Rwanda

Published November 26, 2017 by webbie in Intimations

Provided by CoolFundraisingIdeas.net

‘a little can change a life’

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Blog from Rwanda Five

NEW Rebirth of Bisesero

New website for everything relating to
Rwanda and Congo
Select donations image to go to the Relevant page

18 May 2014 – 18 May 2017
Article links
Our Story
The Bisesero Story
New Homes
3 year project has begun Our Story
We first became aware of Comfort Rwanda (now Comfort Rwanda & Congo) in 2011 through a Guild meeting where a rep from Comfort Rwanda was speaking to the Guild about partnering with the charity for the following 3 years.

Graham Atkinson invited a few of us to consider visiting
Rwanda. It took a while for this to happen. In 2013 we spent two weeks with Comfort Rwanda in the ‘Heart of Africa’ this included a visit to Bisesero led by Ben Kayumba of the Rwandan partner charity Good News International.
We could never have imagined how this would impact us and where this adventure would lead us. Back home we took some much needed time to reflect and listen to God.In time we realised that God was directing us to commit to building four brick homes for the community of Bisesero.We are well on our way to raising our target of £21,500 in 3 years for 4 houses and we are looking forward to future visits to Rwanda to see the finished houses and meet the families living there.The Bisesero Story
Bisesero lies near Kibuye, on the shore of Lake Kivu. It was the only place in Rwanda where any concerted resistance to the genocide (1994) took place. The men defended themselves and their women and children with stones and sticks against the repeated onslaughts of the Interahamwe militiamen and the Rwandan army with their guns, machetes and grenades. Because the women and children were gathered together for protection, they were an easy prey for the reinforced militias with the army.

: Women in Rwanda today

After 11 weeks of massacre, on the 27th June 1994, French soldiers arrived and encouraged the survivors to come out of their hiding place, but then quickly left and abandoned them to their killers. Estimates vary of between 30,000
and 50,000 being killed on the beautiful hills of Bisesero, but what is clear is that only around 1,000 survived.
Since Comfort Rwanda first began to help the community in 2008 they have seen a marked change: hope has returned and the people have
become motivated as they see that they are not forgotten.

Every little helps and the brick homes that are being built are strong, weather-tight and will last for generations.

‘a little can change a life’.

New Homes

This view of the new homes shows that the location is beautiful, they have a fabulous view over Lake Kivu.
One of these new homes belongs to Zachariah who says, ‘I never expected or dreamed to have a house like this’.

Godrive Kamhire, ‘ Imagine living with goats and my children living with animals – it was a miserable existence.

The survivors’ committee asked us to have the house without us even asking. It was beyond our wildest expectation. May God give more to those who helped us’.

Innocent, pictured in the centre, is one of the 4-5 students using the newest house. Innocent said ‘ There were ten children in my family and three survived – a brother and a sister.

When my brother got married we had to leave the home and I had no hope to have a home.

It is not just about a house but about the hope for our lives.The house builds hope in us. The healing is so quick when we people have our own home to start our lives.

’a little can change a life’.