Newsletter 5 Mukomeze Foundation December 2010

Newsletter (no. 5)
December 2010
This is the fifth newsletter of the Mukomeze Foundation. The Mukomeze Foundation aims to improve the standard of life of women and
girls who survived rape and other forms of sexual violence during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The newsletter will be published two to
three times a year.
Mukomeze charity at torch march Tilburg
“Fakkels voor Vrede” (Torches for Peace) is a torch march held
anually at December 24th in Tilburg. The march is being held in
order to make a statement for tolerance and peace, and against
discrimination and senseless violence. The march has grown
throughout the years to an event with 1,500 visitors anually.
With the proceeds of “Fakkels voor Vrede” a charity is supported.
This year the Mukomeze
Foundation is the charity
chosen by “Fakkels voor
Vrede”. Look for more
information on their website:
www.fakkelsvoorvrede.nl.
Vacancy general board member
The Mukomeze Foundation is looking for a general board
member with expertise/interest in PR and organising activities. In case of interest, please contact us: [email protected].
Christmas cards
You can now order Christmas cards at Mukomeze. The cards
are made by Rwandan women surivors of the genocide,
who support themselves by producing them. The cards
contain illustrations made of banana leaves. One set of
5 cards costs €10. Send an e-mail to [email protected]
This urban woman sells products made by rural women because of the ‘link-project’.
Honorable mention for chair Mukomeze
Anne-Marie de Brouwer,
chair of the Mukomeze
Foundation, has received an
honorable mention for her
work for Mukomeze during
the presentation of the
“Bredase Vredesprijs 2010”
(Breda Peace Prize) at the
Royal Military Academy in Breda at 23 September 2010, organized
by COS. Picture: board and volunteer Mukomeze Foundation.
About Mukomeze...
Mukomeze is a word from the language spoken in Rwanda
(Eastern Africa). It means “empower her”. During the 100 days
of genocide in Rwanda, approximately 250,000 to 500,000
girls and women (especially Tutsi) were brutally raped and/or
suffered from other forms of sexual violence. The survivors are
still living with the repercussions. Traumatised and stigmatised
in their environment, and often experiencing weakened health,
they lead an existence without much hope. About 70% of the
survivors are infected with HIV. It is, however, not too late to
bring hope in the lives of these courageous women and girls.
This is why the Mukomeze Foundation was created. This foundation
aims to have a positive impact on the lives of the women by
providing them with physical, psychological, material and spiritual
support, and in this way contributing to their empowerment. This
work is conducted in collaboration with the partner organization
in Rwanda called Solace Ministries (www.solacem.org).
By donating €1 a day, so €30 a month, you can help a
woman to make her dreams come true. Would you like to
help, but feel the amount is too high? You can always split
this amount with one or more other sponsors. For more
information look on our website: www.mukomeze.nl/eng
1
Newsletter (no. 5)
“De mannen die mij hebben vermoord”
The Dutch translation of the book “The
Men Who Killed Me” – “De mannen die
mij hebben vermoord” – will be published
in February 2011 by Wolf Legal Publishers
(www.wolfpublishers.com). The book will be
presented at 6 February 2011 at “Nationaal
Monument Kamp Vught”. More information
can be found on our website in due time.
The book can be ordered by sending
an e-mail to
[email protected].
NMKV: photo exhibition
A photo exhbition will be held at “Nationaal Monument Kamp
Vught” (NMKV) from 6 February until 27 March 2010. The
exhibited photos are images of genocide survivors whose
testimonials are included in the book “The Men Who Killed
Me”. In this exhibition there is attention for: the lead up to the
genocide, the responsibility for the genocide and the aftermath.
Furthermore, a movie will be shown about the genocide in
Rwanda. NMKV was one of the three concentration camps
in the Netherlands during World War II. For more information
you can look on their website: www.nmkampvught.nl. You
are more than welcome to visit the book presentation and
the photo exhibition at “Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught”!
