Rwandan Lutheran Pastor Updates Status of Mumeya Hospital

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Rebuilding a nation divided by civil war
and genocide has been a 14-year struggle for the people of
Rwanda. The Rev. John Rutsindintwarane, general secretary,
Lutheran Church of Rwanda (LCR), outlined progress of a planned
hospital in the rural community of Mumeya, Rwanda, and the
training that locals are undergoing to obtain the skills to run
meetings, plan finances and hold governmental leaders
accountable.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the
Rwandan Civil War began in October 1990, when the exiled Rwandan
Patriotic Front attempted to overthrow the government. Peace
accords were signed in August 1993, but a genocide of the Tutsi
people of Rwanda by the Hutu-led government ensued from April to
July 1994. About 800,000 people were killed, and nearly 2
million refugees were relocated to neighboring countries, BBC
said.
Rutsindintwarane worked with Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
following the genocide, assisting refugees in the resettlement
process. LWF set up two shelters in Rwanda -- Bukora and Ndego
-- for people waiting to return home. "I was a volunteer
interested in integrating peace-building and community
development with the Word of God," Rutsindintwarane said. The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and LCR are members
of LWF.
Rutsindintwarane has served as a pastor within the LCR since
its formation in 1995. He graduated from Wartburg Seminary,
Dubuque, Iowa, in 2005 and is based in Kigali, Rwanda. Wartburg
is one of eight seminaries of the ELCA.
After completing his degree, Rutsindintwarane felt called
back to Rwanda. "I saw my Christians going back, returning
home," he said. "Imagine a shepherd leaving his sheep alone.
I had to go and tend the sheep that God had given me."
Upon his return, Rutsindintwarane used his experience as a
community organizer with People Improving Communities through
Organization (PICO), Oakland, Calif., to train locals in Mumeya
in finances and accountability. PICO is a national network of
faith-based community organizations working to create solutions
to problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities.
"Accountability is something that we need to build inside
ourselves," he said. "Our approach is to let people know that
you are not held accountable for what you didn't say. You'll be
held accountable for what you've said and promised.
The hospital in Mumeya is at the foundation stage, and
Rutsindintwarane said it will take about $100,000 to complete the
project. The construction was jump-started when a meeting with
the Rwandan minister of health secured approximately $20,000 in
funding for the project. "It depends on financial influx, but if
we would be able to get financial support (the hospital) would be
finished within two years," he said.
"We made mistakes -- genocide," Rutsindintwarane said.
"Even though I didn't do it, I'm part of the polluted culture
that did it, so I'm responsible. I need to educate people that
we are interconnected, whether we are Lutheran, Catholic,
Anglican, Hutu, Tutsi -- we are all one person, and we need to be
accountable to one another."
-- -- --
Information about Rwanda is at
http://archive.ELCA.org/countrypackets/rwanda/desc.html on the
Web.
An audio report of this story is at
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/080619.mp3 on the ELCA Web site.

*Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College,
Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA News
Service.

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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
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