Bpeace in Rwanda

Marla, Maureen, Jita and Kate spent the day interviewing 30 fast runners, all members of AFER. We were wowed by these women who also invited us to lunch. Jita made a special connection, sharing her own story of survivorship during the Holocaust in our morning introductions. It was a poignant moment. It was also an intense day for the interviewers who called on reserves of stamina. As the day progressed and stories were shared, the Bpeace team was moved by accounts of loss and hope as well as impressed by their ambition to carve out a new future. Sounds so trite to type and yet is a truth lived everyday here. Anne and Delilah jumped in later in the afternoon so we could get through the interviews while the sun still shone. Once again a number of fast runner candidates were identified.

Meanwhile Cari and Geoffrey visited the Rwanda Women's Network office and proceeded into the hills surrounding Kigali to see their crafts training center which provides training for women who are victims of gender violence, both from the genocide and after. The visit ended with Cari meeting the future recipients of the 40 knitting machines and all of them dancing together doing traditional Rwandan dance.