RWANDA DEVELOPMENT TRUST - Projects
Despite the fact that the genocide in Rwanda occurred more than ten years ago, support is still vital in this small landlocked country. RDT is involved in supporting small capacity building projects in Rwanda. We liaise mostly with the Barakabaho Foundation based in Kigali, one of our links there. Barakabaho supports child sponsorship projects and is in direct contact with the relevant families. Life is easier for those households based in the countryside where children can develop farming skills, grow their own produce and sell some of it for profit to enable them to pay for school fees and equipment. It is harder for children living in the city, and these children generally need more monitoring by Barakabaho, and possible financial support for school fees. Donations are gratefully received by RDT, a non profit making organisation, and a registered charity in the UK. To make a donation, click here. (If you want your donation to be specifically for one of the organisations mentioned here, write the name of the organisation on the back of the cheque, or make your intentions clear in a letter.)
Click on the name of the project for further info.
Nowadays, the Trust supports the eastern region of Avega Agahozo, the widows’ self help group. Before Avega decentralised, we dealt with the office in Kigali. The genocide of 1994 still causes immense difficulties for people in Rwanda. This organisation started with nothing but a determination to build up structures which would help alleviate the pain, and provide support which would make life worthwhile again. Recently, RDT has helped provide computer hardware and software, training for members and office personnel, and shelter. To make a donation, click here. (If you want your donation to be specifically for one of the organisations mentioned here, write the name of the organisation on the back of the cheque, or make your intentions clear in a letter.)
AGHR (General Association for Disabled Rwandese) is an organisation which supports physically disabled people. The purpose of AGHR, as with most similar organisations, is to promote self reliance. AGHR sets up training for its members who can then start to earn a living and be less dependent on others. The group has just started to provide loans for its members who then use that money to invest in their own projects. The loan is paid back to AGHR which is then in a financial position to start the same scheme for others. AGHR needs help in two ways – help directly to its members in training for their chosen project and in book keeping. It also requires training for its personnel in its Kigali HQ, so that its own capacity to help can be supported. To make a donation, click here. (If you want your donation to be specifically for one of the organisations mentioned here, write the name of the organisation on the back of the cheque, or make your intentions clear in a letter.)
Bisesero, a region 30 km south west of Kibuye is known for its resistance to attempted genocide in 1994. Out of a total population of about 55,000 who retreated to a ‘hill of resistance’, only 1,200 survived an onslaught of genocidaires, armed with modern weapons. The defenders had nothing but stones to fight with. After the genocide, plenty of well-known international celebrities were willing to be filmed visiting the area in an attempt to show solidarity or to indicate some kind of apology. However, the local survivors appear to have been forgotten in the media frenzy surrounding such visits and so RDT decided to start a system whereby cows could be distributed to some of the locals. As a consequence the community has formed a committee to decide on priority cases for help. The locals still need this help, and RDT is listening directly to what they say they need, and is negotiating the best way forward. The account of the survivors of Bisesero and how they feel about being ignored by the famous, who have been photographed with survivors while visiting the memorial site, is shown in the film ‘Keepers of Memory’. To make a donation, click here. (If you want your donation to be specifically for one of the organisations mentioned here, write the name of the organisation on the back of the cheque, or make your intentions clear in a letter.)
Having supported one of UEBR's projects in 2002, we have been in direct contact with Buzizi Claver in Butare about a repeat. The Trustees decided to help finance an agricultural project in the hills around Bisesero. The grant was made in October 2007.
To make a donation to RDT, click here. Euro cheques are accepted; so too are USD checks.