Gisimba Orphanage

When we go out to Rwanda next April, one of the places we are due to visit is Gisimba Orphanage.

In 1994, the Gisimba Memorial Centre had approximately 60 orphans.  During the genocide as Rwandans fled for their safety, the Gisimba family opened the orphanage doors to protect and shelter over 400 people.  After a harrowing couple of months surviving for long periods without food and water these people were eventually saved with the help from an American Aid Worker called Carl Wilkens.  

After the genocide in 1994, the majority of the children that came to Gisimba were orphaned as a result of the genocide, however, today many of the children who have more recently come to live as Gisimba have been orphaned by AIDS and issues related to poverty. 

Presently Gisimba is home to approximately 150 children and youths between the ages of  2 and 22.  These kids and youths are bright, warm and have a curiosity for life. While their situation is tough, these children are resilient and you can't help but feel and sense a strong feeling of support and love within the walls of the Gisimba orphanage. Older children pitch in and act as older "brothers and sisters" to the younger children. Soccer and games fill the yard when school is out and children support day-to-day life doing chores and helping out.

The leadership and staff at Gisimba are committed and play a key role in providing a nurturing, supportive and safe place for these children to grow. While they are provided for in many ways—there is a great need for better food, programs of support for development, health and education. 

In spite of great challenges, there is a sense of hope and community that has been built at Gisimba. One that, given the support needed, will continue to flourish and grow providing for the children and youth there, but also to the community. 

We’ll be visiting the Orphanage on the second full day of our field trip next year.  I have no doubt that as a mother of two I will find this experience tough going, but just through the research and reading up I’ve already done on Gisimba I’m sure I will find the children there inspirational and can’t wait to have the privilege of re-telling their stories on here.

Fundraising Update 1

I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I'm getting for my first fundraising event on the 1st October.  Not just with the sponsors and donations that are coming in but also with the offers of support in joining me on the walk, thank you everyone.  So far there are 9 of us planning to walk the 25miles around Rutland Water.  If anyone else fancies joining us for the day let me know, you would be more than welcome.

First Fundraising Event - 1st October 2011

25 MILE SPONSORED WALK

RUTLAND WATER

1ST OCTOBER 2011

On the 1st October I will be walking 25 miles (supported by some good friends) around Rutland Water Lakes.  Although I am hoping to fund as much of the trip as possible l do need to do a bit of fundraising along the way too.

To sponsor me you can either e-mail me your details at lynseycollinson@googlemail.com along with the amount per mile/total amount you are willing to donate or alternatively you can sponsor me straight away using the link at the side of this blog.

The Aegis Trust and Rwanda

Education:-

Aegis has been working with the Rwandan Government to develop and deliver a national genocide education programme which was launched in June 2008.  The programme not only teaches the youth of Rwanda, but will eventually reach out to the African region and around the world, next April l will have the opportunity to witness the education programme in action with a group of students visiting Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre.

Memorials:-

In April 2004, on the 10^th anniversary of the genocide which tore Rwanda apart in 1994, the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre was opened.  The Memorial Centre is an international Centre, dealing with a topic of international importance, with far-reaching significance.  The Centre is designed to engage and challenge the hearts and minds of its visitors. 

Following a visit by members of the Rwandan Government to the UK’s Holocaust Memorial Centre and Aegis Trust, founded and managed by Dr’s James and Stephen Smith, Aegis was invited to build the Centre in partnership with the Kigali City Council.

The Memorial Centre is a place where the bereaved can bury their families and friends – the human remains of over 250,000 victims of the genocide are buried at the site – a clear reminder of the cost of failure to protect people at risk of genocide.

Burials continue to take place at the Centre - the city is developing and during this development human remains are still discovered.  Also, the Gacaca trials are just coming to an end - during these trials, leniency has been offered to perpetrators on condition that they provide information about where victims are buried. (The Gacaca trials are part of a system of community justice inspired by tradition and established in 2001 in the wake of the genocide).

The Centre exists as a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide, as a place for Rwandans to grieve for those who were lost and as a warning from history for the region and the world.  It hosts three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the genocide in 1994. There is also a children’s memorial and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The Education Centre, Memorial Gardens and Documentation Centre of the genocide all contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished and for a powerful educational tool for the Rwandan and international community.

Aegis has managed the Centre since its opening, and on 16th August, 2011, agreed to continue to manage the Centre in partnership with the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) for a further 10 years.

The Aegis Trust has helped support other memorials around the country.  The church at Ntarama and the memorial at Nyarubuye still house remains of the dead and remain a testimony to the devastation that affected every community in the country. Aegis also created the Memorial and Exhibition at Murambi – a school where over 40,000 were slaughtered.  In another attack, people fled to another school at ETO (Ecole Technique Officielle) as it housed 90 Belgian Troops serving with UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda).  But following the death of 10 Belgian Troops the rest of the troops were withdrawn.  Each Memorial has its own tragic story. 

For more information on the Kigali Memorial Centre follow this link - 
Kigali Memorial Centre  

As you can see this is just a very brief overview of what the Aegis Trust do in Rwanda, in the coming months leading up to next April l hope to share with you more detailed information as l learn more myself.