{"id":40372,"date":"2019-11-18T14:18:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T14:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/sixteen-years-of-gaerg-s-contribution-to\/"},"modified":"2019-11-18T14:13:03","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T14:13:03","slug":"sixteen-years-of-gaerg-s-contribution-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/sixteen-years-of-gaerg-s-contribution-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen years of GAERG\u2019s contribution to restoring life of genocide survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mission of the NGO is getting together to preserve the memory of the genocide against Tutsi and restore families to overcome post-genocide consequences in order to have a world free of Genocide.<\/p>\n

Members of the organization are grouped into families, with a father, a mother, and children as a mechanism of covering the gap of parents by enabling orphans to raise their peers.<\/p>\n

They started as wanderers on the outskirts of the Rwandan society, traumatized and depressed by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed their families.<\/p>\n

Most of them orphaned by the Genocide, they had sustained
\nphysical and mental cuts.<\/p>\n

Today, the same survivors have become responsible parents and citizens despite the sorrow that they have had no chance of a parent or an elder to tell them what is wrong or right.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our pioneers were starting GAERG in 2003, they knew it was our responsibility to repair social and economic fabrics that had been destroyed by the Genocide\u201d Egide Gatari the president at GAERG said.<\/p>\n

Gatari said that the organisation rose to the vision of the country that genocide survivors can play a more effective role in the sustainable development the government had set.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut how do we do that? By preserving the memory of the genocide, enhancing the concept of family because genocide had deprived us of the family which is the most important social fabric of society\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that when those were addressed, survivors were set for undergoing the economic transformation as the rest of the Rwandans.<\/p>\n

{{Starting out with new families}}<\/p>\n

The idea of families that had started with student survivor (AERG) in 1996 was important even for those who had started a new life after graduating from universities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think without these families, we would become impossible people, failures in managing our lives and a burden to Rwandan society,\u201d said Alphonse Nkuranga who later became the Executive Secretary of the body in 2007.<\/p>\n

In 2003 graduates started an organization that would be made of parents and relatives as it was in AERG and called it GAERG.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could not live without families. The government was academic wise supporting us but somewhere somehow we needed a social mechanism to meet our concerns,\u201d Nkuranga said.<\/p>\n

Nkuranga explained that as a family of university graduates, they embarked on sharing information about where to apply for a job.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision was to be intact all the time. But back then we had no capacity to always report to the office for a meeting or sharing opportunities, and the only communication tool was yahoo group mail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Nkuranga, the family that started as an artificial thing has now gained natural bonds as felt amongst family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel something wrong when people say our families are artificial because I found sincerity family members whether in marriage ceremonies or in sorrow moments of losing someone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fighting genocide ideology and denial<\/p>\n

The executive secretary at the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) Dr. Damascene Bizimana told this paper that GAERG has been very instrumental in backing the commission\u2019s mission of fighting Genocide.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo us as CNLG, having survivor young men and women who are working hard on their lives, is a great achievement of fighting Genocide because they are standing as a manifestation of survival,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bizimana added that GEARG championed commemoration of completely wiped out families which would have no people to commemorate them since all their family members were killed.<\/p>\n

A family is completely wiped out when the parents and all their children were all killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the initiative of the young survivors at GAERG who start commemorating the families that were completely wiped out. As CNLG we give them support in their noble cause and we applaud them for it\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to figures from GAERG, since 2009, they have identified 15,593 families whose 68,871 family members were completely wiped out during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n

Fidele Nsengiyaremye, the body\u2019s executive secretary, said that the documentation of wiped out family was initiated to defeat genocide denial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe collection and preservation of this history is a sign of defeating denial,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Of the 15593 families that were wiped out, nearly 30 percent of them were enumerated in Karongi District Western Province and Nyamagabe in Southern Province.<\/p>\n

GAERG is writing a comprehensive book and making a documentary film about the families that were completely wiped out during the genocide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the book and the documentary film to be out by April 2020 during Kwibuka26,\u201d he said, adding that they are also \u201cdeveloping a database that will include the location of the wiped out families\u201d<\/p>\n

In Early October 2019, the Senate published a report on genocide denial and genocide, revealing that genocide the two evils had sharply declined within the country but rising abroad.<\/p>\n

The figures showed that in 2006 there was much genocide denial in the county but were minimal in the new finding of this year.<\/p>\n

During the publication of the report, the Executive Secretary at GAERG Fidele Nsengiyaremye proposed that genocide prevention should be a cross-cutting concern for all government and non-government organisations.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bizimana says that the young men and women at GAERG are very active in publishing pieces of literature that reveal facts about genocide and fighting denial.<\/p>\n

\u201cGAERG has been publishing several facts about the Genocide and that is important in minimizing denial,\u201d he said in an interview with this magazine.<\/p>\n

{{Mental health}}<\/p>\n

According to figures from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), nearly 12 percent of Rwandans have mental depression.<\/p>\n

The figures sharply rise to nearly 35 percent among genocide survivors.<\/p>\n

In an effort to meet the challenge, GAERG opened a mental health centre in January 2019 called Aheza Healing and Career Centre located at Ntarama in Bugesera District.<\/p>\n

While opening the healing centre, health Minister Diane Gashumba said the ministry looked forward to working with Aheza Healing and Carrier Center to curb mental health challenges across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need the centre to boost our programmes in mental health to be more effective across the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

