Written by CorpsAfrica/Rwanda Volunteer Mr. Justin NKUNZIMANA

Christopher Reeve once said that a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.

It has been a year since I started my service in the rural community areas of Rutsiro District of Rwanda. I don’t know how I can express my appreciation and feelings about how I enjoy the inclusion of my community, but all I can say is that CorpsAfricas’ approaches have no boundaries and each and every one, even marginalized communities and persons, are always welcome.  

It all started at the time when I joined the community in December 2019, when I started working with my community doing door-to-door visits. On one visit and to my surprise, it was to meet one of the beneficiaries Murenzi (not his real name), a crippled man unable to move on his two legs but struggling to be part of us. He was taking a kin interest in listening to what we were teaching.
Since then he has been a good member and at the end of August, I decided to give him a surprise visit as I have always done, but this time to have more time with him. I stayed with him almost half a day.

The person am talking about is a 52-year old man with a family of seven children and a wife, of course the only bread earner of the family. Murenzi has a physical disability and crippled in one leg. During this visit, Murenzi opened up and told me how helpless and hopeless he was. He said that his life was a total mess because he lived and survived on begging along the roadside, sometimes waiting to be fed by his wife. He could not manage to pay the general health insurance or even pay the little contribution towards school fees for his children and had no hope for the future and his family too.

He went further to tell me that during one of my visits sometime last year in December 2019 when I visited him and started talking to him about our approaches, he felt like kicking me but realized he had only one leg and neither could not run inside the house. All he did was to listen to me but in despair, but towards the end of the conversation, his heart had started changing a bit and when he slept he thought about it and the next day that’s when he decided to come and join us with the rest of the beneficiaries or community members.

Though he had a feeling that may be these people give out money but they were not direct to me and it was out of such that he came too and when he inquired from others he realized it was about teaching and enlightening them on how they can make changes in their lives with the little they have, using the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach.

During our teachings he heard us saying that people with disabilities are human beings like others and given a chance they can work and live a better life, so he was inspired as we did not exclude him. As a volunteer, I kept close to him and from there he became an active member and started making saving contributions like others, something that excited him very much.

In the middle of this year, Murenzi decided to borrow from the saving coffers (the community had saved 30,000 RWF, or $30). He also had the money he had from selling of vegetables (10,000 RWF, or $10) from the kitchen garden made by CorpsAfrica, to start a small income-generating project. This is the time he launched his poultry project. He started with ten (10) chickens but now they have multiplied to thirty (30).

Murenzi now is one of the beneficiaries in his community who sells eggs, chicken and manure to his community members and is now able to meet most of the basic needs of his family, something that was very difficult to do before CorpsAfrica. It was not even in his dreams that one day he would own his own business.

At the moment he has plans to expand his business to be bigger and start supplying eggs and chickens out of his community to the nearest town of Rutsiro, but at the moment, since his production is still low, he only supplies shops in his community.
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Finally, he said that through the approaches of CorpsAfrica, he managed to beat the inner fear he always had about life and especially knowing that he is disabled and uneducated. The most important thing that gave him strength and courage was to work in groups or teams that don’t discriminate and that consider his views/ideas during the community meetings. He said his life has now changed for the best and the future looks brighter than 50 years a go!

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Chifundo Chibaka

My end of service quote comes from the movie John Wick Chapter 3: "I have served, I will be of service."

Looking back and reflecting on what I have done and achieved in 42 weeks together with the people in my community, I always get shivers of excitement every time. In almost all circumstances, against all odds, the people in my community have managed to stay focused and keep their eyes on the prize despite overwhelming and numerous challenges that we kept bumping into throughout and kept us on our toes.

I remember arriving at my site late in the evening and contemplating all night long if I was physically, mentally and emotionally ready to go ahead with my service. I recall telling my father that I was sure CorpsAfrica/Malawi got the wrong guy to carry out this noble duty. Days, weeks and months passed and every day I grew more confident that my service was going to be a success. I developed friendships with people of all ages, professions and genders and all these people had high hopes in me and encouraged me throughout. The community members showered numerous support and stepped up for me in ways I couldn't have guessed in a million years. This coupled with the cheerleading from fellow Volunteers and CorpsAfrica staff members made me grow confident and believed more in what I was doing.

After settling, I developed a working relationship with the local youth club and in the first months we worked on two small income-generating activities, community sensitization on education and child labour. I was privileged to work with them on a Mastercard Foundation funded Covid-19 response project and a bee-keeping and honey processing factory with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and World Connect. Under this project, the youths will be producing, packing and selling over 2000 kilograms of honey annually.

With the popularity of cooking oil, demand for production of sunflower crops coupled with low prices of sunflower seeds, we have managed to also set up a sunflower oil extraction and refinery factory for a local farmer club. Thanks to the financial support from CorpsAfrica and partners, this club will be producing and selling over 1500 liters of cooking oil in the community. The coming of this factory will also intensify production of sunflower crop.

Looking back to when I first arrived and now when my service is almost done, I can't help but notice a community full of opportunities making strides to develop and become resilient.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Dorothy Mapira

I was a year and some months old when the people of my CorpsAfrica community started working on a health clinic project. I was living in a different area far from theirs. Neither my parents nor I would think or know what these people had embarked upon. It was their dream to see their place develop and have a structure raised to help women and children in the community. 

The people struggled as they walked long distances to access health services for their children under five years old. They later started conducting the services under a tree. It wasn't a conducive environment for them. During rainy seasons they had no place to conduct clinic business. In 1992 they raised a structure to be used as an under-five clinic, their hopes for a better community had started. But soon, all their hopes shattered when the roof was blown off and there was no one to help fix it. They have been seeking for help ever since, but no help was to be found.

Politicians gave them false hopes, organizations came and went, some individuals did the same. They were tired of crying for help, years passed and they got used to the problem though inside them was a heart buried with pain. They've seen other nearby communities have what they long for but could not have. They thought they were doomed.

Twenty-eight years later, I arrived in their village as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer. Having introduced myself and the work I would be doing in their community, they rejoiced knowing that their outcry might finally be heard. Through the many meetings we've been having they decided that their first project would be the under-five clinic. I empathized with them after hearing the struggles they faced, the rivers they cross, the distances they walk, the miscarriages, the deaths of children that have happened during my stay. We sat down as a community and tried to look for help, I facilitated the work and we did all we could.

Rescue came their way; the funds were raised through CorpsAfrica, and we embarked on implementing a health clinic project. The hope returned; faces were filled with smiles again. They worked so hard and tirelessly to contribute to the project. Within a short time, the clinic building was raised.

As I write, I am sitting in the corner one of one of the rooms appreciating the work being done. It will soon be functional; the dreams and cries of 28 years have been answered. Many thanks to all of the CorpsAfrica donors for addressing my community's needs.