Youth touching communities: Meet ‘Peace and Love Proclaimers’

Redirecting the energy of Rwandan youths is still at a snail’s pace and a lot still needs to be done. In line with this vision therefore, a group of seven Rwandan young people came together and founded a non-profit organisation called the ‘Peace and Love Proclaimers’ (PLP) on July 17, 2007. “The organization was founded with intent to foster reconciliation, advocate for children rights and fight HIV/AIDS. Thus in pursuit of change, capturing the attention of the Rwandan youth is fundamental,” said Marc Gwamaka one of the founders. The young founders, Gwamaka, Jean Michael Habineza, John Tuyishimire, Niwejye Dadi and Mutumwinka Pauline believe they have the necessary skills and abilities that are fundamental for the development of PLP. The group that previously started with seven members now has 273 contacts, with over 100 committed to the cause. Under the theme “youth for a change,” Gwamaka stresses, that right from the beginning, their group had a strong vision to find a way in which the youth could be productive in society. “All youths should lay aside any pride and serve their country instead of just sitting around doing nothing,” Marc Gwamaka advised, during an interview with The New Times. The young founders of PLP possess different talents and skills and this diversity is what bound them together. The group was then boosted by support from experienced teachers, musicians, sportsmen and dancers who volunteered to make their dream come true. Like any another organisation, the beginning was not at all easy. According to Gwamaka, they had to save “tooth and nail” from their pocket money as a means of accumulating funds. Most of them were students then. However, parents often gave them emotional and financial support. One year down the road, the youth under PLP have managed to reach the heart of their communities and apparently, the organisation has already registered a number of achievements. Through giving to charity, PLP has managed to touch the lives of many children and youth by advocating for their rights. The organisation has for example visited children in Gisimba Orphanage in Nyamirambo, CEPAJ in Kicukiro and St. Theresa babies home where so many babies are cared for, having been abandoned or thrown away. “We had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these children and youth. We took food, clothes, shoes, toiletries among many other necessities,” Gwamaka explained. He also stressed that the group is not a matter of how much they can afford to give, but how they can show these children that they are valuable and can be something in the future, by just being there for them. Besides charity work, PLP has a vision to get more youth to expand the organisation by extending further into primary and secondary schools where PLP committees have been established. Schools like Lycee De Kigali, Green Hills Academy, La Colombiere, IFAK, APE Rugunga, FAWE, and SOS now have a PLP committee each. Such committees advocate for more students to join organisation. Phillip and Paul Dupont Dupond head the PLP committee at Lycee De Kigali and when interviewed they explained the major benefit of joining PLP. “We are a family in PLP. Other than making new friends, we learn how to budget and use the money we have. In this way, we are able to help other youths budget their money instead of wasting it on things that are not important,” the Dupont Dupond’s explained. Doing some side jobs as well, has equally been helpful. These, coupled with a few donations that have been acquired from well-wishers, have helped the group to accumulate some savings. They have thus been able to pay school fees for 32 primary school children and 4 secondary school students. In’ Peace and Love proclaimers’ group, forgiveness is an instrument that the youths are fostering to breed reconciliation in society. “One of our projects is to ensure that reconciliation is part of our communities. We always tell the youths of Rwanda to forgive and move past what their parents did, so that we can build a united nation,” the founder explained. Reconciliation is not all; awareness on HIV/AIDS too is integrated as a project. To achieve maximum effect Gwamaka said that PLP intends to train more students who are teachers and counsellors in the fields of reconciliation and HIV/AIDS. Although, there are considerable achievements, the one-year journey has not been all rosy. The founders explain that the organisation is faced with a number of challenges that come because of financial constraints. “Catering for our movements has not been an easy task, especially for a budding group like ours,” Gwamaka explained. One problem that is however proving to be very hard to nail, is finding a permanent location for their offices. They currently work under the roof of a private residence but these youths say they need a place of their own that is well equipped with office equipment. Networking all the PLP activities requires a permanent base. To expand their vision, the group intends to reach the furthest parts of rural Rwanda and other parts of the continent that are torn by war such as Burundi, Congo and Darfur. However, to affect the lives in these areas, financial backup is necessary. Their savings are simply not enough. This is where larger organizations working with the children and youths of Rwanda should come and support the plans of PLP. Another big challenge is to get people to conceptualize the idea. There is need to set a standard form of rules and regulations to help in this context. This has helped the determined youth to follow their vision. Despite the challenges, the youths are going against all odds to achieve their set objectives. After all this is what proclaiming peace and Love is all about. Contact: anyglorian@yahoo.com