Changemaker Philbert Kalisa was the special guest and featured speaker of the 2021 African Road Forward Together Gala Fundraiser. Here, Philbert (in the green shirt) shakes hands with Fundraising Ambassador Dan Newman on stage at the gala.
Philbert’s Story
It was an honor to have peacemaker and community-builder, Changemaker Philbert Kalisa as the special guest and featured speaker at the African Road Forward Together 2021 Gala Fundraiser. Guests, both online and in person, learned firsthand about the healing Philbert facilitates through the work of his organization, REACH Rwanda.
Persecution of the Tutsi people in Rwanda forced Philbert’s parents to flee the country when they were teenagers. They met in Burundi at a refugee camp, where they were married as young refugees and Philbert was born. Philbert grew up in that refugee camp, living there until he was 29, with no legal identity or citizenship.
Philbert’s experience led him to feel a call to become an Anglican priest. He received support to attend seminary in London in 1993. He and his wife Godelieve moved their young family to the UK and began a new life. A year after the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Philbert felt compelled to visit Rwanda to see the country his parents had come from. He witnessed destruction, pain, broken relationships, and grief. Philbert told himself, “This is where I originated from, I have to do something.” He moved his family to Rwanda and began the courageous and arduous process of forming and leading REACH Rwanda.
REACH Rwanda and Unity Groups
REACH forged a unique reconciliation process to bring people together to bridge seemingly impossible divides. Perpetrators, survivors, and their families come together to have open dialogue and mend wounds. Philbert explained, “I create a safe space in order for them to talk and to discuss what has happened, in order to promote forgiveness and healing and reconciliation.” Philbert has been doing this work with REACH for 25 years, and approximately 22,000 people have participated in REACH reconciliation workshops. Enemies have been and continue to be transformed into friends, and unity grows within communities deeply effected by the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.
What’s even more remarkable is that over 1,000 workshop participants from the two ethnic groups have made the choice to go further in healing relationships together. With the help of REACH, they formed into Unity Groups with a commitment to the work of living in a reconciled relationship together. These courageous Unity Group members continue life together through shared interests like cultural dance, sports, singing, or starting small group projects.
Partnership with African Road through VICOBA Initiative
Philbert has been a friend to African Road since our founding. As a leader of a well-established non-profit in Rwanda, his counsel and mentorship have been, and are, of great value as the work of African Road has grown in Rwanda. As African Road engaged with REACH through the years, a new conversation began. Philbert shared that Unity Group members had a real need for economic empowerment. We saw a perfect match with the signature African Road initiative, VICOBA Plus, and Philbert agreed. As a result, a special initiative between REACH and African Road was co-created in collaboration with African Road Changemaker David Clemy from Uganda; and today REACH Unity Groups are becoming VICOBA Plus groups.
VICOBA Plus equips community groups with tools and a mindset change that helps people recognize what resources they already have when they come together. People go from saying this is what I need, need, need to this is what I have, have, have. They then put all those resources to use to benefit the whole community.
This training benefits the REACH Unity Groups and their extended communities by creating space for community learning and engagement to help them tap into their local resources, build confidence, and to see themselves as agents for change. In 2018, African Road provided funding and strategic planning for a REACH VICOBA Plus training for Unity Groups in Kayonza. Togetherness Cooperative president and VICOBA Plus facilitator, Penina Mukashema, joined David Clemy to bring VICOBA training to two Unity Groups. Today, with ongoing training, these groups are in the process of becoming a new VICOBA hub to provide training for other REACH Unity Groups in Rwanda. African Road partnership is now preparing to bring VICOBA Plus to two more Unity Groups in the Eastern region of Rwanda, with workshops beginning later this year.
A New Mindset with Lasting Impact
Philbert shared that the methodology of VICOBA Plus and African Road differs from other models for community development because it builds on what people already have. He was truly impressed to see the training bring confidence and knowledge to the group members. They are demonstrating that they are capable of creating change without waiting for someone else to bring them resources. Even when COVID-19 challenged them, the VICOBA Plus-trained Unity Groups had savings to draw from and were able to innovate. Their VICOBA income-generating activities, paired with a new mindset, sustained them and kept them strong. Philbert explained that even though times have been hard with COVID lockdowns, the members “can pay school fees for their kids, and more than that…they also help others in the community around them.”
African Road is honored and excited to support and expand the collaboration between Philbert, REACH, David, and VICOBA as they continue to foster lasting change at the community level—equipping people to lift themselves and others up.
Penina, David, and Philbert join a REACH Unity Group/African Road VICOBA Plus meeting in Kayonza, Rwanda in May 2021