So it's been a while since I last posted about Rwanda. A lot longer than I had initially planned but I have a few more things I want to share about Rwanda. First up today I want to introduce you to an organization called International Justice Mission (IJM). If you are not already familiar with them and the amazing things they do around the world to fight for justice please get to know them! Check out their website and consider partnering with them in some way. You can also follow along with them on Facebook and Instagram. I love following along and seeing the frequent updates throughout the day that they post with information on successful rescues, arrests, and prosecutions. It's encouraging to see and hear of the progress they are making in shining a light in the darkness and prompts me to pray for their continued work.
So what exactly is IJM you ask? It is a global human rights agency working in the developing world to protect the poor from everyday violence. It is the largest organization of it's kind. IJM partners with local authorities and law enforcement to rescue victims of violence, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems. In the developing world justice systems are either completely nonexistent or ineffective to protect the people they are designed to protect. IJM desires and works to change this. Their projects are in the areas of slave labor, human trafficking, property grabbing, police abuse of power, and sexual violence.
IJM was founded by Gary Haugen. Haugen was director of the UN investigation in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. He describes his experience upon arriving in Rwanda and traveling to a small town just south of Kigali. He visited a small church where corpses remained just as their killers left them...strewn about from wall to wall and knee-high within the small building. Absolutely horrifying!! He says that it was that moment that he realized the one thing that is necessary for those living in poverty. Protection from violence. In that moment when the people inside that church were facing their attackers nothing else could save them and nothing else mattered. They didn't need food or clean drinking water. They didn't need a doctor or a teacher or a new school built or a micro-loan. In THAT MOMENT, their most vulnerable, they needed someone to reach out and restrain the hand of violence. Yes, all of those other things are important and oh so necessary, but they are all in vain if the person cannot be protected from violence. What good is it if you can provide an opportunity for a young girl to go to school but she is raped while walking to get there. What good is it if you provide a micro-loan to a widow to help her start a business and provide for herself if she then becomes a victim of property grabbing. Sometime after returning from the Rwandan investigation, Haugen decided to leave his position in the civil rights division of the US Department of Justice and start International Justice Mission.
Recently a few of my friends had the opportunity to visit the IJM offices in Rwanda and see firsthand the work that IJM is doing there. Some of them were even able to meet the young lady, and IJM client, in the video below. Please take a few minutes to watch her powerful story!
They were also able to meet a few of the other IJM clients in Rwanda who are now a part of the Noonday Collection sewing co-op. Stay tuned for more on this co-op and some of the things they are currently hard at work producing.
I originally wanted to post this back in July and then life happened and now I'm finally sharing about this organization that I'm so passionate about. This time my procrastination has paid off! If you sign up to become a Freedom Partner and support IJM monthly starting in September a group of generous friends of IJM have agreed to match your gift for a year! Now is the time! Become a Freedom Partner in September and your monthly impact is doubled all year long! Please consider becoming a Freedom Partner and giving to IJM monthly or make a one time donation to support the amazing work that they are doing. And, if you would like to read more about why the end of poverty requires the end of violence make sure to grab a copy of Gary Haugen's latest book The Locust Effect. It's a tough read both emotionally and because it's a pretty thick one full of tons of information. It's definitely worth reading, though, and I highly recommend it. I've learned so much from this book.
Stay tuned for more from Rwanda. Stick around and there may just be a giveaway in store for you ;)
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