Hello, I'm Heather Thomas, BEM, founder and Chief

Officer of The Goboka Rwanda Trust, a small UK

charity based in Derbyshire's Peak District. (The

word Goboka is a Kinyarwanda word, the first 

language of Rwanda, meaning to 'help' or 'support'.)

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In 2008 I got the opportunity to visit Rwanda, which

was a life-changing experience. I learned several 

things from that trip, that a small amount of money

can go a long way if placed in the right hands, that

it is necessary to work with people you trust, and

that the best way to help a country like Rwanda was

to ask those who live and work there what they
want and need, rather than us, who live thousands of miles away, make that decision.

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At the time of my visit, I was working in local government in the area of public relations and fundraising, and I returned determined to do more to help the lovely people I had met who had suffered so much, and so I began fundraising in my local community by one-off events and by going round talking to groups like Wis, Rotary, Probus etc, which continues to this day

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                                                                                             In 1994 a genocide (the intentional and                                                                                                           systematic destruction of a group of people                                                                                                   based on ethnicity, religion or race) erupted in

                                                                                             Rwanda against the Tutsi, with neighbours 

                                                                                             turning on neighbours and family on family. In

                                                                                             a period of 100 days over 800,000 people (up                                                                                                 to 1 million on some accounts) were brutally 

                                                                                             slaughtered, leaving this once beautiful little 

                                                                                             country (about the size of Wales) in ruins. This

                                                                                             left many wondering how the people of Rwanda would ever overcome such hatred and horror, yet against all odds, Rwanda has made remarkable strides over the last 30+ years, showing resilience and determination. Despite the scars, Rwanda's journey of peace, healing, reconciliation and development is an inspiring testament to the unyielding spirit of its people, who it is an absolute pleasure to work with and for.

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For those who know little about Rwanda, here is a brief timeline of events from 1932, when the country came under Belgian rule:

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​1932: The Belgians introduced identity cards distinguishing the three groups - Hutus, Tutsi and Twa people - and marking a turning point in the relationship between ethnic groups in Rwanda.

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1959: A Hutu uprising led to civil war, ending Tutsi domination.

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1962: Rwanda gained independence from Belgium, by which time 120,000 (mostly Tutsis), had fled the country, and Hutu leaders took control of Rwanda.

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Late 1980's: Rwandan exile groups made political and military moves to repatriate.

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1993: Peace-making attempts by the United Nations and regional African governments failed.

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6th April 1994: A rocket attack brought down the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutus, as they were travelling together and returning from peace negotiations to Kigali airport.

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Immediately after the attack: 100 days of mass killings ensued.

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During my visit in 2008, I met two people

who had lived through this period and gone

on to do an enormous amount of work to 

help their people to a more stable and 

peaceful existence by working in the area 

of reconciliation. One was Bishop Samuel

Kayinamura - Bishop of the Free Methodist

Church of Rwanda - and the other Anastase

Rugirangoga - working as Executive 

Director of PHARP (Peace-building, Healing

and Reconciliation Programmes), Rwanda.

What struck me immediately on meeting these men was how they were loved and respected by the people wherever they went, which was largely meeting people in poorer, rural areas of the country. For me, this carried great weight in later asking if I could work alongside them, because when asking people in the UK for support, it was essential to work with partners in Rwanda that I could trust.

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The Goboka Rwanda Trust became a UK registered charity (No. 1143857) in 2011, and elsewhere on the website you can meet our wonderful and supportive UK trustees and the partners we work with in Rwanda. Although now retired from PHARP, and replaced by Gilbert Muhire, Anastase continues to be involved with Goboka in an unofficial capacity and as a true friend. I am greatly indebted to them all in supporting me right from those early days.

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Thank you for visiting, and please do look through our website at the work we all feel very privileged to do in this beautiful little African country and its lovely welcoming people, who are an example to us all as to what it means to live and come through adversity and still keep smiling.

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Heather Thomas