From the Ashes

Map of Rwanda

     As I (Craig) stood outside the Kigali National Genocide museum in Rwanda in early September, I was reflecting on the tragedy that happened there just a little over 20 years ago (from April to July of 1994).  That was a terrible three months where nearly one million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were slaughtered at the direction and planning of their own government. Near me were the remains of 250,000 people killed during that horrible time-- buried in a mass grave at the museum.  However, juxtaposed with this horror of years ago is the radical transformation of a country that is spiritually and economically growing into a successful country in Africa.

National Genocide Museum

     I traveled to Rwanda for meetings with potential partners, including the Rwanda Bible Society and other national church denominations, to discuss issues of literacy and scripture use. We were very encouraged by what God is doing in that country. One of the most interesting meetings we had in Kigali, Rwanda  was with the Pentecostal Church of Rwanda. There are 2 million Pentecostals in Rwanda alone and the national church has been recognized twice in last two years with the UNESCO literacy award for excellence.

     Kigali is one of the cleanest cities I have ever visited in Africa. It has also dramatically reduced corruption and has created a culture of accountability from the top down. Each year Rwanda has National Accountability Day.  The leaders go before the people to report on how they have down on their accountability agreements with the people. This has live twitter and Facebook feeds where citizens can ask tough questions regarding the leaders' accountability. Also, the Church is continuing to grow and Rwanda has become a leading country in Africa for foreign investment.

View of Kigali, Rwanda

     One of my real enjoyments of the trip was visiting with one of the young faith leaders in Rwanda. Daniel was a fellow student and graduated with his Masters in International Development from Eastern. Daniel just recently accepted a new position at Opportunity International where he will be helping them to measure the spiritual transformation from micro finance projects that are faith based in Africa.

   

Craig and Daniel

Please be in prayer for possible partnerships in Rwanda and for the country’s continuing transformation from the ashes of tragedy. 

Ambiguity, Complexity and Urgency

    

     As many of you know, I just finished my three week residency as part of my Masters in International Development. I now have five classes to complete in order to earn my degree in May 2015. Perhaps one of the most sobering and humbling experiences I have encountered so far was a simulation of an international humanitarian disaster in my International Disasters and Humanitarian Crisis class. This class is taught be one of the leading Christian Disaster Relief practitioners and it was an honor to learn from him.

    This simulation involved a complex humanitarian disaster in a fictitious country and our team of three people had a day and a half to plan our fictitious organization's response. In our case, a neighboring country had financed three rebels groups to fight a proxy war in our country. As a result of the fighting and unrest in the north, the amount of internally displaced persons swelled dramatically. In a short period of time, our team needed to deal with the ambiguity, complexity and urgency of the situation or thousands of people would die. We needed to come up with a planning matrix that included a detailed budget, HR plan, advocacy and communication plan and safety plan. More importantly we needed our Lord in a time like this.

     We decided that based on our resources and program size, to work in a IDP camp of over 200,000 men, women and children and handle the food portion of the response in the camp. During the simulation we learned that four areas need to be covered at the basic level: food, shelter, health and water, hygiene and sanitation. Just our response for a three month period on the food portion of the camp was budgeted at nearly 8 million dollars to feed the 200,000 people!

     We learned several things in this simulation. First, cross-cultural humanitarian disasters are ambiguous and do not provide a great deal of clarity and information. Nothing can be more frustrating than not having adequate information to make a decision that will impact millions of lives. Second, these disasters are very complex, and people and organizations need to have advanced skills and giftings when people’s lives hang in the balance. I am personally grateful for how God has used Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision and other Christian organizations to respond, in the name of Jesus, to these horrific situations. Third, the urgency of the situation is overwhelming and we need the Lord to be our guide as we reach out to bring relief to those who are impacted by disaster.

      I learned that we can be God’s answer to disaster, but we must come equipped and spiritually mature to handle the ambiguity, complexity and urgency these tragedies bring.

     So what do natural disasters and humanitarian crisis have to do with Wycliffe and reaching people with God's word? A lot. Most of these communities are vulnerable and a disaster may bring many of them to the brink of destruction. It is important as we bring God's word, that communities learn elements of resiliency that will allow them to survive a crisis and understand they have the human assets and a big God that will allow them to continue on even after disaster strikes!