Children’s Peace Libraries Support Rwandan Children and Families

 By Peter Clay; reprinted with permission, first published for Friends Peace Teams- see https://friendspeaceteams.org/rwandan-children-and-families/

Peter, Odette & Children at Peace Library  (Friends Peace Teams)

 

IN FEBRUARY I HAD THE CHANCE TO VISIT TWO OF THE CHILDREN’S PEACE LIBRARIES supported by the Transformational Leadership Center, which is based in Kigali. I met with librarian Tuyizere Jean D’Amour at the Kigali Children’s Peace Library and he explained how the Read Aloud program encourages children to reflect upon the stories they heard with particular kinds of questions. These include “wondering questions” to encourage the children to go beyond the story with deeper reflections.

Later, I spent one week visiting the Children’s Peace Library in Gicumbi (pronounced Gih-chum-bee), a small city north of the capital Kigali. There I met Odette MUKABALISA, an exceptional person who loves her work as the librarian. We worked together for about one week and I could see and feel what her love for the children meant to them.

The children come after school. Those that attend school in the morning come in the early afternoon while those who attend school in the afternoon come shortly after 5 PM. For all children, the time they spend in the Children’s Peace Library brings many benefits. Typically, the children arrive and select one or more books to spend time with. They return books that they have checked out. Helping Odette included reorganizing the books after the children had visited as the books get rather jumbled with each visit. New ways to provide access to many more books electronically are being planned, but for now the books are physical books. When healthy snacks are available, these are provided to the children as part of their visit. As testimonies from Rwandan children have emphasized, the healthy snacks make a real difference because many Rwandan children are hungry due to high inflation for basic foods. This increases stress within the family and the supplemental nutrition provided at the libraries helps to reduce that stress.

Odette Leading Children in games (Friends Peace Teams)

 

Odette sometimes leads the children in active games outside on the grass. In one inspiring example she led them as they danced in a circle singing, “Who is the leader? I am the leader!” They sang this over and over again! This positive message seemed to resonate with the children, who came from a range of primary and secondary school grades.

Two Peace Clubs meet weekly at the library in Gicumbi. One meets on Fridays and Bruno KABELA is the President of this club. They gather to share perspectives on how to build a peaceful life from the family up to the community and country, to sing and play together and to have fellowship that encourages making good choices. When asked why they enjoyed the Peace Club they explained that it gives them confidence and knowledge, relieves stress, opens their mind and helps them “know how to be in peace.” One student said it helps her to be honest and to be friendly.

The other Peace Club meets on Saturdays. The President of this club is Eugene MWIZERWA. As the students do not have school on Saturdays they come by mid-morning for the Peace Club. In addition, any child is welcome whether or not they are formally part of the Saturday Peace Club. At the end of the time together on Saturdays a meal is provided if possible. This helps the children to arrive home feeling energized and ready to assist with family chores. In so many ways, the Peace Libraries, including the Peace Clubs, provide important resources for Rwanda’s children and families.

 Peer mediation is another activity at the Peace Libraries that helps children to grow up with a stronger understanding of how conflicts can be resolved in good ways. Sonnia HAKIZIMANA, an eleven year old student in P6, asked me a stunning question. She asked, “Do you have Peace Libraries in your country?” I responded, “Wow! What a great question! We certainly need them in my country.” It was truly a joy to spend a week with Odette and the children living near Gicumbi who benefit enormously from the Children’s Peace Library.

 

Peter Clay, Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) representative to Friends Peace Teams, Member of the African Great Lakes Initiative Working Group.

 

Peter Clay is a member of the Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) as stated above, traveled with Friends Peace Teams, and also serves on the Joint Oversight Committee for Iowa Peace Network.