December 2010
World Food Day
Saturday 16 October was World Food Day, which has been
established by the United Nations in 1981. With this day attention
is asked for the hunger problems in the world. In the month
surrounding World Food Day students of various catering training
studies focus their attention on the fact that a large part of the
world population has little to eat. As an ending to the project they
made world food for their guests. In cooperation with the COS the
Mukomeze Foundation gave presentations at “De Rooi Pannen”
in Breda and Eindhoven, and “horeca-opleiding de Leijgraaf” in
Oss. The proceeds of this world
food will go to a “peanut project”
of the Mukomeze Foundation. We
are really happy with the proceeds
and thank the schools and their
students for their contribution.
Thanks to the proceeds the
“peanut project” can continue and will lead to nutrituous
food for women in Rwanda and it will furthermore generate
revenues because of the cultivation and selling of peanuts.
Activities 2010 - 2011
• 24 December 2010: “Fakkels voor Vrede” in Tilburg. For more
information read the corresponding item elsewhere in the
newsletter.
• 13 January 2011: Lecture about Rwanda and the work of the
Mukomeze Foundation at student association S.S.R.-N.U. in
Utrecht.
• 6 February until 27 March 2011: Photo exhibition “The Men
Who Killed Me” at Nationaal Munument Kamp Vught. The
book presentation (6 February) of the Dutch translation of the
book will be connected to this exhibition. For more information
read the corresponding item elsewhere in the newsletter.
The fruit trees-project with Mama Lambert, counsellor at Solace
Ministries, who shows fruit here.
Contactdetails Mukomeze Foundation (secretariat)
Jachtslotstraat 13 • 5042 WJ • Tilburg
[email protected] • www.mukomeze.nl/eng
Bank account number: 1435.58.927
IBAN/SEPA code: NL95 RABO 0143558927/SWIFT code: RABONL2U
• April 2011: Commemoration of the Genocide in Rwanda, which
started 7 April 1994. More information about events will follow.
Invite us...
We are happy to give a presentation about the work we do to
support Rwandan survivors of sexual violence. Send us an email at [email protected] in case you want to know more!
2
Newsletter (no. 5)
December 2010
Report of visit Mukomeze in Rwanda
In August Mukomeze went to Rwanda. We talked to the
women who are being sponsored via the Mukomeze
Foundation. It was nice to see them and to hear how they
are doing. A number of women indicated that they and
their children are doing better because of the sponsorships.
For instance, they have enough food and the children can
go to school. Furthermore, they try to provide for their
income in various ways. For example by setting up a shop
or by selling food or coals on the market. Some women
started an education. The sponsorships mean a lot to
these women. A vast number of them indicated that they
think it’s unbelieveable that others, whom they haven’t
even
met,
care so much
for them. The
sponsorships
give
these
w o m e n
courage, love
and strength
for the future.
We also talked
to the women and man of the book “The Men Who Killed Me”.
The report on how they are doing can be read on our website
www.menwhokilledme.com or www.mukomeze.nl/eng
(see ‘News’) where you can also see a couple of pictures
of the women and man.
families. These families can provide partly for their
income by selling the fruits. The 19 sewing and knitting
machines, provided by the Derde Wereld Werkplaats,
have been distributed over five groups of women in
Rwanda. It was great to see the impact of this new source
of income; not only for the women, but also for the
many others who are being educated as seamstresses.
Another project was the demonstration farm in Runda,
near Kigali, supported by Rabobank HilvarenbeekOisterwijk and Duncan Management BV. Here goats,
chicken and rabbits are bred and divided within the
community. The resulting aim is that women breed these
animals and sell them. The last project we visited was
the so-called “link-project”, a project financed by the
Flair Fund and Cordaid, that consists of rural women
cultivating products which will be sold by urban women.
In this way both parties have a good and reliable market.
The impact of the individual sponsoring and the projects on
the women is big. Spending time together, supporting each
other, receiving counselling and being busy, are conditions
that make it possible for the women to believe in theirselves
and the world again. In short, to gain hope for the future.
We also visited the projects that are being sponsored by
the Mukomeze Foundation.
For example, we met the five
Kerstkaarten
women who study at university, thanks to a scholarship
from Stichting Westeinde. They as well as their studies
are doing well. Another project that we visited is the fruit
trees-project, sponsored by E.ON. Approximately 10,000
fruit trees have been harvested and spreaded over 500
Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected].
If you no longer wish to receive the newsletter send an e-mail to [email protected].
3