So…if we’re to be completely honest, we did not really want to participate in today’s excursion. Not because it wouldn’t be interesting and important but because it would mean spending yet another 6 hours in the van. Which, if we’ve learned anything in the last few weeks, 6 hours really means 8-10 hours. It really is tiring to be riding around in a van all day.

However, even though we weren’t looking forward to the van ride, the thought of missing out on today’s adventure was too heartbreaking. Of course there was no question that we’d be participating!

We arrived in the town of Kirehe which is in the southeast corner of Rwanda, right along the Tanzania border. Here we met Albert and got to know him, his story and how INSPIRE!africa was able to help him in his time of need. Albert impressed us all with is quiet demeanor, his soft spoken words and his beauty. Life has not been easy or kind, but he has managed to retain peace and positivity within himself.

Albert was 7 years old when the genocide started. His whole family was murdered, and the only reason he survived was because a neighbour smuggled him into Tanzania, 25km away. He lived there for 2 years. When he made his way back to Rwanda, his uncle was able to take care of him back on his parents’ land in his childhood home. As he got older, the uncle started to treat the land as his own, the land that was rightfully Albert’s, and was selling it off piece by piece.

As a 23 year old adult, Albert started the long process of trying to get his land back from his uncle as well as the new owners. In 13 long years of fighting and trying, he was denied land rights by mediators, the first court and the second court. There are many reasons why land reclamation can be so difficult, but the main reasons are:

1. Many of these survivors are orphans – they have no ‘friends in high places’ to lean upon, no support system to help them navigate the process, no money to pay for it and no idea of how or where to begin.
2. Those few that are brave enough to start this long and complicated process come up against many logistical roadblocks: no land deeds, no paper trail or written proof that the land is actually theirs. Think about it, have you ever thought about telling your 7 year old where the deed to the house is and to take it in case anything dire happens? Exactly.
3. To prove the land is theirs they must instead find witnesses to corroborate their claim. Unfortunately, most of these people were killed during the genocide. Those that weren’t may have taken ownership of the land themselves and don’t want to give it up.

At 36, Albert somehow heard about a legal helpline and called it. It was a last ditch effort, a Hail Mary so to speak. This helpline is an initiative funded by INSPIRE!africa and manned by experts found by SURF. The life changing services are free. Albert was meeting with the lawyer in no time at all. After 2 years of hard work, they were successful. The land, all of it (well, except a small plot that the uncle got to keep) was returned to Albert.

Unfortunately, the relationship between Albert and his uncle was destroyed. Orphaned again.

On this exact day, Albert had just received the paperwork making it official – this land was his. He was able to show us HIS land. We walked the perimeter and he softly spoke about where his house used to be, what his plans are for the land now and how complete he feels with the land back in his name. He spoke generously about the help he received from the hotline and how grateful he was to have met the lawyers and the people who made the hotline possible.

The hotline, to date, has helped dozens of people with issues like this and there is an 80% success rate. All free of charge, all for whoever needs it. Absolutely amazing.

What a day! We went to bed feeling so happy about what we’d just witnessed. We were so impressed with not only Albert’s story, but also with how our friend’s organization is helping real people solve real problems in real time. We are so happy to just be a small part of her realm.

We’ll drive anywhere, for as long as it takes to continue to support this.

#vanlifeisgreat