6/26/2019 0 Comments People Who Come TogetherRwanda is called the land of a thousand hills for a reason. Driving through the country I can almost see the hands of the creator descend from the sky and haphazardly pinch the earth up from the ground, over and over in a miraculous fury. Then, taking a step back from the madness, he runs his calm palm across the land, smoothing over every jagged edge into the perfectly rounded hills of Rwanda.
It was Wednesday, June 19th. Nick and I had only been in Rwanda for one day as we journeyed up, down, and around the country’s hills on the 2-hour carride to our first cooperative visit. Our boss, Father Innocent, drove the car with Nick as his copilot. I was glued to the window in the back seat next to Kiki, our translator and friend. It was around 10am when we pulled off the road onto the cooperative’s plot. The land is carved into the edge of the hill, and the edge drops into a shallow valley that juts up again along the edge of the neighboring hill. As we stepped out of the car, the cooperative members made their way over to us for introductions. Grasping onto each other’s forearms, we exchanged three alternating cheek kisses, repeating the custom with each of the members. They carried out two wooden benches, and we all sat facing each other. Once we had settled, the co-op’s leaders shared the story of their cooperative with us. It was founded in 2012 after the local mayor met Pastor John and introduced him to the community. PICO refers to the group as the Nyange cooperative because it is located in the Nyange sector. However, the cooperative’s official name is Abisunganye Gagaseke, which means “the people of Gagaseke who come together.” Before the cooperative was founded, many of the members were local farmers whose operations weren’t profitable. Then they met Pastor John. PICO’s framework encourages cooperative members to have 1-1 conversations about their community’s needs. The members list out their needs and then decide which need is the most pressing. When the Nyange cooperative was founded, 85% of the members didn’t have homes, so the group decided that building homes for those members would be their first priority. Three of the members were trained on how to make tiles and came back and taught the rest of the cooperative. Working together, they constructed a tile kiln and a workspace where they prep the clay before placing it into the kiln. The cooperative is currently comprised of 13 people. Along with building their kiln and workplace, they have constructed three homes, planted 1,500 trees in their area, and cleared a trail for carrying clay. They sell their tiles and bricks to local construction projects. They have also gained the confidence to approach and work with local leaders and microfinance institutions. And they’re not slowing down anytime soon. The land that the Nyange cooperative operates on was gifted to them by the local sector. Aside from the kiln and workplace, the rest of the land is undeveloped. Located right off of a fairly busy road, the members have a vision of transforming the area into a car stop. They want to build a parking lot, have benches where visitors can sit, and sell beverages and produce. However, before they can do any of this, they need running water and modern toilets. Nyange had tried constructing the toilets last year however there was a large mudslide during the rainy season that erased all of their progress. Now that the dry season has returned, they’re determined to get these toilets up and running. By the end of our visit that morning, they were already beaming about bringing out the sector’s engineer to give them advice. They decided that they’ll break ground on the toilets before our next visit the following week. Our skin was baking from the midday sun when we said our goodbyes and piled back into the car. As we began our journey back to Kigali, my mind returned to its transfixion with the hills. This time, however, I was seeing them in a different light. When reading testimonies from people who have undergone PICO’s training, they often describe themselves as timid and afraid before they met PICO. After receiving the training, they understand their own power and ability. They are confident, and they realize they are not alone. The Nyange members joined together and began constructing their toilets. But Rwanda is a country of hills, and those hills, at times, are unforgiving. With a single mudslide down the hill, all of their hard work had been wiped out. Yet, they did not give up on their project. They did not recoil into timidity or fear. Rather, they lived up to their name. They picked up the pieces and reunited in their determination and dedication to their project. They acted has a community of people coming together.
0 Comments
|
AuthorEmily Fagundes | Marketing Student & Global Social Benefit Fellow at Santa Clara University Archives
November 2019
Categories |