Since 1994, however, Rwanda has been going in a very different direction. The killers were taken to court, but there was no revenge massacre. Instead, the country put a lot of effort into resolving the ethnic conflict. The government abolished the ethnic label (Hutu, Tutsi, Twa, …) in the identity card and encourage everyone to identify themselves as Rwandan rather than members of specific ethnic groups. The Christian churches in particular have worked hard on reconciliation, emphasising that faith can help overcome the bias, sense of injustice, and break the cycle of hatred and revenge at the core of ethnic conflicts. The country remains very poor - GDP per capita is only USD 820. But the economy has been growing fast at around 7% per year and is quite stable. Many rate Rwanda as one of the best countries in Africa to invest in.
Much of the country, even within the capital district of Kigali, is still without electricity and running water. The government is working hard on electrifying the country. But given the limited resources available, it is going to take a long time before the vision can be fully realised. Despite the poverty, Rwanda is very clean. The streets and the environment are clean, even in the countryside. The government is generally considered to be free of corruption - its corruption index is on a par with much more advanced economies such as South Korea.
A lot of people probably know very little about Rwanda. Many cannot place it on a map. Among those who have heard of it, there is a perception that Rwanda is a violent, dangerous place. It is interesting that even in Africa, people who live far away from Rwanda, e.g., in South Africa, seem to perceive of it only as a poor violent place. But people in neighbouring countries, e.g., Tanzania, seem to be more envious of its success. Perhaps its bad reputation among people from afar derives from the tremendous impact of the horrible genocide, while its neighbours are more aware of the current, actual situation. The reality is that the genocide happened more than 20 years ago, and the country has been stable and developing for many years. Our teams have traveled all over Rwanda extensively, particularly in and around the mountain villages north of the capital Kigali, to a school in Rwamagana to the east, to Akagera national park near the border with Tanzania in the east, to a university at Nyagatare to the north east near the border with Uganda, to schools near Nyamata in the south near the boded with Burundi, to the north west to see the mountain gorillas at the Volcanos National Park near the order with Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Never ever do we feel unsafe. Everywhere we go, the streets are clean, the muddy paths are clean. We have taken taxis and buses, walked and run the streets., hiked up and down mountains Everywhere we go people have been friendly.
From our perspective, one of the most attractive features of Rwanda is our partner, African Evangelical Enterprise Rwanda. We have received good recommendations prior to our getting to know them in person. And the more we get to know them and work with them, the more we are impressed by the organisation and their people. AEE Rwanda is completely run by local Rwandan people, and their philosophy is to help people help themselves. We have visited many of their projects: vegetable gardens, butcher’s shops, small experimental farms, rabbit/fish farms, chicken farms, pigs farms, public toilets, passion fruit farms, schools staffed with volunteer teachers, villagers working together to build houses for children who lost their parents, water sanitation projects, self-help groups learning to cook, bake, and do all kinds of things together. We have always been impressed by how well their staff interact with the villagers and how hard they work, how volunteers run and train the self-help groups, … We feel we can learn so much from them.
#servicelearning
#Rwanda
#justice
#faith
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