A peek at the Compelled By Love team's official visit to Rwanda

This January from 08th to 18th 2024, CARSA efficaciously hosted 3 staff from Compelled By Love (CBL), an Australian-based organization. The journey aimed at strengthening the existing partnership and learning more about the impact made from this long-run partnership.

In only 10 days, CBL staff alongside with CARSA team paid visits to some essential places in Rwanda particularly those that pertained to the atrocities that occurred in Rwanda. Their first day of work was spent at Kigali and Nyamata Memorial sites as well as some rural villages where they chatted with residents affected by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi but were able to forgive, reconcile, and live together with people from the same village who killed their entire family.

The guests were so amazed about how Genocide victims and perpetrators were able to step beyond forgiveness and embrace reconciliation, committing to living and working together, and caring for one another where all people regard themselves as Rwandans, not in identified ethnic groups.

The team experienced a remarkable journey as they were also able to realize the environment that CARSA works in, meet with actual beneficiaries, and hear their incredible stories of change from CARSA’s commitment, and the impact that was made in its various programs that CBL supports.

Among the families that were visited included Nkurayija Alphonse, 77-year-old, living with physical disabilities and a parent of 5 children, and a resident of Mugina Sector in Kamonyi District Southern of Rwanda. A new modern shelter was built for his family and received all home furniture, his children got full education sponsorship and Nkurayija himself helped get medical treatment. With CARSA and CBL ‘disability is not an inability and brokenness is no longer inherent’.

The team also visited, members of the Resilient Cell Group (RCG) in Mushishiro Sector, Batwa Community in Mugina, offered sports jerseys to Mugina Sector Football team that was at the final in Umurenge Kagame Cup tournament, once again they joined the Empower workshop in Kabacuzi, and meet some CARSA’s staff especially that in charge of Education Sponsorship.

CARSA and CBL partnership and synergy started a long time ago and centered on supporting trauma recovery and reconciliation, using the Empower program to combat the impacts of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.

The program brings together genocide survivors and perpetrators to help them start the journey of healing and restore their relationship so that they can begin to look at improving other areas of their lives.

As people begin to journey forward, we provide support in the areas of leadership development, education sponsorship, housing, and special projects such as medical treatment and food support, as vehicles of poverty alleviation and empowerment.

We are so thankful for what you’re doing, this will have an impact beyond what you can think or imagine in God’s Kingdom.