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Meet the Communities

The Genocide in 1994 devastated Rwanda and traumatized the population. World Dance for Humanity is bringing help…and hope…to 28 Rwandan communities struggling to survive and create a sustainable livelihood for themselves.

These communities are organized as government-sanctioned cooperatives. Each co-op was formed by people with something in common who decided to pool their labor in an effort to stay alive. As you will see below, the profiles of these groups are quite varied. There are groups of widows, orphans, former sex-workers, unwed mothers, AIDS victims, poor farmers, and members of the previously warring ethnic groups (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa) – all of whom now depend on each other to survive – with the help of World Dance for Humanity.

We provide donations of LIVESTOCK (goats and cows) for basic survival, TRAINING in agriculture, business, and leadership, EDUCATION STIPENDS for students who would otherwise never have the chance to attend school, and support for SMALL BUSINESSES managed collectively by each co-op. The key to these ventures is that the ideas and planning come from the co-op members themselves. Justin Bisengimana, our Rwanda Program Director, works with the leadership of the communities all year long to develop and implement their plans. The business plans are being carefully vetted by the finance people on the WD4H Board. We are working with each community to monitor income and expenses.

A note on Never Again Fellowship: Never Again Fellowship is a group of eleven cooperatives (identified by an * in the list below) focused on reconciliation and forgiveness among the formerly warring Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, and on integration of the Twa (Pygmy) people, a historically marginalized minority within Rwandan society. In 2008, 12 people made the courageous move to overcome the trauma they still bore and decided to stay alive by pooling their efforts to create a sustainable collective economy. Goats for Life and World Dance for Humanity have donated many goats and cows, giving families the means to survive. There are now 5,000+ people in Never Again, divided into 12 Cooperatives. Each is working hard to create a sustainable livelihood through agriculture and livestock and has planned for a business venture to sustain the community.

Please contact Janet Reineck if you would like to know more about the communities or contribute to the work we are doing in partnerships with these communities.

Click on an image to learn more about each community:

 

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