Diving Deeper into Quaker Peacebuilding Work

Over my first three months in Kigali, Rwanda, I widened my understanding of international peacebuilding efforts and explored my Quaker values more deeply within this African evangelical Friends context. I will continue digging deeper into both of these during my remaining months here.

Sometimes I find myself focusing on the tangible successes and progress I have made here which helps me feel more confident and is sometimes a helpful way to visualize my time here. Primarily, I work with Friends Peace House (FPH) to assist with their post-genocide programs. I teach English as part their Vocational Training School where students major in culinary arts, auto mechanics, sewing, construction or hairdressing while they also take classes in health, religion and English. I apply for grants for FPH’s many programs, a never-ending task for non-profits, and I am rewriting their 5 Year Strategy Plan. To expand their health program, I proposed and now seek funding to include a sports component. I am also excited to have secured a partnership with Society for Family Health Rwanda to provide family planning and HIV-prevention materials for FPH’s health class. 

Using my FPH and FCNL connections, I have made valuable contacts with other international and local NGOs including Catholic Relief Services, Search for Common Ground and a few local HIV/AIDs prevention organizations promoting inclusion of minority groups. I built a partnership between a coalition of these HIV/AIDs prevention organizations and the Society for Family Health Rwanda to provide the coalition with health materials for their HIV/AIDs prevention work. This work led me to creating a website for Amahoro, one of the organizations in the coalition. 

But there are other less tangible parts of this experience that I find just as, if not sometimes more valuable: playing cards with my host brother almost every night; going to a tailor to get some clothes made with my host sister and laughing with my host family at dinner as I teach them new English words. The connections I make with people are some of the most important parts of my experience here and some of the things that I will bring with me for the rest of my life. My coworkers have not only welcomed me into their lives, but also invited me to visit their family for the weekend in northwest Rwanda; my host brother went with me to Uganda to help me get a new visa and we were fortunate to stay on a beautiful lake; and people continue to amaze me with their hospitality and generosity around making me feel comfortable and welcome. I was able to hike up a volcano in the northwest part of the country and met some strangers along with way who invited me along to see the golden monkeys that call Volcanoes National Park home.

I came to Kigali to work for a single peacebuilding organization, but I realized that peacebuilding comes in many forms, both structured through NGOs and unstructured in everyday interactions. By reaching out, I find myself involved in a range of peacebuilding experiences from working for FPH to the small work I do daily. I edit a friend’s college essays because if she attends an American school, she will share much with students in the U.S., and her life prospects will improve immeasurably. I converse with my host sister about homosexuality and learn her views so in the future, maybe I can begin to gently change her misconceptions. I play cards with my little host brother in the evenings, speaking English with him, so that he can excel at school and in the future feel comfortable building more cross-cultural communication. I strongly believe in the daily work that each of us do, often without even thinking about it. These small acts of connection build peace and can move mountains.

I also came to Kigali to explore my own Quakerism more, working in community with other Quakers. Each Sunday, when in town, I attend Friends worship services at the church where my host dad is amongst the 5 Pastors. For three hours, I hear beautiful singing by the 3 Choirs interspersed with sermons in Kinyarwanda and praying. Sometimes a translator can explain the specific content to me, but often I just watch, listen, and absorb. Although I feel more comfortable with the unprogrammed worship of my past, the sharing of values and social action between these two branches of Quakerism is important. Some values and actions match very closely, such as beliefs and work toward non-violence. I struggle with some other positions that seem more mis-matched with the premise of “that of God in everyone” with which I grew up. Specifically, although peacebuilding efforts denounce discrimination based on ethnic identity, I often witness support for discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. As a visitor to Rwanda, I want to respect the culture, and I try to choose carefully when I speak the truth as I have come to know it. Often, I find that simply engaging as myself, or sharing a story, works better to build bridges than drawing attention to our different truths.

I am excited to continue learning from Quaker peacebuilders in Rwanda and making connections with people here. I am about halfway through my time here and am looking forward to what the next three months brings. 

At the base of Mount Bisoke, a volcano I hiked up in northwest Rwanda