Members of the Rwanda Wood Value Chain Association (RWVCA) paid tribute to Umuraza Pelagie (Dadeya), one of the over 5,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi laid to rest at the Ntarama genocide memorial.
Umuraza was killed on April 15, 1994, while escaping with her husband from genocide militia at the start of the genocide in the area. Her husband decided she should be buried at Ntarama as he could not offer her body a decent burial at the time.
Though he had plans to later relocate her body and offer it a decent burial, Umuraza’s husband decided at the end of the genocide, that was stopped by the then Rwanda Patriotic Army Inkotanyi soldiers, the body remains at the spot as a reminder of what happened at Ntarama.
Today, her grave is one of the many horrifying stories and features that RWVCA members were able to see at Ntarama Genocide Memorial but also take a stance to never let genocide happen again.
“This is evidence that millions were killed during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi. These are names of people who were alive like us. This should be a reminder to never let it happen again,” Hadji Abdul Karemera, the Chairman of RWVCA, told members on April 17, while paying their respects to victims laid at the Ntarama genocide memorial site.
Guided by Antoine Kagabo, the group toured the memorial where many Tutsi in the area had sought refuge at the former Ntarama Catholic Church which instead turned into a place of horror where infants were killed by smashing their heads on church walls and women killed by penetrating sharp objects in their bodies among many other brutal ways.
RWVCA members, who come from across the country, paid their respects, laid wreaths on the graves of the victims laid at the Ntarama genocide memorial, and comforted genocide survivors as part of the ongoing 31st genocide commemoration in Rwanda (Kwibuka31).
One of the Ntarama genocide survivors, Jean de Dieu Tuyishime, couldn’t relive the past moments of the genocide but says that he is lucky to have survived and thankful to the RPA Inkotanyi for stopping the genocide and saving many in the area.
“We are grateful to be alive and when we see others coming to commemorate genocide with us, we are comforted and realize that there is hope,” Tuyishime said.
In order to create more hope and rebuild the lives of Ntarama genocide survivors, RWVCA members donated four milk cows to the survivors’ community in Ntarama sector, Bugesera district.
The donation, aimed at contributing to the government’s agenda of building the economic resilience of survivors, will benefit the beneficiaries to become more sustainable in their lives while participating in environmental protection programs aimed at increasing the number of trees planted in the community.
“The cows will be sources of milk for their families, animal fertilizers to be used in their farms to grow food, and for agro-forestry activities to improve water retention in this semi-arid landscape, prevent soil erosion, and enhance air quality while capturing carbon credits,” said Hadji Karemera who led the group in handing over the cows.
Besides the cow’s donation, Karemera also noted that RWVCA intends to increase forest cover in the area by planting more trees so as to protect the environment.
“We are asking the government to provide land where we can plant these trees. This will, for instance, improve the environment in Bugesera district which is prone to droughts as a result of many trees being destroyed during the genocide and used for wrong reasons including killing Tutsi,”
Economically, Karemera noted that the beneficiaries will also be able to earn money from carbon credits but also have fruit trees which will be a source of income and livelihood thus contributing to President Paul Kagame’s vision of rebuilding a resilient country.
Didace Mparirwa, the representative of Rwanda Private Sector Federation (PSF) Secretariat, and Ntarama sector officials said that the contribution of RWVCA will contribute to the one cow per family (Girinka) program to improve livelihoods and promote community development.
“This is one of our goals as the private sector to become the pillar of economic development and our other members intend to continue doing similar activities across the country because we are working collectively to support each other without fail,” Mparirwa said.
The IBUKA representative in Ntarama Sector also thanked RWVCA members for showing their love and support to genocide survivors saying that such support will contribute to their resilience and sustainability which may take long but come to pass in their long journey of rebuilding their lives 31 years after the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
