Project Upendo goes beyond business as usual. We take a lot of pride in our authentic marketplace that illustrates different cultures, ideals, and
Another one of our three core areas of aid that we support is helping the victims of the genocide in Rwanda rebuild.
The Rwandan genocide of 1994 was 100 days where a minority ethnic group called the Tutsis were systematically slaughtered because of their ethnicity and their position of power by another ethnic group called the Hutu.
The Tutsis, along with some moderate members of the majority Hutu group, were killed by extremist Hutus who spared no one—man, woman, or child. Extremist propaganda was circulated across the country, hit lists were made and handed to militia members who were sometimes very young, and organized annihilation was carried out.
Fortunately, some people escaped Rwanda to the surrounding countries, but even in those countries, like the Democratic Republic of Congo. But violence, and unrest between the two groups lasted long past the original 100 days. Civilians were murdered by the masses, women were assaulted and raped, some men even killed their Tutsi wives for fear of being harmed themselves.
Besides the residual violence that circulated throughout the surrounding areas, there were many other lingering effects from the genocide.
500,000-800,000 people were murdered, but even more people were killed after the 100 days that aren’t included in this number. As a result, families and infrastructure were torn apart. To this day, people are still finding mass graves throughout the country. People were buried in well-like structures to fit the sheer number of bodies.
These atrocities and the irreparable harm that the genocide caused is something we here at Project Upendo never want to happen again. To combat future genocides and help victims of the Rwandan genocide, we give a portion of our profits to organizations that take a hands-on approach to repair Rwanda and the surrounding countries.
These organizations offer counseling and development services to victims and their families, work with locals to rebuild infrastructure, and search across Rwanda and other countries for mass graves in order to provide victims proper burials.
Some organizations even take the Rwandan genocide as a learning opportunity. The mass atrocities committed were a culmination of years of ethnic divide and violence, spurred by the involvement of other countries who pitted the two groups against each other. While the genocide wasn’t foreseeable, there were signs that if addressed, potentially could have mitigated the violence.
Organizations that we support have built armor out of that information and use it to protect future vulnerable populations. These causes are a huge part of our company mission, and as we grow, we are excited to expand.
