The concept of a child who’s yet to hit puberty consuming alcohol may be difficult to comprehend, however, for 41-year-old George Jean Claude Murekeyimana, now an Orthodox priest, the struggle with alcohol started at the tender age of four.

"It was a cultural norm for adults to share stories over banana beer locally known as "Urwagwa” — fabricated from fermenting bananas with cereal flour, often sorghum flour. The beer was at our accessibility and in plenty for everyone, whether young or old. It was customary to drink every day,” Murekeyimana, who was born in Nyanza District in 1983, told The New Times.

As he got older, drinking alcohol was something he did for fun. It, however, escalated to a habit—spending hours in bars and returning home late, and sometimes, even spending nights away.

Drinking to numb pain

Murekeyimana’s father was killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which he survived at the age of 11 along with his mother and two older sisters. Returning from Burundi after a year of seeking refuge, his alcoholism worsened upon returning to a nation in ruin.

He resumed school around the age of 12. As a primary six student, he went to bars with classmates after school to drink alcohol before going home as a way to cope with the death of his father and other relatives who were butchered in the Genocide.

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He and a few students would also drink with teachers who could have provided guidance. Over time, excessive drinking affected his performance, leading to poor concentration and frequent absenteeism, resulting in his failure in the Primary Leaving National Exams.

"I was a bright student and was always among the top five performers, however, during the examination period, I spent most of the time drinking beer, rather than revising books, thus failing,” Murekeyimana said.

He was, therefore, required to repeat the year, passed, and then joined high school.

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His drinking habit went down a bit when he started secondary school due to the strict rules that restricted him from leaving school premises. Occasionally, he would go to bars with friends when he had some pocket money. Murekeyimana lacked concentration and would skip school to nurse a hangover.

"I noticed that alcohol was a burden and an enemy to me after graduating from high school. I came to Kigali in search of a job during my Senior Six vacation, luckily I acquired one in a textile industry around 2004, but I joined workplace cliques. Most of my workmates were alcohol addicts, so we boozed often,” he said.

He resigned from his job after a year to further his education. Joining the then-National University of Rwanda in Huye, he had a lot of freedom. He did some casual work around the campus for a security company.

He earned around Rwf 40,000 monthly with additional allowances, totalling about Rwf 60,000. Typically, much of his income was spent on alcohol.

As time went by, Murekeyimana realised there was a need to stop drinking, so he quit. He recalls a vivid moment during a friend’s mother’s funeral service where beer flowed abundantly. He decided to take just one bottle, which quickly escalated to more, eventually leading to a relapse.

"I found myself drinking again, but this time, I felt like I was struggling to swim in a pool, trying not to sink. It was a dreadful sensation,” Murekeyimana said.

Battling addiction as a church leader

"I felt the need to know God more because I was living a secular life, and so I took on a course in theology. Growing up, my father was against preaching the gospel which is why we didn’t get a chance to listen to sermons as he believed missionaries aimed at colonising the country and not delivering God’s message. Studying theology, assisted me to attain Christian values.”

After completing his theological seminary in late 2016, he was ordained a Deacon in May 2018 and later became a priest in December of the same year in the Ecumenical Orthodox-Catholic Church of Rwanda. However, he was still battling alcoholic addiction.

Although he had quit drinking, after a certain period, he would resume, yet it was contrary to what the bishop of the church advised him.

"My bishop requested me to be an example to society, thus disheartening me from consuming alcohol. I promised him that I would not drink, but deep down in my heart I believed I would drink responsibly.”

Unfortunately, there was nothing like "drinking responsibly”, and had never lost touch with his "bar friends”.

Effects of alcoholism

"I lost connections and trust with friends and family. When you’re drunk, you cheat, lie, give excuses, use abusive language, and your reasoning capacity is not upright. I would make decisions without bearing in mind the consequences. This was immoral, I became a nuisance to the society,” he said.

Murekeyimana’s drinking depleted his finances, as instead of catering for home needs, such as meals, and children’s school fees, among other things, he splashed it out in bars.

"I disbursed a lot of money in drinking, leaving my family in deprivation. In just a night, I would squander about Rwf 40,000 yet there was no food at home. I was an irresponsible father and husband,” he stated.

Murekeyimana remembers a day when his wife went with him to the bar for a couple of drinks, hoping it would help him drink less and leave early.

That didn’t happen. Instead, he found his usual friends at the bar, and when it was time to go home at the time they had agreed, he told her he was still having fun, and asked her to head home.

"She left, and I never returned home that night. We drank with friends until morning.”

Seeking help, getting sober

When he realised his life was a mess, Murekeyimana turned to books and online searches to find ways to stop drinking. He came across anonymous groups of people battling alcohol in Kigali in 2018.

Murekeyimana reached out and connected with others struggling with alcohol addiction in recovery, shared his story, and received assistance in self-awareness and understanding his situation.

He discovered that alcohol addiction is a persistent condition and acknowledged that he was an alcoholic who needed to surrender.

"This enabled me to be responsible with myself and I understood better the consequences. I didn’t go to rehab, I believe that if I had gotten a chance, I would have utilised it,” he shared.

Murekeyimana has been sober since September 1, 2020, and is part of an Alcoholics Anonymous group where members share their experiences, strength, and hope to help each other overcome alcoholism and support recovery.

He aims to inspire societal change by sharing his story to empower alcohol addicts to reform and reduce intoxication and drug abuse. He emphasises accepting the lack of control over alcohol consumption as the initial step towards seeking help.

Helping others

One way Murekeyimana is trying to ensure that alcohol is never a problem for him again is by helping others struggling with addiction recovery, through his NGO, Iwacu Recovery Centre in Nyamata, Bugesera District. The organisation, started in 2017 but inactive while he battled alcohol, resumed in 2020 as he wanted to assist others based on his own transformation—showing that change is possible by seeing others in similar situations.

Murekeyimana and his team offer counselling services to tackle different kinds of addiction, mainly alcohol, and drugs.

"We listen to people, offer them advice and guidance, and navigate them through recovery. We created youth groups aimed at raising awareness and prevention about the burden of alcohol and substance use on their health. We target students in schools and communities.”

The NGO has established occupational therapy clubs for adults to engage in activities such as farming, enabling them to earn a livelihood and acquire saving skills.

Occupation therapy is a type of healthcare that involves the therapeutic use of everyday activities, or occupations, to treat the physical, mental, developmental, and emotional ailments that impact a patient’s ability to perform daily tasks.

Josiane Kantengwa, a resident of Nyamata, Bugesera District, is a beneficiary of the NGO. The mother of three previously struggled as a result of drug abuse, but her life has been transformed.

She explained that the organisation has been "like a guardian angel” because she received counselling, quit smoking and using drugs, and even recovered from depression.

"The centre supported me in living a healthy lifestyle and as a result, I began to help other people with similar problems. I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help, and not be bound by any situation in silence. I would like to see Iwacu Recovery Centre get support and grow bigger and continue to help more people deal with life problems,” Kantengwa said.

Who is Fr George Jean Claude Murekeyimana?

Father Murekeyimana, born on February 12, 1983, in Nyanza District, is an Orthodox married priest with five children. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a Diploma in Theology, and a Master’s in Governance and Ethics.

His professional experience includes teaching in secondary school, serving in local government administration as Executive Secretary, and working in NGOs in customer experience and sales roles.

He is currently the bishop-elect and is expected to be consecrated as Rwanda’s bishop in the Ecumenical Orthodox-Catholic Church in August 2024.