.

Proud Ntirenganiya feels ‘blessed to be able to study again’

Ntirenganiya’s education was halted by the 1994 genocide, he was only 13 years old and still in Primary 1. When the genocide ended, he longed to continue his education but did not have enough money to pay for even the most basic of school fees. Three months ago, Ntirenganiya became a member of the Kimonyi reconciliation village and began attending literacy classes. He says: ‘I have already noticed many benefits in my life. I can now go to the market and sell things and I can now make financial transactions, understand the concepts of business better from basic math. This is already helping me become more successful in my daily life.’

It is not always easy, Ntirenganiya explains that he finds Mathematics, and particularly multiplication very challenging but with the help of their proud teacher, Thomas, the class continues to steadily improve. Thomas demonstrates the commitment of the class to their studies when he explains: ‘they are so eager to learn, and therefore they are always punctual. They work very hard to attend class regularly.’

Thomas enjoys teaching a class full of dedicated and willing students

Ntirenganiya’s educational development is only a small part of a much bigger picture. He describes living in the village like living in a family and says: ‘they accept you as you are. There are some hardships still but not like before in other places where I was living. Where I used to live, nobody could talk about reconciliation, but now we talk about it and feel it every day. Unity feels normal.’

The reconciliation villages built by PFR and NCA create space for people to live, work, and learn together, allowing reconciliation to occur on many different levels. Education is a vital part of this process because, as demonstrated by Ntirenganiya’s story, even a basic education can drastically improve daily lives. Education provides the grounding for future economic development and when people no longer need to worry about providing for themselves and their families, they can concentrate on their relationships with each other and with God.

The students of Kimonyi Literacy Class have even been asking for an increased number of lessons and want to expand the class from a six-month class to a full year, a sure sign of the benefits these classes provide. If you would like to get involved or make a donation towards this expansion please visit our website at www.pfrwanda.org or email us: info@pfrwanda.org.

Trauma Care in April

The month of April is a very difficult time for most Rwandans. April 7, 2010 marks the sixteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, where over one million Rwandans were killed in just under 100 days.

Sixteen years after the genocide is not a long time, and memories of the pain and loss are still raw and fresh in the minds of thousands of Rwandans. Many Rwandan survivors suffer from trauma and traumatic episodes during the period of April as they remember the horrific crimes experienced against them.

PFR operates a ministry to a group of 35 widows with HIV/AIDS. Many of these women were brutally raped as a genocide weapon by men infected with HIV/AIDS and most of the women lost their husbands in the 1994 genocide. The trauma the women have experienced is horrific and they are in great need of counseling, along with economic and nutritional assistance.

In order to address cases of trauma that many of these women experience, PFR partnered with a counselor from Norwegian Church Aid, to offer a creative and therapeutic way to equip the women to treat themselves and others to release the physical burdens of tension, anxiety, stress, and trauma that many of these women experience on a regular basis.

This is called "Thought Field Therapy," and is an effective and quick technique that can be used anywhere to treat those who struggle with anxiety, traumatic episodes, and other psychological problems.

The therapy follows a method where the individual can place physical pressure on acupuncture pressure points all over the body through a light and rhythmic beating from the hands on the forehead, temples, area above the lips, the chin, the chest, under the arm, and finger tips. The treatment can last for 10-20 minutes followed by deep breathing exercises. It has been proven to inspire a noticeable change in the body and mind of the individual by relaxing the body and mind. The therapy has been used on trauma cases from the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, but it can be used for many different psychological issues.

The HIV/AIDS women enjoyed learning how to conduct this physical treatment on themselves and on their friends. They can use this valuable therapy treatment anywhere, and it will be especially useful in April, when they are reminded of the horrific experiences they endured. Now they can calm themselves down and relieve the physical stress that accompanies their mourning through this effective treatment method.

Here are the women practicing the treatment on their friends. They can now help their friends calm down if they are experiencing distress or trauma as well as themselves.

