Thursday

We were off to visit the parishes of Kinyinya and Bumbogo, both in the Gasabo diocese and both part of the SAP programme. Fidel’s car had been repaired by the garage (quick work) so he was able to help us again with transport.

You can see plenty of photos of our visits on Instagram - @damascustrust - but the main church building of Kinyinya parish is waiting for planning permission to be rebuilt. It is an old building and needs the regulatory upgrades, but rather than doing up the old building, it would be better to start again and build something more appropriate. The problem is that the government has plans for the redevelopment of the whole area and is not willing to give planning permission until all other building work has been confirmed. Despite this the church continues to grow. We heard about home groups that have recently been set up which are becoming an excellent means of evangelism. Home groups are something that the new Archbishop is encouraging.

Bumbogo parish has changed a lot since we were last there in 2017. Six classrooms have been built, four water tanks are installed and a new toilet block is on site. The church building is still the same and needs some attention so again, the parish is considering a rebuilding programme. It seems that the new building regulations, imposed by the government, are giving parishes the opportunity to consider rebuilds rather than upgrades. It’s not clear how viable or economic this option is.

Before we returned to our SU guest house we visited Love In Action, a group set up two years ago to help families with disabled children. Women are taught to make bags, baskets and clothes which are then sold both in Rwanda and overseas. The programme also includes physiotherapy for the children and a nutritional meal. It was great to see the work being done and to meet the women and children who are being helped.

Tomorrow we are visiting more parishes as well as our partners at PHARP (Peace-building Healing And Reconciliation Programme) who also make bags, baskets, clothes and cards. 

Thanks for reading and goodnight.