{{Economic transformation}}<\/p>\n

Since 2017, GAERG in collaboration with survivors\u2019 fund (SURF) has benefited 25 members include three factory firms that were given bigger amount through the G- Innovation Development Fund (GIDF) and 22 with entrepreneurial start-ups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe three who were given bigger funds depending on the size of their businesses and they pay 10 percent interests\u201d according to Pascal Ndayambaje in charge of Business Development at GAERG.<\/p>\n

Ndayambaje said that \u201cthose who were given the support through GIDF include a bread factory, flour making factory and an online services company\u201d<\/p>\n

The innovation fund to the 22 is given to small entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGAERG stands in as the collateral security for the small entrepreneurs who are starting from nothing and stay with them to enable them to raise the 10 percent interest of the principal loan\u201d Ndayambaje explained.
\nAccording to Ndayambaje, some have finished servicing the loans of which three want more loans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe three who want more loans will get it along with more five who applied for the support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Regis Mugiraneza is a manager at Carl Group which owns a bread factory that makes bread from sweet potatoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLate last year, I received Rwf7.5 million for the company\u2019s factory. I had them machine operators but I needed installation, packaging, authorisation from a standards body and many more\u201d<\/p>\n

Since they started operations, they supply the sweet potato bread to more than 20 supermarkets in Kigali as they\u2019re extending their factory to increase production and variety.<\/p>\n

Samuel Mfitumukiza was a freelancer mechanic who used to move with his toolbox around Kigali to find a vehicle to fix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I presented my business proposal to GAERG, I received a loan such that I can have a spare parts shop,\u201d Mfitumukiza said.<\/p>\n

Situated at Muhima in Kigali, Mfitumukiza is aiming at widening his business to become a garage.<\/p>\n

GAERG has registered the Generation Innovation <\/p>\n

Development Fund (GIDF) at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and is seeking a certificate from the Capital market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people to save as well as supporting each other through the fund\u201d<\/p>\n

{{Partners have joined patterns}}<\/p>\n

From Government institutions through non-profit organisations to the private sector, survivors have been paid attention to, according to Egide Gatali the body\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank the government from the bottom of our hearts from President Paul Kagame to the lowest levels of leadership for their support of and making survivors\u2019 concerns a priority\u201d<\/p>\n

We thank the Ministry of Justice and its affiliated institutions including CNLG who support us in seeking justice for genocide survivors<\/p>\n

We also thank local government ministry and its affiliations such as FARG which has provided academic supported to genocide survivors, improving both social and economic affairs of survivors<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Health and Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) has been very instrumental in survivors\u2019 health and particularly mental health. A lot of surveys have been conducted and support to meet depression challenges.<\/p>\n

Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) is the custodians of the non-profit organisation have been supporting us to achieve our goals.<\/p>\n

We highly appreciated the Rwanda Development Board for its various support to our organization.
\nWhen we thought of a mental health centre, Bugesera District came out to support us. <\/p>\n

We thank the district where the Aheza Healing and Career Centre is located. We as well thank our incredible sponsor Energy Utility Corporation Limited (EUCL) who supported the building of the above said Center. <\/p>\n

{{Non-Profit Organisations}}<\/p>\n

We cannot find the right words to express our thanks to Imbuto Foundation, Aegis Trus, European Grass root Anti-racism Movement, the Survivors\u2019 Fund (SURF), student survivors\u2019 association (AERG), women survivors association (AVEGA) and many more.<\/p>\n

{{Private Sector}}<\/p>\n

We thank Bank of Kigali (BK), COGEBANK, transport agencies and several individuals for their financial support.<\/p>\n

{{Challenges}}<\/p>\n

According to Nsengiyaremye the executive secretary at GAERG, genocide survivors are still regarded just like the rest of Rwandans in various aspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people in the communities where survivors live disregard several facts about survivors including the fact that they are demoralised with family issues\u201d<\/p>\n

Nsengiyaramye said that challenges such as unemployment are seen in general to the public, forgetting that it can be very detrimental to a genocide survivor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSociety thinks of unemployment as a challenge in general but, imagine, a genocide survivor without a job, they have no parents or relatives to go to and no home to sleep and wait for opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that \u201cwe\u2019re facing a big challenge in financial capacity because there\u2019s a lot to do than there is the capacity to do\u201d<\/p>\n

Another challenge Nsengiyaremye stressed is genocide denial, the last step in genocide execution.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenocide denial does not only add assault to injuries sustained by survivors but also confuses people who would be willing to support survivors\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSupporters start doubting if the people they\u2019re supporting are really the survivors who deserve the support\u201d Nsengiyaremye explained.<\/p>\n

But despite the challenges, GAERG and other survivors\u2019 organisations under Ibuka have stood the test of time for the last 16 years and are optimistic about the future of survivors.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur core values are integrity, excellence, innovation in a challenging world, and collaboration. These are values that have made us who we are and will become who we want to be\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
\"The<\/figure>\n
\"Most<\/figure>\n
\"Despite<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Groupe des Anciens Etudiants et El\u00e8ves Rescap\u00e9s du Genocide (GAERG) is a non-government, non-profit organization of genocide survivors who graduated from universities, operating under Genocide survivors\u2019 umbrella IBUKA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-40372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40372"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=40372"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=40372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}