by Mutima Peter, president and founder
Continued..
...While I was walking the streets of Kigali, I passed near a hospital and saw a woman lying down crying. I asked Sebastian, now our CAV Africa executive director, what was happening. He also did not know. I asked him if I could ask her, and he said sure. We approached her and her friend. They said she had no money to pay for her medication and treatment, or even bus fare to go and die at home. I asked how much this was going to cost, and they said around ten dollars. I gave it to them. At that time, I had a plan in my mind to work only with the church. That day my heart was changed.
Since I was born in DR Congo and grew up in Africa, I had always lived in the place where a sense of community and village family fellowship was always celebrated. I grew up where people from different tribes living in the same villages and towns were like a family. But here each one cared for his or her own business, and the government was just beginning to function in many offices ruined by wars and pillage.
After this, I thought about the woman who was crying on the street. Then I said, “ Suppose she was my mother, my aunt, cousin with nothing? How would I feel to know that she had no access to healthcare, food or able to feed and send her children to school?” That is when I came back and mobilized people in Maine to join me and formed an organization called Central Africa Vision 2000, Inc.
The first meeting was held on September 13, 1997, one day after mother Theresa died. It was attended by Dr. Art Gay, Dr. Stephen Paulding, Dr.Timwah Luk, Rosmary Colston, Rev. Jim King, Dr. Doug Sholl, Dr. Karen Westerman; Rev. Steve Coleman, Barbara Appleby, Esq and Julie Criscitiello. The second meeting was in September to elect official officers and board members: Chair, Dr. Art Gay; vice-chair/Secretary; Barbara Appleby, Esq; Treasurer: Stephen Paulding, MD; board members: Rosemary Colston, Steve Coleman, Doug Sholl and Mutima Peter. Claude Rwaganje also participated in the meeting, but did not join the board until four years later. He served as a member of the volunteers.
CAV 2000 at this time began with volunteers such as Kathy Larsen, Jules Fertig, Elaine Liberio who worked as the main heart of our organizing of CAV activities.
I was burdened for the people of Central Africa who had suffered and lost so much in the genocide in Rwanda and neighboring areas. With the encouragement of some pastors in Portland who served as mentors to me, we established Central Africa Vision (CAV) as a missionary organization, to help relieve the suffering and bring reconciliation between the people of different tribes through the Biblical message of reconciliation in Christ.
CAV has been conducting reconciliation seminars with pastors and leaders in Central Africa since 1997 in the three countries of Rwanda, Burundi, and DR Congo. We have taken a team from the US each summer to work in these meetings. The effectiveness of this ministry is evident in the changed attitudes of these African leaders as they begin to forgive and embrace their fellow believers from rival tribes. So much progress has been made that now some of the local leaders are the teachers at these conferences. Many of the speakers from the past three summers were national African men and women.
Another ministry started by CAV in Central Africa which has proved very successful is the micro-credit loans provided through community banks. These are established with a group of widows to loan them a small amount of capital to begin a business that will help them feed their children and then educate them. (There is no free schooling in these countries) At present CAV serves 2,100 women, and these women feed over 10,000 children. CAV has been successful in bringing local churches of various denominations and communities of different ethnic groups to work together to help these needy women in Central Africa. This is an example of the reconciliation process which CAV has promoted in these countries.
Central Africa Vision started as a result of the genocide of Tutsis and massacre of moderate Hutus. Boys from 6 years old to adult were supposed to die, and mainly from the Tutsi tribe and moderate Hutus The country of Rwanda and Neigboring Burundi and DR Congo saw their world turned into a hell.
School of Peace and Reconciliation
June, 1997-2006
CAV sponsored 10-12 conferences since 1997-2007
Ø 600 pastors and Lay leaders in Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo yearly
Ø 600 women in Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo yearly since 1999 to present
Ø 200 to 1000 youth participated in our Conferences. Why Youth? They are the ones taught how to use AK. 47’s since 2002.
Ø Audiences ranged from 100 leaders to a community reconciliation of 22,000 attending.
Ø From the involvement of the church leaders, community leaders and government participation, CAV’s reputation grew in the Great Lakes Region from regular people to heads of states.
We have focused on leaders because it is the only special way to reach out to many churches. Leaders came from over 50 different denominations and they take the message of reconciliation to more than 50 different churches and communities, where they live and where they work.
A CAV survey in 2005 found that our leaders or delegates attending our conferences come from churches of 200 and above. This translates to reaching over 200 churches and 200 communities in one conference.
There will never be a successful development without a successful peace and reconciliation. There will always be refugees and internally displaced unless there is a sustainable peace and reconciliation.
I. WHAT IS RECONCILIATION?
Definition
Reconciliation is a process which consists to unite and restore relations between two persons or groups who have been separated by conflict .
What is a conflict?
It is the real opposition between two persons or groups who are related, with the perception that the resources they share are not sufficient to fulfill their purpose . Reconciliation is an answer to rooted conflicts .
Reconciliation viruses
Sometimes we misunderstand what reconciliation is and give the following meaning to Reconciliation :
That impunity or amnesty equals reconciliation
Reconciliation by force or acts of legislation
Reconciliation used to escape the consequence of the problem/conflict
Reconciliation is dependent on the third party, an outside “ conciliator”
Reconciliation happens when we become “ better moral “ people .
