Project Ubumwe Pilot Completed!

“…God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

(2 Cor.5:19).

After six months of praying, teaching, guiding, facilitating and visiting with and interviewing all the parties, we saw some of the imprisoned perpetrators of the Genocide meeting survivors and also their own families inside the Bugusera Prison. More than 2000 prisoners were watching as we all gathered for this historic event. We had prepared everyone for this meeting of reconciliation, but we had no idea what to expect. The perpetrators had indicated they would repent of all the atrocities they had committed and ask for forgiveness from the Survivors. They would also ask forgiveness from their own families whom they had lied to about their incarceration, claiming they were imprisoned although innocent of the crimes they were charged with Thabo Wolfaardt and his Rwandan film crew started shooting a documentary film about Project Ubumwe called “Mbabarira” (“I’m sorry, forgive me.”). Here they are filming a planning session between two of our chaplains, Francois (l) and Noël (r.)

As we started interviewing people ravaged by the Genocide as well as those working to establish peace and unity, we realized that Project Ubumwe goes far deeper in dealing with the lack of repentance and unforgiveness and bitterness than we had anticipated. We found that there is a lot more animosity below the surface in communities, as families of the perpetrators in some instances resented and even hated the survivors who had put their ‘innocent’ family member behind bars. This particular issue had not been dealt with since the Genocide. The documentary that we planned to make would have to dig much deeper and take much longer to make than just a two-week shoot. We had discovered something that will change the nation and protect the peace that has already been won for future generations, if it is dealt with now.
We owe it to the people of Rwanda to produce the best possible documentary for future generations to see and other African nations to learn from.

Many Survivors were interviewed. John, who is seen below, is from the Bugusera District where the Genocide commenced in 1994 and where tens of thousands of people were massacred. John was the sole survivor of a family of 100 people who lived in that area. He was working at a tea plantation that day and not at home, and although the Interahamwe aimed to kill all the Tutsis at the plantation, he was miraculously spared when a machete missed his head by millimeters as he was hiding under a tea bush and his pursuer was called away. His family was killed, including his children and his wife. Their property was demolished and all their possession were looted. After the chaplains of Project Ubumwe approached him and taught him about forgiveness from the Scriptures, he agreed to meet the perpetrator who had confessed in writing and to extend forgiveness to him. This is radical forgiveness that leads to radical reconciliation – just as Jesus taught us to do. It is impossible for most people to imagine that such a thing is possible, but this is what we experienced over and over as Project Ubumwe unfolded.

The meetings between perpetrators and survivors like John, where forgiveness was asked and extended, was described by a Colonel in the Rwanda Correctional Services as “Incredible”, and as “a miracle”. In this photo a man called Sylvester, who planned and excecuted mass Genocide where more than 25,000 people were killed, is asking for forgiveness from a family member of one of his victims and forgiveness was extended. It was extremely touching to see him extend a hand to the kneeling perpetrator and pull him up into an embrace.
Please partner & pray with us as this Project is expanded in 2016 to send more chaplains into more prisons to reach more perpetrators, as well as survivors and families of perpetrators. The costs will be in excess of $100,000US$. A big challenge, but we serve a far bigger God. And we fully trust the he will provide for this Kingdom Expansion ministry to which he called us.
Please partner & donate if you feel called by God to do so. Everything helps to reach more people who come to Christ and are set free from sin, darkness, hatred, bitterness and thoughts of revenge. The very thing Jesus came to bring and passed on to His body – the ministry of reconciliation. We will keep updating our progress and development of the Documentary.

May you have a Christ-filled Christmas and a God-blessed New Year. Soli Deo Gloria!

Gerrit Wolfaardt
Executive Director (ED)