Cyangugu is a small strategic frontier town in the south west of Rwanda on the border with The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the southern tip of Lake Kivu, contiguous with the Congolese town of Bukavu which is accessed by two bridges across the Ruzizi river.

Rik Mager is the director of the school. His wife, Caroline, coordinates the feeding programs in the Diocese because of malnutrition in this part of Rwanda. I asked Rik for an update on the program in the light of Covid-19.

“The lockdown has made things very hard for a lot of people because they were not allowed to work any longer. The feeding program provides food for more than 600 beneficiaries in Cyangugu diocese. Also parishes that had no official feeding program so far got involved.”

“This week, every pastor receives a box, because many of them live in poverty as well. The purpose is to help where help is needed without taking over people’s responsibility for their own lives. At the same time do we pray that the lockdown will be over soon.” Rik Mager

If you wish to support the project financially, please read the letter from Bishop Francis Karemera, and give using the Swift Code EQBLRWRW for the bank account of the Anglican Diocese of Rwanda.

I have visited Cyangugu several times to help train clergy to use the Christianity Explored course and also to teach at the Diocesan theological school. I had been invited to return this Summer to teach at the school once again but due to the pandemic the school is temporarily closed.

In September 2017, the Christianity Explored East Africa team trained clergy from Rwanda, Burundi and Congo to use the course.

In August 2018 and again in May 2019, I returned to teach a course on Judaism and Christianity at the Diocesan theological school.

An interview with the former Anglican Bishop of Cyangugu Rt Revd Nathan Amooti (May 2019)

More photos of Cyangugu and the Anglican Theological School

See also Rwanda: where even poverty data must toe Kagame’s line Financial Times (August 2019)