Building Friendships and Communities in Rwanda

Rwanda is called the land of a thousand hills. Mountainous, with a high elevation, it rains quite a lot, making for a lush landscape. There are over 60 varieties of banana trees. Mango and avocado trees grow here as well. In Rubavu, the town where Rosa Marino, BSN ‘08, lives for half of the year, fresh fruit and vegetables are abundant in the market. 

“Rwanda is more temperate than you’d expect for an African country,” Marino said. “All the hillsides are terraced-farmed. You see green everywhere. That surprises people.”

Marino first came to Rwanda in 2011. A frequent traveler, it was a place she’d wanted to visit for a long time. “For people who travel a lot,” Marino explained, “you can feel a pull to a certain place. I’ve always felt a pull toward Africa. As soon as I stepped foot in Rwanda, I immediately knew I’d come back.” 

The following year Marino did return as a volunteer for Rwanda Sustainable Families, a microloan organization, where she met Rudasingwa Felix. Felix introduced her to Solome. Solome’s house had washed away with a landslide. The government had given her new land, but no money with which to build. She and her husband were HIV positive. He’d lost an eye in the Rwanda Genocide of 1994. She had four daughters, but two of them had to move away because the family couldn’t support them. At that time, they were living in a corrugated metal structure with a ragged tarp for a roof.

Marino said, “When Felix and I left, Felix turned to me and said, ‘You should come back next year and build them a house.’” I thought that was crazy. How could I do that? But then I started to think about it. 

When Marino went back home to Vermont, she raised a little over $4,000. When she returned to Rwanda the following year, she, Felix, and Solome’s family used those funds to build a house and furnish it. Afterward, the entire community came together to celebrate. They slaughtered a goat, grilled potatoes and feasted inside Solome’s new home.

“It was a moment of pure joy,” Marino recalled. “We all sang and danced into the night. Then Felix said, ‘We should do this again next year. But you will have to raise even more money.’” 

This time when Marino returned to Vermont, she started a GoFundMe fundraiser and raised $9,500. In 2015, she and Felix organized the construction of four homes. Marino decided to create a nonprofit organization to continue building homes for Rwandan families in need. 

Marino stated, “But after researching how to start a nonprofit, I was so overwhelmed by the requirements, that the process stalled. I just kept looking over the paperwork. I didn’t know how to form a board of directors, create a mission statement or write bylaws.  But I kept thinking about it and knew I could help more people if we became a nonprofit organization.” 

Finally, in October 2015, Inshuti of Rwanda was born. 

“Inshuti” is the word for “friend” in Kinyarwanda, the language most widely spoken in Rwanda, a language that Marino is still learning and can now speak in what she refers to as “conversational Kinyarwanda.” In the villages where so many of the families in need reside, Kinyarwanda is the only language spoken. These families often live in out-of-the-way places, and though the Rwanda Genocide was over two decades ago, many Rwandans are still affected by its aftermath.

During the Genocide, over one million people were massacred in less than 100 days. Many lost family members as well as their homes. Marino explained that post-Genocide many people are alone. It’s very common for only one or two people from a family to have survived. And even if a few family members did survive, they are all probably too poor to help each other. The villages are so rural that a single mother here is often truly isolated and alone. 

Inshuti of Rwanda is not only a 501(c)(3) organization in the US, but it is also a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Rwanda Governance Board. Marino stated, “The importance of working closely with the local Rwandan government and having a Rwanda Board of Directors ensures Inshuti maintains being an organization that helps Rwandans as they need help the most. The Rwanda Board’s job is to guide and lead the organization in a way that guarantees we effectively continue to remain a Rwanda-driven project.”

To date, the organization has built and furnished 69 homes and has housed 75 families, as two of these houses were large multi-family structures. All the homes are constructed with local, sustainable materials, and all the masons and workers are provided with livable wages. In 2023, the entire Inshuti crew will receive a 10% raise, enabling the workers’ families to buy mandatory school uniforms, pay for national health insurance and purchase livestock and food. The organization employs families to build their own house. Many then continue on as workers during the next building season. In this way, the organization grows, employing more people and building more homes. 

For Marino, building season is the most enjoyable part of the work. “You watch a family’s life change before your eyes. They’ve suffered. They don’t quite believe this can happen for them. Then you start to see a lightness form inside them—a laughter and joy. Many have said that they never thought they would ever sleep in a real bed. They’ve all slept on the floor their entire lives.” 

From the beginning, with Solome’s house, Inshuti also provided beds, mattresses and bedding for each home that they built. In 2016, they started giving cookware. In 2021, electricity. Now in 2022, they also provide school uniforms and books because the Rwanda public primary school is free, but students must purchase their own school uniform and books. Since most families can’t afford that expense, many children cannot attend school. 

The nonprofit’s current focus is organizational development. They’re looking to source grants and partner with larger NGOs. Right now, all their funding is from donations that are made either to the organization as a whole or to a specific family’s build. Marino described Inshuti Campaigns that enables supporters to choose an Inshuti family and fundraise through their network of friends for the construction of their family’s home.

“In order to aid the Campaigner’s fundraising efforts, we send them the story of their Inshuti family and share photos and updates of the build. We also create a webpage for them on Inshuti’s site. Supporters can then donate directly to the Campaign page. Recently, one of those campaigns was a feminist club from a New Jersey high school that wanted to help a single mother. Another was a private school in Vermont that is not only raising money but has organized a school trip to Rwanda and will participate in building an Inshuti house.”

People have also contributed by hosting fundraisers or by volunteering. Additionally, Inshuti offers internships, both virtually and in person. 

Overall, Inshuti of Rwanda has its eyes forward and is in a constant state of evolution. As for Marino, she never envisioned that a community would be built from it. She said, “But as the years passed and we continued to build more homes, sheltering more families, we started to see a community emerging between house recipients and workers. 

“Slowly, we began to realize how important the community part of our mission was becoming. This is especially true for single mothers. Many of these women have absolutely nobody to rely on. This may be because their husbands ran off or because their families are too poor to help—or it may be that they are the only members of their family to have survived the Genocide.

“Maintaining the connection and strengthening the community is vital to our mission. We do this by hosting monthly community meetings with several Inshuti families and team members. Each meeting facilitates discussions where families can express their hardships and obtain support from other Inshuti families. Additionally, the Inshuti team provides education/informative workshops on topics such as hygiene, the importance of education, and basic first aid training. 

“We also host an annual Inshuti party where all past, present, and future Inshuti families join with our core group of masons and workers to celebrate the year’s accomplishments. Together these families no longer feel that they are forced to survive on their own. They now have neighbors, someone they can trust.”