UPDATE! See video about the Reconciliation Village recently posted. click here. Wednesday, October 26th. We got to go to Kimonyi Village for the first time. We filmed the dancers and singers performing as well as a community lunch afterwards. Thursday, October 27th. We returned to Kimonyi to shoot scenes around the village. We also had some time to film our first interviews – with an ex Hutu rebel (one of the lead dancers in the Kimonyi Reconciliation Village Dance Troupe), and his Tutsi wife, as well as with an elderly lady who lost her husband and nine children in the…
On Monday we traveled to Mukono where the school children have to walk two miles twice a day (5am and 4pm) down a mountain to get buckets of water. Fils, Safali, and I accompanied them on the trek at 4pm and we shot incredible footage. It looked like it was going to rain the whole time, with wind picking up but, miraculously, the clouds rolled around us. Click on photos to enlarge and click again to make smaller On Tuesday morning, we got up early to film the students leaving for water and returning with their heavy containers up…
We are back in Kigali after traveling around a good portion of the country for the past week and it has been quite incredible… My son Thabo (a filmaker for Los Angeles) and I left for Byumba last Saturday where we stayed with Bishop Emmanuel Ngendahayo and his wife Vicky in the Byumba Diocese. The church was having a special event for the community in honor of Reconciliation and Unity week and my son filmed it. The highlight of the event was the hand-over of cows and goats to impoverished but responsible locals. Various officials and army officers took turns…
Ed. Note: Over a week ago, Gerrit arrived in Rwanda. His son Thabo arrived yesterday as they are going to produce a film called Dancing on a Thousand Hills. Gerrit sends the first report for this trip: Thabo arrived last night, but what he did not know was that the entire program we had put together had been changed. What we were going to film first is now being done at the end. With the pouring rain and schools closing next week, we had to be flexible and change things around. Thabo took it in his stride; we interviewed the two young, vibrant,…
Two a half hours from Kigali, tourists on the way to join gorilla-watching safaris unknowingly pass by a miracle in the making. Kimonyi Reconciliation Village (population: 360 adults – children are not included in counting populations) was started by Rwanda Prison Fellowship, with the challenge from the government to bring the victims and perpetrators from the genocide together and help them to be reconciled and to develop their communities together. On a previous visit, the village leaders shared that the village would greatly benefit if each family had a goat. Friends accompanied Gerrit on his second visit and donated funds for…
On the visit to the vocational school in Byumba, in buildings that are sturdy, we once again became aware of the need for teachers and project coordinators. The Vocational School, under the covering of the church, was started by some who had great vision, but, unfortunately they left before the program was on solid ground. However, the current staff is trying their best to keep the sewing, computer, welding and agricultural programs running. Gerrit is hoping to connect them with the trainers of a very successful vocational program in South Africa. It is also apparent that there is a great need for plumbers…
On a previous visit to Rwanda, Gerrit was approached by a bishop who has a congregant with two deaf children. Sadly, the father believed that God was punishing him for his sins, by allowing his children be born deaf. Prince (15) was recently fitted with hearing aids during a mass hearing aid campaign, by well meaning people from the USA, with little effect and no support. Even though Prince now owned hearing aids, it was meaningless, as he still could not hear. In fact, he “told” Gerrit on a previous visit that the device only made a ssshhhh noise in…
Miyove Prison. Gerrit had visited there in April, but due to the heavy rain, he could only address 200 prisoners in a very cramped area. He promised them that he would return. (Often promises are made and broken and we have become very aware of the value the people here attach to promises). The commissioner of the prison wanted Gerrit to spend a whole day there as he claimed that after the previous visit, a calmness descended on the prison and it lasted several days. Reverend Elson Mageza, the sub-Dean of the Byumba Cathedral, accompanied us. Attendance is voluntary but word…
The needs in education are massive and by the time you read this, the first school we visited (Kigali) has already received enough pens and pencils from a donor to last them the rest of the year. Imagine this scenario: a student’s pen runs dry but class continues with him/her not being able to write; he or she doesn’t have a second pen or pencil. Celeste observed this several times. But now the teachers will have some supplies, and for this all are grateful. Gerrit and Celeste were invited to meet with the minister in charge of primary and secondary…
We left early for Mukono Secondary school in Cyumba. This is a combination government/Byumba Anglican diosece church school. It is the highest performing school in the province and is known for its science and technology. We were humbled: after being welcomed by the headmistress, Consolata Mukahakuzimana, and the traditional tea and “tribes” of Fanta sharing (any product made by Coca Cola is called Fanta) , they showed us around the school. The teachers are doing a remarkable job: they have increased the student population from 126 in 2004 to 520 in 2011. Eighteen teachers teach under incredibly difficult circumstances: they…
