Day 3 - Never Again Fellowship

July 12, 2018

Day Three!

We woke up early, enjoyed a nice breakfast at our Beausejour Hotel in Kigali, packed our things up, and headed east to the districts of Kayonza and Gahini.

Today, we'll be meeting the nine cooperatives that make up Never Again Fellowship, a community of 4,500 people from the three previously warring ethnic groups in Rwanda. These courageous people have put their painful pasts aside, have reconciled, and have joined together in hopes of keeping each other alive, while vowing "never again" to Genocide. An example to all of Rwanda and to the world, these Genocide Survivors and Perpetrators now live together in peace.

Our first stop was in Gahini, where we met 4 of the co-ops: Genda Ugire Utyo ("Go and Do That"), Imbereheza ("Better Future"), Good Family, and Itorero Nyarwanda ("Traditional Dancers"). Genda and Imbereheza are seasoned co-ops, but this was our first time meeting Itorero and Good Family, our student-run cooperative.

We gathered together under the giant fig tree (a special place for those who've been) and celebrating our reunion - and the delivery of two new bicycles! Genda Ugire Utyo runs an Event Rental Business and these bicycles will allow them to transport their materials much easier - and further, helping them to build a larger client base. One of the bikes was donated by Janet, in honor of her sister Judy, and the other was a birthday present from me (Genevieve) to my dad, Steve. So naturally, the new bikes are named "Judy" and "Steve". May they live long and prosper!

A representative from each of the four co-ops spoke, sharing with us the progress their communities have made since our last visit. So many new baby cows, goats, plentiful crops, successful businesses, and excelling students!

Itorero performed for us, and before we knew it, we were yanked up from our seats and pulled into the crazy, beautiful, exhilarating dancefest.

Before leaving, we peeked in one of the nearby buildings, where the sewing machines used for making reusable menstrual pads are housed. We got to see some of the ladies at work, and received some yummy peanuts and hardboiled eggs as gifts from the co-ops.

Next stop - the other five Never Again co-ops in Kayonza!

Our time was limited, but we made the most of our gathering with the representatives from Abaharaniramahoro ("Those Who Strive for Peace"), Inyabutatusabana ("Three People Unite"), Ruganeheza ("Taking the Nation to a Better Future"), Twisungane ("Supporting Each Other"), and Twiyubake ("Let Us Build Ourselves Up").

We danced, we sang, we hugged, and we heard testimonies from each co-op. Twiyubake, our artisan co-op, had set up a beautiful arrangement of their crafts for us to peruse and purchase.

Before long, the sun had set, and we headed to the Midland Motel in Mukarange - home for the next two nights.

Thoughts from Travelers:

Leesbeth: More of the same on our third day: visits to several cooperatives further away from Kigali. Lots of dancing, lots of speeches on how life has changed over the last 5 years for school kids and businesses and life at the co-op. Lots of kids in very old, torn and dirty clothes looking in wonder at all these strange white folks. At times they have only one shoe or none, but they are adorable beyond description. The day is filled with hundreds of missed photo opportunities of incredible scenes that are too fleeting to get a camera out in time. Kids too young to be on their own, hunched at the side of the dirt road watching the world go by. People in brilliant bright clothing in configurations of living artistry. Little kids carrying serious loads of tools and supplies on their heads, walking unknown miles along endless roads. I have seen one dog in Kigali, no mules or horses. Seeing all the loads on bicycles and on people’s heads you would figure mules and donkeys would be all over the place?! Seems like a good opportunity for a new business :)