Our stories
In 2009, Mudenge founded the Inyenyeri Itazima Association, which aimed to reconcile families of Genocide survivors and perpetrators.
Inyenyeri Itazima's Story
Mudenge could have chosen vengeance, the path often trodden by survivors. But he chose another, a path less traveled yet bathed in the promise of healing. He chose forgiveness. He chose Inyenyeri Itazima.
Our inception wasn’t grand pronouncements or lofty goals; it was a quiet movement, born from the ashes of personal experience. Mudenge understood the shared pain, the echoes of trauma that resonated in both victim and perpetrator. He knew reconciliation wasn’t about forgetting, but about understanding, about building bridges across the chasms of division.
So, Inyenyeri Itazima started small, like a single leaf unfurling against the relentless sun. We held Family Reconciliation Circles, safe spaces where narratives were shared, tears flowed freely, and the seeds of forgiveness were sown. We equipped survivors with skills and resources, nurturing their independence and dignity. We nurtured young minds in Youth Leadership Academies, sowing the seeds of tolerance and peace for future generations.
Each step, each story shared, each life touched – it was sunlight finding its way through the leaves, casting long shadows of hope across the land. There were setbacks, moments when shadows threatened to engulf the light. But Mudenge’s vision, like a beacon in the night, guided us forward.
Today, Inyenyeri Itazima stands tall, a testament to the human spirit’s unyielding resilience. We are no longer a sapling, but a tree, its branches reaching out to every corner of Rwanda, offering shade and solace. We are not just Mudenge’s story; we are a chorus of voices, a tapestry woven from the threads of countless survivors, perpetrators, and dreamers who dared to believe in the power of light.
This is the story of Inyenyeri Itazima – not just a name, but a promise whispered amidst the ruins, a testament to the unyielding belief that even after the darkest night, the sun will rise again, bathing the land in a symphony of hope, forever “sunlight through the leaves.”