PFR is thankful for our partnership with Norwegian Church Aid. Please continue to pray for Rwanda as the month of April continues and pray for PFR in the continuation of our reconciliation work in the Rwandan communities and prisons during this time.

Esperence Akimanizanye

For the past two years, PFR has offered a program to support a group of 35 widows from the genocide who are infected with HIV/AIDS. PFR's goal is to assist them in counseling the women (many are rape victims from the 1994 genocide), help the women create a shared business cooperative to generate income, and teach the women how to live healthy lives.

However, teaching can only go so far. Since the business cooperative is just beginning to take form (the women are only just beginning to sell their items, since it took them a very long time to learn how to make the crafts), many of the women do not have access to finances that let them live healthy lifestyles.

Today, a PFR staff member saw this woman, Esperence, who is infected with HIV/AIDS breastfeeding her baby.

Esperence could be infecting her baby with HIV/AIDS because she does not have enough money to feed her child alternative nutritional supplements. When she was explaining her situation to PFR staff members, tears were welling up in her eyes. She was in distress that she could not feed her own child. PFR staff thinks that the reason Esperance did not tell PFR staff earlier that she was breastfeeding her child is because she was embarrassed of her condition and her inability to help her own child.

Because of what happened today, PFR started looking around in other places where this could be happening. Two other women in the PFR women cooperative are struggling with this very same problem. Similarly, 12 HIV positive female inmates who have their babies with them in prison are forced to breast feed their children due to no other nutritional options in prisons.

While PFR hopes that in the near future, the women will make enough income from their sales in their cooperative to support themselves and their families, currently they are not receiving enough income to care for their health. While PFR is doing everything they can right now to make sure that these women get alternative nutritious supplies as soon as possible, the food is expensive and PFR is calling for additional support from our friends all over the world to help these women. PFR wants to be able to provide them with nutritional alternatives for their children until the women start to earn a steady income from their crafts.

Please donate now to allow PFR to provide alternate supplements for the babies and also for healthy food for the women. If you donate through PFI, please be sure to write "support PFR Women's HIV/AIDS Ministry" in the appropriate space.

Living Bricks Achievements!

Prison Fellowship Rwanda continues its commitment to practical reconciliation efforts. PFR firmly believes that true healing and reconciliation cannot be achieved without practical efforts to restore economic opportunities to those who lives were damaged from the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.

This past Friday was a monumental day in the Living Bricks Village. Two new families moved into their Living Bricks Homes.

The Living Bricks Campaign is a house-building partnership between Prison Fellowship Rwanda and As We Forgive, providing new homes for genocide survivors and ex-prisoners allowing them to live peacefully reconciled communities. This radical idea of a “reconciliation village” is the ingredient that will foster authentic and peaceful living in Rwandan communities that were ravaged with hatred and loss just sixteen years ago.

On Friday, Pastor Deo Gashagaza went to visit the village with friends from two PFR partner organizations. Andrea McDaniel, from the As We Forgive Rwanda Initiative, and Diana Wiley, from True Vineyard came to meet the community members and learn about the radical movement of restoring hearts, minds, and homes through practical reconciliation.

Proudly standing by their new homes waiting to welcome the visitors were Elias Nkubiri with his wife and children and Agnes Mukagatore and her children.

Elias was born in Rwanda in 1959. He was exiled to Burundi when he was young to escape ethnic conflict. As a refugee in Burundi, his life was extremely difficult. He married in Burundi, and in 1995 after the genocide he returned with his wife and four children to seek peace and prosperity. He was unable to discover where his deceased parents owned property and his family was left without stable housing. His children are in primary school and they are struggling to find means to survive. The greatest difficulty for his family is lack of a stable home.

Meeting his family for the first time and hearing the praises streaming from his lips at the joy of home ownership, the family’s relief was tangible upon entry and a tour of their new home.

Agnes has been without a husband for the past fifteen years. After the genocide, her husband was imprisoned for genocide crimes and she was left with three children, no home, and no source of income. Still, the heaviest burden weighing on her is the shame of her past, and her familial association with killers. Ever since her husband’s imprisonment, she has been living transitionally with those who offered to house her and her three children.

