Ontario Group rallies for Rwanda

from the Simcoe Reformer

By Barbara Simpson

Young Rwandan adults are mastering carpentry, tailoring and farming -- the very skills needed to build lives for themselves -- thanks to the Port Ryerse community.

A six-member committee in the community fundraised $58,000 to help build a vocational school in the remote village of Vunga in 2007. Now they're back to fundraising again to help upgrade the school with new equipment, in addition to offsetting the cost of tuition for 30 needy students and salaries for 11 staff members.

The 3R Road Rally for Rwanda featuring vintage vehicles and wine tasting was held in Port Ryerse on Sunday afternoon. Drivers took off with their hot rods around the community to search for clues in an Amazing Race style adventure. Their travels led them to the answers -- as well as playing cards for a later poker game -- spread out along the route. When drivers returned, they were treated to hors d'oeuvres and local wine from Florence Estates Winery. There was also a small silent auction of donated prizes valued at $2,200.

But the purpose behind the lavish event wasn't lost between the fancy cars and the bubbly. A slideshow of photographs from the yet-to-be-named committee's Rwandan travels played in the small Port Ryerse church.

"That's one of my favourite pictures," said committee member JoAnne Easton, pointing to a snapshot of young children huddled together.

It was Easton's 2006 trip to Rwanda with the Sharing of Ministries Aboard organization that spurred the interest in helping build a vocational school. The mass genocide has left 100,000 men in jail since 1995, leaving their families in a "double whammy" situation -- having to look after both themselves and their imprisoned relatives, explained Easton's husband Bob.

"It's the family's responsibility to look after extended family in jail," said Bob, chair of the committee.

That's why vocational schools are desperately needed in struggling Rwanda, to educate the abandoned women and children who desperately need jobs to fill their families' bellies.

There are now 87 students enrolled in the school with a whopping 60 per cent of them women. Farming teachers even take the time to visit their students' home farms where they offer them advice.

"What hit me is that they increased their yield 10 per cent," Easton said.

The next step is ensuring that the school can flourish with better equipment, say, advanced tools for the carpentry and tailoring classes, while also simply maintaining its operational budget. The cost of new equipment is running about $50,000 with an additional $40,000 required for simply keeping the school up and running, said Rev. Tony Bouwmeester, a committee member.

They were hoping to raise about $5,000 at Sunday's road rally towards their expenses.

But what still strikes Easton to this day is the spirit of the Rwandan people. She had the chance to visit several churches run by dedicated leaders during her first visit. She was amazed at how the locals rose to their feet to sing and dance during their church services. This despite living in poverty with their loved ones either jailed or dead.

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