The Story of Ruhinga Village, by Elsie Hitimana

Greetings from Rwanda! Thank you for  your partnership to bring light, hope and education to the children of my home village in Ruhinga, Rwanda.

My story, along with my family who perished in the genocide, left me with an understanding of the word ‘darkness’, and then Great light. Both darkness and light can be on our way and it is up to us to choose one and live in it, work in it, invest in it and die in it. And for me I have chosen the light that comes from the giver of life, knowing that my life is a second chance.

‘I forgive you’ are words that have been a shortcut to my freedom. This forgiveness was given to me from no one else but the Creator of human kind, because He knew that it would create light in darkness. In my weakness and exhaustion I said ‘Lord I want to give you back right of judgment and make you the judge, for my people, they are yours and my life is yours. I clearly heard Him say ‘forgive them because they did not know what they did, but Me, I know, and they are Mine too, I know them all, and I love them.’

So I decide to forgive and wrote a letter to the authorities, that I’d forgiven my neighbours for the crimes they had done to my family and my people. I also asked them to give me the right to meet with these people and with their children once a month so that I could be involved in teaching them who God is and His plans of good for us.

I had been going back to my village every month, meeting with the people and visiting the land of my family. I began to grow crops and raise cows the way my family had and started to use the blessings of the land to bless those living there, providing them with gifts of cows and well paying jobs.

It had been on my heart for a long time to provide good education for the children in this village. To have education starting at an early age is an important key to ending the darkness of ignorance and intolerance. Education will provide a continuing light that will change what has previously been impossible because of lack of knowledge.

In April 2014  I took the opportunity to ask parents if they would want to start a preschool for the small kids (it’s a 2 hour walk to the nearest school) and they jumped at the idea. In about a week we had 150 kids between age 3 and 6 years old meeting together in the village church.

We plan to use the money you raise in your school’s dance-a-thon to build a full Elementary School in the village so that the no students will have to walk hours to and from school each day. Your donations we will help us to purchase supplies and pay local villagers good wages to build the school.

Thank you for helping me bring more light, great light on this village. I am sure it is God’s will and that He will make it happen at this time, in this place, with me and you.