World Vision International Rwanda Office staff have paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi with a commitment to restore Christian values as well as contribute to the resilience of the Rwandan community.
The commitment was made this May 3, 2024, as the group of over 280 members (from World Vision and Vision Fund), held the commemoration activities. The day included visiting Nyamata memorial site in Bugesera which is the final resting place for 45,308 genocide victims, laying the wreaths at the memorial, and a vigil at their Kigali offices.
At Nyamata memorial site, the group was given details on how the massacre was conducted inside the Parish church.
The organization’s senior leadership team visited one of the Nyamata genocide survivors Alice Mukarulinda at her home and got her testimony of resilience in the aftermath of the Genocide tragedy.
Mukarulinda lost over 20 family members during the Genocide including her 9 month old baby who was killed before her eyes on April 29, 1994. The killers also cut Mukarulinda’s right hand and left her in a total. despair.
Alice Mukarulinda
She narrowly survived, thanks to the Rwanda Patriotic Army(RPA) Inkotanyi who rescued her and treated her to heal the physical wounds even though spiritual and emotional wounds persisted until the intervention of World Vision.
Through World Vision’s Healing & Reconciliation program that started around 1998_ Mukarulinda underwent a spiritual healing journey where she managed to forgive her perpetrators, reconcile, and live in harmony with the rest of Nyamata sector community.
Pauline Okumu, the National Director of World Vision Rwanda said the testimony of Alice (Mukarulinda), who represents many survivors, is a touching one and a reminder for the organization (which started operations during the genocide) on the need to uphold Christian values in their activities in Rwanda.
“As an organization, we stand in solidarity with you as we commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. We honor the memory of all the innocent lives that were atrociously killed during this period,” Okumu said.
At the end of the visit, World Vision staff handed over an envelop to Mukarulinda, which will support her livelihood and enable her to rebuild.
World Vision in Rwanda
World Vision started its operations in Rwanda in 1994 during the Genocide against the Tutsi and at the time focused on relief and emergency response, following the effects of the Genocide.
In 1996, when Genocide survivors who had taken refuge in neighboring countries began to return to the country, World Vision started a reconciliation and peace-building program. To play a role in rebuilding a country that was shattered then, World Vision developed a specific model of learning new tools to manage deeply painful emotions and consider a path to forgiveness.
In 2000, World Vision began the Nyamagabe Area Development project. Sponsorship funds provided the foundation for the work that would be done next—continuing to heal the psychological wounds left by the genocide and creating places for families to thrive and children to grow.
As the country embarked on the journey of socio-economic transformation 30 years on, World Vision Rwanda has also shifted focus to long-term solutions such as poverty reduction and the protection of children’s rights.
Today, World Vision Rwanda is providing interventions in all 30 districts across the country in collaboration with the Government to empower vulnerable children, their families and communities.
On behalf of World Vision Rwanda, Okumu thanked the Government of Rwanda for the tremendous work done over the past 30 years in rebuilding the country and appreciated the men and women who gave their lives to stop the Genocide against the Tutsi.
“May the Lord comfort you and your families during this commemoration period that evokes very painful memories. I urge you to be your brother’s keepers, look out for each other, and let us continue to live in unity so that what happened in the past never happens again,” Okumu said.
