Burundi and Rwanda

Judy, one of my neighbors, went to Burundi as part of the Friends Peace Team to work with the African Great Lakes Initiative (www.aglifpg.org), a group working with survivors of the genocides that took place in both Burundi and Rwanda in the 1990s.

In Mutaho, Burundi, land was donated to build a guesthouse for those who participate in the REMA gatherings. Rema is a word that means 'be comforted' which is appropriate for women who lost their husbands and family members in the genocide.  Judy spent most of her stay working with this project. She said she wanted to leave a magnet with someone with a refrigerator but nobody had one. The office had one but it was aluminum and the magnet wouldn't stick so she left it on a shelf in the kitchen.




Beginning the building process.

The REMA women.

Burundi drummers, always good entertainment!

Judy also attended HROC training in Kigali, Rwanda. Participants came from several African nations as well as the USA. HROC stands for Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities. They are striving to build a sustainable peace through trauma healing workshops and gatherings such as these.



Overlooking Kigali.

At the Peace Garden there were lots of these.

The magnet in Rwanda rides on the dash of the car owned by the the African co-ordinator for the HROC project, a man Judy has great respect for.