2006 Project
Project Independence
Kigali, Rwanda

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Project Summary

    Project Independence is a project in Rwanda being developed by two non-government organizations, AMAHORO (meaning "Peace") in Rwanda, and CHABHA (Children Affected by HIV/Aids) in Vermont, to help orphaned youth in Rwanda train for and maintain working opportunities. These youth have been orphaned by the massive genocide in 1994, when one million Rwandans died and thousands were infected with HIV/AIDS due to sexual assault. About 20% of all the children were left with no parents or adult guardians. This program will help 1,650 youth find apprenticeships or internships in a variety of different occupations. These students will then go back into their communities and be able to support a family and obtain more responsibility for their lives and their siblings. To ensure training for others in the following years, these kids are contracted to return 1% of their first year's salaries to CHABHA.

Link to CHABHA Organization




Rwandan History and Genocide
   
Rwanda is a small state located right in the heart of Africa and has always been shared between the Tutsis and Hutus. The Hutus have always been the majority of the population, but the Tutsis have traditionally been in power. In 1890, Rwanda became a German colony. After the end of World War I, it was given to the Belgians as part of the their spoils from Germany. Then, in 1962, Rwanda became an independent state, but not before the Belgians put the Tutsis in power. This caused much trouble between the Tutsis and Hutus, since the Hutus were a majority of the population. The Hutus then drove the Tutsis out of power, killing 20,000 and driving 200,000 out into neighboring countries. In 1990, the Tutsis rebelled against the Hutus and started a civil war. This ended in August of 1993 when the Hutus and Tutsis signed a peace treaty. The genocide started  after the civil war when the Hutus started gathering people against the Tutsis by broadcasting propaganda over the radio and in the newspapers.  The Hutus campaigned  that the Tutsis were “subhuman” and were calling for violence. The Hutus organized militia groups that gathered weapons and provided training. This was all funded and supported by some of the government members who wanted to get rid of the Tutsis in Rwanda.  There were about 30,000 Hutus organized by the time the killings of Tutsis started, and they were spread out all over Rwanda. Most of the rebels were armed with machetes and grenades; some even had AK-47 assault rifles.  The rioting and killing really started after April 6th, 1994 when the Hutu President Habyarimana and the Hutu president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, were both killed when their plane was shot down before it landed in Kigali. This caused much rioting and killing of Tutsis in Kigali, which later spread throughout the whole country.  The genocide lasted for about 100 days and about one million were left dead. Most of the dead were Tutsis and the moderate Hutus who opposed the militia. 
(http://news.bbc.co.uk, http://en.wikipedia.org)



Where Is Kigali, Rwanda?


<http://www.acordinternational.org/acord/var/images/programmes/rwanda/rwanda_map.jpg>

 Religions of Rwanda

Rwanda’s dominant religion is Catholic, which was brought to Rwanda by the Germans and Belgians. Two-thirds of Rwandans today are Catholic.  The other religions include: Protestant, Adventist, Muslim and various indigenous beliefs. The safest religious group to be around during the genocide was actually the Muslims. The Muslim Hutus refused to take part in the genocide and kept some of the Muslim Tutsis safe from the massacre. Because of what the Muslims did to help, many Rwandans became Muslims, increasing their numbers from about 1% of the country’s population to 15% in the ten years following the genocide. The Catholic Church was often blamed for much of the killing because the Hutus would side with or kill the priests, and  ambush the Tutsis by setting them up in the Catholic churches. Many people blame Christianity and religion for much of the destruction, but the Genocide was based on ethnic background and, as a Rwandan women said, “This destruction was not the work of God, but the work of man.”  Another Rwandan women added,  “After the genocide, I really felt against God. I did not want to hear about God anymore. But coming to these retreats allows me to feel again the love of God, to see that what happened to me was not the work of God, but the work of man.” Because of all the blame towards Christianity in the genocide, it is losing supporters in Rwanda.
(www.Muslimwakeup.com 2004, www.mask.org)



Fast Facts

* The 3 major ethnic groups that make up the Rwandan population are the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa.
(Hutu 85%, Tutsi 14%, Twa 1%).

* About 90% of Rwandans live in rural areas.

* The most common foods eaten in Rwanda are beans, corn, millet, sorghum, sweet potatoes, cassava, and avocados. Milk and cattle meat are their more highly valued foods.

*School systems are based on the French and Belgium systems. (Students are taught French.)

* It is okay for children to go without clothing until they are about 8-11 years old.

*Both Hutu and Tutsi groups strive to have large families.
    -Women are subordinate to their husbands.
    -Men beat their wives as a form of punishment.

* The woman are expected to maintain the household, and men tend to the livestock.

* Houses and clothes are more westernized, but still hold some traditional features. For example, many Rwandans have elaborate paintings on their houses.

* Rwandans have kept their strong, rich musical and oral literature in their culture.

*80,000 Hutus are in Rwandan jails based on war crimes committed in the genocide of 1994.

* Nearly 1 million Rwandans died in the genocide in 1994.

* Mancala and soccer are the most played games in Rwanda.

(World Book Encyclopedia, Britanica, 1995)


<http://education.crs.org/wyd/rwanda/img/rwanda-flag.JPG>


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