This past Friday was Agnes’ second day in her new home. A quiet woman, tears began to flow down her face, and she did away with her typically soft tone of voice. Waving her arms in the air thanking God and Pastor Deo, exuberant words of joy spilled out of her mouth. Because of Living Bricks, she can now rest in the knowledge that her children are able to sleep safely at night.

While a home does not erase the pain of husband sentenced to life in prison or years of discrimination and rejection Agnes faced for her tribal affiliation, the security of a home will offer her safety, comfort and a chance for economic mobility as she continues the journey to promote peace and unity in her own village.

After the Living Bricks Village is complete, PFR will work with Living Bricks families of all backgrounds to work together to establish income-generating activities such as livestock rearing projects or agricultural cooperatives. Now that the recipients have stability in a home, they have greater capacity for economic development and improved livelihood.

Living Bricks is renewing lives, rebuilding communities, and restoring homes. Will you give a brick? Click here to give.

UBUMWE Basketball Camp

Prison Fellowship Rwanda, in partnership with The As We Forgive Rwanda Initiative, and Peace and Love Proclaimers, is hosting a basketball camp to use sport as an engine to promote repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation to Rwanda’s street children. PFR and their partners hope to further the efforts of the existing reconciliation projects by combining the healing power of sport with the principles of reconciliation to contribute to the formation of a more unified and reconciled post-genocide Rwanda.

The group of 85 street children attending the Ubumwe Basketball Camp come to Prison Fellowship Rwanda every Wednesday to receive food, Bible teaching, and structured character-building activities. This camp receives the children on Saturday, giving the children one more meal in their week and a chance for fun and valuable unity teachings.

Many of these children are forced to fend for themselves on the streets, seeking food and shelter. In most cases, due to lack of food and basic necessities, many street children resort to theft and the use of drugs to survive and are often themselves victims of crime and abuse.
For many of the street children, Ubumwe offers the the joys of childhood in the lives of many who suffer from difficult home situations. Ubumwe Basketball Camp has been a huge success and the street children are begging for more!

The sport camp is a seven-week program. Prison Fellowship Rwanda is thankful for their partnerships so that the street children could experience emotional healing, fun, and receive a nutritious meal with the support of loving adults.

Reintegration of Ex-Combatants

PFR is continuing its work in community reintegration of ex-combatants in the Musanze district, Kimonyi sector, in a training program that lasted from February 4th to 8th, 2010. These ex-combatants were formerly associated with FDLR militias in Democratic Republic of Congo and mobilized soldiers from Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF).

Most of these ex-combatants have no education or vocational skills to start a new life for themselves and in the past were mainly exposed to ideas of hatred and genocide ideology. In order to create peaceful communities of reconciliation, PFR conducted a community training on creating business cooperatives, income generating activities, and loan reimbursement.

The training was offered to 60 ex-combatants and 15 ex-prisoners and genocide survivors. As the 60 ex-combatants were new to the community, 60 goats were distributed to get them started on their own income generating projects. While the primary purpose was to equip the participants with necessary skills to develop sustainable livelihood, the overarching goal was to bring together people from different backgrounds to learn how to work together peacefully and develop meaningful and reconciled relationships. Following the training, four cooperatives were formed comprising 75 members.


PFR Executive Director giving out goats to beneficaries in Kimonyi sector

Meet Jean Bosco is a former FDLR soldier. He is 43 years old, and is married with four children. Jean Bosco returned to Rwanda with sorrowful heart and ready to start anew in 2000 after living the life of a rebel in the forest of the DRC for six years.

After he returned to his community and family, he did not have any life skills to help him start a his owm personal business to support his new way of life. But the PFR reintegration program helped him to plan for a new beginning.

‘I gained skills to start and manage a cooperative. Most importantly I was taught about how I should live in peace with everyone in the community for the common good.’