By Fiona Hodgson, Chairman CWO
In July 2007 a team of Shadow Ministers, MPs and volunteers visited Project Umubano in Rwanda.
They spent two weeks on activities ranging from rebuilding a school to teaching cricket to young people.
The CWO Chairman, Fiona Hodgson, was part of the visit and this is an extract of her diary. Her complete
diary can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Excerpt - Monday 23rd July - AVEGA & Women for Women in Kigali
View/Download Fiona's Diary
AVEGA in Kigali operates very similarly to the AVEGA project I had visited in the East. I met Assumpta
Umurungi, who is the Secretaire Executive, and who explained to me about the title of the organisation – AVEGA-AGAHOZO. Avega is the
Association des Veuves de Geocide (Genocide Widows Association) and agahozo means consolation. She told me that the organisation was set up by 50 widows in 1995.
AVEGA in Kigali gives healthcare to 1,500 women and especially those with HIV whom they also help with a nutritional service. AVEGA
also helps set up income generating projects for the widows – projects such as knitting and they have bought a stand in the market
for them to sell their products from. AVEGA not only has counsellors but they train many of the women in basic counselling skills
so that they can help each other. They also have a programme with the Department of Justice to help the widows with legal matters,
mostly to do with inheritance and also to help the widows when they encounter problems in the gacaca courts.
AVEGA aims to eventually have a centre in each province in Rwanda They are funded by donors such as CAFOD, SURF and DFID. They have
built about 100 houses in Kigali to help with the homeless but they are still concerned about the numbers of women with nowhere to live.
I then went on to meet Berra Kabarungi at Women for Women. It turned out that Women for Women is situated right next door to the
SURF offices. (Getting around Kigali can be difficult as there are no addresses and you have to explain where you want to go!)
Berra had been held up at a previous meeting so I had a chance to have a look at all the work going on while I waited. The building
is set in a lovely garden and to one side under a sun shelter were about 20 women making baskets.
I took some photographs of them – like the children I encountered, they are all fascinated by digital cameras and seeing images of
themselves. On the veranda to the other side of the building was a table around which sat about 12 women making beaded items.
It turned out that Berra had come from a meeting with Senator Aloisea Inyumba, whom I had met the previous week. I had particularly
wanted to visit Women for Women as their founder and CEO, Zainab Salbi is going to come and speak at our Conference this November.
They work particularly helping women in post conflict situations.
Berra told me that many women in Rwanda are often not aware of their rights. It is always women who are most affected by conflict
situations and grassroots leadership is necessary to help them. When I told Berra that Zainab was coming to speak at our Conference
in a session on "Women as Peacemakers" – her immediate response was that women are the best peacemakers and that being mothers they
have natural skills of kindness and caring. She said that in Rwanda people have realised this and that is why most of the men support
women having achieved political empowerment. She said that if you can empower women they will change the world.
My Trip - Project Umubano, Rwanda by Fiona Hodgson
Fiona's diary of her trip to Project Umubano in Rwanda, is an honest and sometimes shocking account of what she saw and felt during her stay.
Even after the atrocities that many women suffered in Rwanda, it describes not only their hope, but what they are doing to secure a better future and what we can learn from their courage.
View/Download the entire document (1Mb)
Date for your Diary: Zainab Salbi of Women for Women and Mary Blewitt of SURF will be speaking at the CWO Conference 2007 in London.