Inspired Individuals

Rev. Philbert Kalisa is an ordained minister of the Anglican Church. He was born in 1966 to Rwandan parents who were exiled in a refugee camp in Burundi due to the killings and other serious human rights violations against Tutsis which started in 1959. After accepting Christ as his personal Saviour in 1982, he pursued theological education in Burundi and became an ordained minister of the Anglican Church of Burundi in 1989. While he was pursuing his BA degree in theology at Trinity College Bristol in 1995, Philbert finally got a chance to visit his home country of Rwanda, which was then still in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. On his first visit to Rwanda in 1995, Philbert was shocked at the devastation of his country and learnt about the great suffering of the Rwandan people who were confronting enormous difficulties as they were trying to rebuild their lives. He also observed signs of deep trauma, hopelessness, fears and hatred among the people whom he met during his visit. This unforgettable home visit experience inspired him to seek ways through which the process of healing and reconciliation could be advanced among the citizens of his native land. He then conducted research for his dissertation on 'The Ministry of Reconciliation in Rwanda after the 1994 Genocide' through which he explored the role of the Church in bringing about healing, reconciliation and unity among Rwandans.

Rwanda has long suffered from violent conflict, most recently in 1994 when in just 100 days over 1-million Rwandans were killed by their friends and neighbours in an unforgettable genocide. The scale of the event is staggering: · The killing claimed the lives of over 10% of the population · It left 80 000 perpetrators in jail (90% of whom claimed to be Christians) · It is estimated that 500 000 women were raped during those 100 days · Approximately 1-million children have been orphaned The traumatic impact of this on the country cannot be overstated. How does one heal a nation? And reconcile a people? How does one build peace where for so long there has been hatred and war? And what is the role of the church and of faith?

In response to this, Philbert established, REACH in Rwanda to enhance local capacity for healing, reconciliation and peace-building in communities deeply affected by violent conflict. They do this by: · Training for Healing, Reconciliation and peace-Building · Counselling Service for Suffers of Trauma and / or HIV / AIDS · Consolidating the Fruits of Healing and Reconciliation through Unity Groups · Support to the Community-Centred process of Reintegrating Released Prisoners · Peace Education for Children Furthermore, Philbert is establishing the School for Peace-Building and Conflict Transformation to develop a human resource base of peace-builders with the knowledge, skills and qualifications required for facilitating effective action and movement towards peace and reconciliation at different levels of society in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region of Africa.If these strategies work in Rwanda (and they do seem to be) then they would probably also work in Burundi and the DRC and Sudan, and Uganda, and Liberia, and Zimbabwe … the list is long, the need is overwhelming and yet so few are innovating solutions.