He revealed this yesterday as he joined Christians of Saddleback Church led by American evangelist Pastor Rick Warren for the 25th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi held in California.
Pastor Rick Warren is one among close friends of Rwanda for over 15 years.
During the event, President Kagame held a panel discussion with Pastor Rick Warren on the theme ‘Recovering From Traumatic Experiences.’
Pastor Rick expressed solidarity with Rwanda to commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi saying what happened should be always reflected on. He explained that Rwanda rebuilt from a traumatic experience and asked President Kagame the secret to the journey walked through.
Replying him, President Kagame said: “ We had a tragic situation where over one million people died. Every individual has their own struggles and problems to deal with. The starting point is to create an environment to make sure individuals don’t feel alone.”
“We created conditions to make survivors feel that they lost a lot but not all is lost. There are others who want to be with them, feel their pain with them. It was a starting point,” he added.
To overcome a long term plan for the genocide that left Rwandans divided; President Kagame said that Rwanda promoted common ambitions among people.
“If you look at our history, the country was divided, ideology and politics played out so that a section of our population was made to believe the other is not only different but they should hate each other. We found a way of saying we are a family with different individuals but at the same time we have a lot in common and a lot of common aspirations,” he explained.
When asked on strategies to lead a traumatized country, President Kagame highlighted: “We are aware that you can’t dictate feelings. The best you can do is to create the environment where somebody can start seeing things happening. When the country is investing trying to do certain things for education, health, shelter and bringing in the very people who have been traumatized it is also showing they are not helpless. It is not a hopeless situation.”
“We tried to communicate to the victims that they still can pick themselves up with the family they have tried to build in the country and create a better future than the life they lived in the past. The truth is stubborn and you must be very stubborn to cope with the situation so we keep trying and we keep questioning and finding answers,” he added.
Following the launch of “The Purpose Driven Life” book written by Pastor Warren; Rwanda requested Saddleback Church to send its members to Rwanda as a country driven by a purpose. It led to the establishment of “Peace Plan” in Rwanda with the aim of sowing peace among Rwandans.
With Worldwide presence; Peace plan is the brainchild of Rick Warren. It brings together Christian churches to promote reconciliation, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick and educate the next generation in order to build a positive life, church, and nation.
Saddleback Church has so far sent over 26000 Christians in 197 countries including over 2800 that passed through Rwanda.
They held different activities including training medical practitioners, working closely with farmers, judges, and pastors among others.
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