MADRE Programs in Rwanda

MADRE and BENIMPUHWE

MADRE's partner organization in Rwanda, BENIMPUHWE is an association of women working to rebuild their lives and their country in the wake of the 1994 genocide in which nearly one million Rwandans were killed. MADRE has worked with BENIMPUHWE to construct a new water system to provide water to over 1600 people in Rilima, a rural village where BENIMPUHWE has built 180 houses, for mostly women-headed families made homeless by the massacres of 1994.

In Winter 2005, MADRE's Executive Director and Program Director traveled to Rwanda to meet with the women of BENIMPUHWE and offer trainings on human rights and HIV/AIDS for young people in Rilima. For many of the 25 participants, the training was their first introduction to human rights concepts and international human rights instruments. The training was part of MADRE's Trainings for Change program, an ongoing effort to make international law relevant and accountable to the people it is meant to serve. Through Trainings for Change, MADRE works with BENIMPUHWE to equip women to defend their rights in the community and demand government accountability for basic services, such as health care.

MADRE also supports projects that promote income generation and self-sufficiency for the women of Rilima, including a program to distribute goats and hens to families in the communities. The animals' milk and eggs provide a source of both food and income, making it possible for families to pay their children's school fees.