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Resettling in Rwanda – Back to
Life
by Major Daryl Crowden
In
north-eastern Rwanda The Salvation Army is working with people
who have been made to leave their lives and homes in Tanzania
and start from scratch on a barren hill. International
Emergency Services team leader Major Daryl Crowden, who
previously wrote about the difficulties faced by these
returnees, reports on the transformation taking place in the
lives of people living in a village supported by The Salvation
Army.
CHANGE is taking place in the village of Gituro. Three
weeks ago when we arrived there were 70 small mud-and-stick
shelters. People were wandering aimlessly; a few were tending
haphazard gardens of sweet potato; most were desperate to go
home. These Rwandan returnees knew that their Tanzanian homes
were gone, for good, and that there was no going back – but
they were not prepared to settle and make Gituro their home.
No one wanted to accept that this depressing camp on the top
of a desolate hill in north-eastern Rwanda was home.
That was then. Today as I walk around the village in the heat
of the day there is activity: and it's not all activity
initiated by us, the members of the Salvation Army team. I
counted five new traditional, round, mud-walled, grass-thatch
huts. Two are decorated in traditional patterns of ochre
colours. A couple of families have entered a trade agreement
with a local 'builder' to construct houses (mud and thatch)
and kitchens.
The threadbare orange-and-silver tarpaulins received on
arrival are disappearing as families search out cane and grass
to thatch their shelters. Soil is being prepared and sown with
new crops of maize, cassava and sweet potato (sweet potato is
good because it bears fruit in three months). Ground is being
cleared and swept clean. Traditional mud stoves are being
constructed, replacing the circle of rocks that was used as a
temporary cooking area. As a result, less wood is needed
because the new stoves are much more efficient.
Children are making toys out of our building off-cuts and the
sounds of laughter and crying pervade the camp. When they're
not following me around trying to get the courage to shake
hands withmzungu[white person] they are helping pit diggers
empty buckets of dirt or taking turns to pump water.
So, why the new optimism? Sitting in the shade of the
community shelter – an eight by five metre wood-and-tin
structure built by The Salvation Army in partnership with the
locals – I shared my thoughts and asked what they thought had
changed.
'We have realised this is home,' I was told. 'There is no
going back … we must settle and establish ourselves. We have
realised this, and accepted it, because you have installed a
permanent pump and we have water here … you are digging and
building permanent latrines … you have made this shelter for
us. We have heard many promises, but you have given.'
Just four weeks into the water and sanitation project, we are
thrilled with the progress. Today – Tuesday 17 April – the
little community on the hill received guests. The Salvation
Army's regional leaders for Rwanda, Majors Stephen and Grace
Chepkurui, the Nyagatare District Mayor and other Government
officials joined us to officially open and dedicate the water
pump and community shelter. During his opening speech the
mayor pronounced Gituro to be a 'Salvation Army village'. He
has ordered the allocation of land to the Army for future
community development.
Until today the women and children walked seven kilometres to
collect stagnant, brown, contaminated water. This afternoon
the guests were taken, behind the Rwandan national and
Salvation Army flags, 600 metres to a source that is
delivering clear, clean, safe water. After the guests planted
some trees around the village we celebrated with the villagers
over a soda and a biscuit in the shade of their new shelter.
It was exciting to hear them report to the mayor that there
are no families in the village collecting water from the
livestock dam now. 'Why would we go two hours to share with
the cows,' said one, 'when we have water so close?'
In parallel with this water project, The Salvation Army is
funding the digging and building of 70 pit latrines, one for
each family. To date there are 39 pits underway, with 20 of
them completed to the depth of 10 metres. Bricks are being
made on site by the returnees with the help of some local
experts and, if the project continues at the current rate,
within the next six weeks the villagers of Gituro will have
new and adequate sanitation.
In a region that has lost at least 19 people to water-borne
diseases in the past six months, these projects are literally
life-saving and community-transforming. Through these simple
and relatively inexpensive projects the people of Gituro have
increased potential to rise above their circumstances. Rather
than just existing they can begin to redesign a living for
themselves.
If transformation of lives and alleviation of poverty are two
of The Salvation Army's mission intentions then we have done a
good thing so far in Gituro.
As I leave this beautiful country and her generous people I do
so having learned more about myself and the potential of
humanity to both destroy and rebuild. I have been reminded
about the power of hope. I thank God and The Salvation Army
for letting me be their hands for this time and this people.
Funding is still being sought to help provide for the
long-term needs of community members in Gituro and other
locations.
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