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 Athanasie is 31 years old and the mother of three children. Making and
selling baskets has helped her to achieve a lot of things that she didn't think were possible before. Athanasie has gained the
knowledge she needs in order to succeed and now is able to buy food and clothes for her family. Soon she will
open up her own bank account for the first time. The training Athanasie is receiving from Rwanda Partners is
helping her to truly help her family.
Josée is a widow with three children. She was a farmer for many years but farming
doesn't provide for all the needs of her family. So she joined the Terimbere Mutegarugori Weavers' Association in order
to learn to weave baskets. Through weaving baskets for Rwanda Partners, Josee is am now able to make the money she needs
in order to pay school fees for her oldest child. Being in the Weavers' Association has also helped Josee to find a
way out of the loneliness she felt as a widow at home. Through selling her baskets, Josée is improving the living
conditions of herself and her children.
 Emmanuel is 25 years old. His father was a Tutsi and his mother a Hutu. His
father was killed
in 1992 during the massacres that took place in the Bugesera region. Emmanuel was 11 years old when he witnessed his
father being killed by a group of Hutus. This trauma deeply affected him. As he grew up, Emmanuel felt deep hatred for
the Hutus - this hatred extended to his own uncles who in 1994 during the genocide tried several times to kill Emmanuel.
Emmanuel was forced to go into hiding - spending sleepless nights in the bushes, feeling deep hatred and shame. Though
his life was in great jeopardy, Emmanuel managed to survive. Even though Emmanuel was a Christian, he couldn't bring
himself to share anything with anyone who was a Hutu - especially with anyone whose father was in prison for crimes of
genocide. But during a recent Healing and Reconciliation Workshop held by CARSA through the support of Rwanda Partners,
Emmanuel was finally able to share his pain with a group of people. As he spoke, a member of the group who was a Hutu
shared how he, too, was suffering. Emmanuel wept. At last he realized that this Hutu man was innocent - that both he and
Emmanuel were suffering the consequences of the genocide in their lives. On the first day of the workshop, Emmanuel
brought with him his anger and hatred. But as the workshop progressed, Emmanuel began for the first time to feel better.
On the last day, the participants were instructed to write down all their hurts and pain on a piece of paper and lay it
at the foot of the cross. As Emmanuel did so, he felt peace and joy. Now Emmanuel knows that Jesus is his comforter. He
plans on returning home after the workshop to tell his uncles that he has finally been able to forgive their actions
towards him.
Beatrice has lived "a life of misery and suffering", having to care for the needs of her
seven children on her own since her husband abandoned the family. The small business she was running faced serious
losses and the only money they had came from the few vegetables her daughter was able to sell at the market each
day - enough to provide for only one simple meal. "Everything was hard and I began to despair of life. But then
I received a goat from RP's Family Empowerment Program and some funds to set up another business. Now my children can
go to school and I can provide for my family. Our life is normal again ... everything has changed! My business is still
small but it enables me to get some food for the family. My children are happy to be back in school and to be able to
wear their new uniforms. Now we have hope that our future will be better than our past!"
 Francoise is a young single mother, who lives with her son
and her younger
sister. Francoise says that the goat that she received from Rwanda Partners was an answer from God. Through this gift
of a goat, Francoise now has milk for her baby that will help to protect her child from disease and malnutrition.
Through the manure that the goat provides, Francoise is now anticipating much higher yields from her garden which will
mean more food for her family and more income from the produce she is able to sell at the market. Before receiving the
goat, Francoise was hopeless, not knowing what the future held for her, her baby and her little sister. Now she has big
hopes for the future, and life has gained meaning once again. Francoise is grateful to God who has used Rwanda Partners
to find sponsors for this program.
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