Path of reconciliation
The international Alert organization suggests that there are at least four essential building blocks to any effort to engage in reconciliation and
reconstruction in the aftermath of violent conflict .
Reconstruction
Political and Economic
Transformation
Restitution
Acknowledgement
This vehicle includes conflict-parties and others (including “bystanders”) each taking responsibility for their contribution to what happened, and acknowledgement of the losses suffered .
Restitution.
A process where wrongs are corrected , including a fair trial of those guilty but in the spirit of honesty and forgiveness rather than revenge, and compensation for victims .
An undertaking to repair the damage caused by warfare but also making political and economic changes, which address the issues from which the destructive conflict arose .
Regarding this path, political and economic transformation is the third step in the process of reconciliation . We can not say that there is reconciliation until new structures are established .
The leadership under which conflict took place must be transformed and changed to make sure that the problems which destroyed the country will not repeat and that the agreement will be respected .
II. THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP IN RECONCILIATION
In every community where the process of reconciliation is the matter to deal with, leadership plays an important role . When there is poor leadership , there can not be success to the process of reconciliation . Even if there are agreements, poor leadership is not able to make it achieved.
Good leadership, as preoccupied by the interest of the whole community , is required to lead the process of reconciliation . When there is good leadership, conflict rarely destroys the community and even if it happens that conflict comes as far as conflict is normal and natural , the community profits from it .
Central Africa vision began reconciliation on June 23, 1997 in Rwanda to bring together Tutsis and Hutus after the 1994 genocide. It was the first test of someone like me, Mutima, who is a USA Citizen originally from Banyamulenge Tutsi tribe of Eastern Democratic republic of the Congo. I understood the pain my Tutsis underwent and of the sympathizer Hutus who stood with their friends and relative moderate Hutus. It did not take too long before CAV crossed over to DR Congo in particular in Bukavu where I was born and grew in a military base of Bagira, and the following year went in to Burundi.
Why in those three countries of great lakes region of Central Africa?
I believed and still believe that “there will never be a successful development without a successful sustainable peace and reconciliation”. There was no way I could have stayed in one country without approaching the other two. These countries are like a triangle, what affects one country will automatically affect the others. For some reasons, after the divisions of the land of Africa, many brothers were separated from their relatives. DR Congo is surrounded by 9 countries and each one of the people at the border has either a cousin, an aunt, stepmother or a relative over on the other side. The issue of Tutsis known as Banyamulenge ( Nilotic descendent) were the first target because they look different from other Congolese of Bantu origin.
The Congolese of bantu descent welcomed Hutus who fled after the genocide as brothers and sisters. They forgot that they were only there temporarily as refugees. They turned against Banyamulenge Tutsis who in turn sought support from Rwandan government. There is a proverb in Kinyamulenge that says: If you need to broker a durable peace among brothers and sisters, you need to look up, to forget your relationship with both sides to solve the crisis. DR Congo has the obligation to work hard on reconciliation from the grassroots.
Rwanda and Burundi have similar tribes and almost similar culture, but each one of these twin countries have differences. They have tried their best to unite their country through reconciliation. It became hard because when you do reconciliation, you cannot at the same time pursue justice and impunity.
Central Africa Vision focused on 4 important groups:
a) Church and it’s leadership involvement in conflict and reconciliation
b) Women as the key in reconciliation
c) Youth as the foundation of the future success of any country
d) Government and community participation
Two big goals for CAV RECONCILIATION agenda:
a) Healing of souls (Spirituality)
b) Healing of wounds (Community)
DR Congo’s National Reconciliation cannot be done as a response of an emergency but a program should be created to help leaders as well as regular and ordinary people in the community. In the case of DR Congo, reconciliation should be done as a Baptist, in total emersion. Everybody should be considered as a candidate for reconciliation. As the Bible says, everybody has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo, because of the persistent wars and uncontrolled killing, it is done through a ruling power. Whoever is in power today is always correct but he becomes wrong tomorrow.
The failure our countries have are to not acknowledge and appreciate someone who is opposed to my thoughts or ways. Because it has been started by someone who disagreed with me, does not mean that it is always wrong. A program in DR Congo should be run in the following way:
a program that brings people to be part of its foundation, a program that reflects the reality on the ground.
The International Community can play two roles to make it succeed:
1. The implementation
2. Peace and security of people who are involved to help
What to Omit in order to succeed in the real reconciliation
1. Emotions
2. Vengeance and retribution
3. Key players being the government body in the country without involving the local people
What to strive for to succeed in reconciliation
1. To be more independent of influence of special groups
2. Grassroots movement to be involved to avoid the criticism of the TRC in South Africa. It was done by high-level ranking people without the involvement of regular people.
3. Reconciliation is a healing of a nation and a uniting force.
4. Successful reconciliation includes a modern government, economic stability, development, and a government of no fear.
Community Banking/Microfinance
CAV started with 300 widows five years ago and now has 2,100 widows in our program in Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo.
This year we want to reach out to 1,100 widows then support 5,400 children.
Funds are raised through banquets or special mails.
Relief:
We have supported thousands of refugees from DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. Since 1998 CAV fed 22,000 Congolese Tutsis in a refugee camp. CAV fed Tutsi Congolese survivors of the 2004 Gatumba massacre.
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