Day 9 -Gisenyi’s Challenges and a Special Rwandan Ceremony
Written by: Jenn O’Neill
Today we wrapped up our time in Gisenyi learning more about the churches and challenges of this region and the academic system. Later, we were treated to a traditional Rwandan dowry ceremony.
This morning, we met with pastors Aaron and Philimon, the director of the Harvest Christian Church’s high school, social worker and members of Compassion International who have an office on church property. They said the number one challenge in this region is the volcano activity.
The second challenge is the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The business trade at the border is critical for the women in the cooperative. Hundreds of people from Rwanda and the Congo cross the border every day to buy and sell products. The women in the cooperative can charge higher prices in the Congo because the Congolese are more wealthy. Because there is rebel group activity in the Congo against the government, sometimes the border closes and when that happens the women lose valuable business. Their daily wages are critical to put food on the table. Pastor Philemon said the women would rather risk their lives to cross the border to Congo than stay home and have their families die of famine. Pastor Aaron said it is critical for both countries to work together.
We also learned more about the changes in the academic system in Rwanda and the government’s move to require children to attend preschool before being allowed to enter primary school. However, it is expensive to attend preschool and many parents cannot afford it. At the same time, the Rwandan economy cannot support public preschool. So, with many options for high school creating smaller private high school enrollment, Harvest Christian Church is looking to phase out their technical high school to instead focus on growing their preschool. They also want to open a primary school in the future.
n this region, Harvest Christian Church has 13 local churches. Seven of them are only accessible on foot and all have similar challenges. As we grow our partnership, Africa Women’s Hope Initiatives looks forward to meeting more of them in the next trip. We have a lot of work to do before then and we will be looking for more partners back home to join our mission.
Before we made the long trip back to Kigali, we got to experience a traditional Rwandan dowry ceremony. This is essentially the Rwandan’s special engagement ceremony where families present gifts to unite them. At one time the gift was a cow or a goat but it has changed over time.
We were invited by Bishop Theo as the bride is his niece. We also enjoyed seeing the Bishop’s daughter, Sandrine (she has been traveling with us) all dressed up as part of the bridal party. Our team was honored to be guests and to experience this beautiful tradition!
