Merely three months after being honoured with the William Wilberforce Award for his efforts in reconciling Rwandans after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis, Bishop John Rucyahana has been recognized with another award.

Rucyahana, who is the Archbishop of Shyira Anglican Diocese in the Northern Province, is to be awarded the Russell L. Brown Climate of Excellence in Leadership international award.

The Wilberforce Award is given to a person who is "making a significant impact on the social ills of the day through personal effort, skill and influence; showing perseverance and selflessness in combating injustice, even to the point of willingness to sacrifice personal comfort, career and reputation.

The award is named in honour of William Wilberforce, an English Statesman who waged a 40-year campaign against the slave trade in UK.

It also awarded to someone making a positive change in the values and character of society, reforming manners through personal witness, example and education;
is serving as an exemplary witness for Christ”.

Bishop Rucyahana is getting this award because "as chairman of Prison Fellowship Rwanda, Rucyahana organized the Umuvumu Tree Project, a nationwide program to prepare perpetrators and victims of the genocide for face-to-face meetings”.

Even though he lost many family members in the genocide, he was able to overcome the hurt and the anger, and organize a project that provides genocide perpetrators the opportunity to meet the victims, to admit their crimes, ask forgiveness and take steps towards restoration; the same program provides victims the opportunity to forgive.

The Russell L. Brown Award is given to a "person who cares for the Children of his country and raise up the young future leaders”.

Who is Bishop John Rucyahana?
President Paul Kagame says: "Rucyahana is a very interesting man. He’s a family man. He’s deeply cultured in our traditions.

He’s a man of God. He’s very entrepreneurial. He does things that create worth for himself, and he extends that to others.

He provides for people’s basic needs and empowers them to stand up for themselves. Not many people combine these qualities the way he does.” [in "A Thousand Hills, Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man who Dreamed it”, page 307, book by Stephen Kinzer, Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Dale Dawson, an investment banker turned entrepreneur claims that when he met Bishop John, he was struck by an epiphany: he was facing "a man whose leadership skills are equal to Sam Walton’s”.

That is a tall order! Indeed a leadership that produces results: Sam is the founder of Wal-Mart, a leading global Retail Gant; Sam’s leadership skills brought each of his heirs among the top ten richest people in the World.

As Stephen Kinzer says in his book, Bishop John appeals to people like Dale Dawson not simply because he has a magnetic personality and wants to help needy people. He is also a born entrepreneur.

Many of the bishop’s inspirational homilies end with a sales pitch as the occasion requires. He simultaneously speaks the languages of evangelical Christianity, African redemption, and self-reliance.

That combination has stirs hundreds of Americans into action on behalf of Rwanda.

Bishop John was born in Rwanda in 1945; his family left Rwanda in 1959, spent few years in exile in Congo and then moved to Uganda in 1964; he was ordained an Anglican priest in 1974, in Uganda and was consecrated bishop of Shyira Diocese in Rwanda, in June 1997.

In 1988-1990, he was a student at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry Degree, in Ambridge, PA, USA. He came back to Rwanda after 1994 genocide.

What did Bishop John Rucyahana to deserve so much credit, praise and awards?
Bishop John is a man every Rwandan should be proud of. He deserves indeed all the praise.

On the development front: he provided shelter for refugees returning home and other vulnerable groups; he initiated projects for Food Security; he is a founder of Urwego Opportunity Bank; he constructed Ishema hotel and many other development projects.

On the health: he renovated Bigogwe Health Centre; constructed dispensaries, renovated and extended Shyira Hospital.

On the education:  his Sonrise Schools present a new school model to the country. His Sonrise schools primarily cater for orphans of the Genocide and subsequent wars to live and learn along with those children sponsored by their parents.

The schools create an environment free of genocide ideology and give new hope to children living with HIV/ADS and other crippling diseases as they are integrated together with their peers.

Sonrise Boarding School for Orphans opened in 2001; Sonrise High School opened in 2004; Bishop John is currently building Muhabura University.

On advocacy:  Bishop John is doing advocacy through his organization in prisons where he encourages prisoners to admit and confess their crimes; he is a founder and among the successful implementers of the Umuvumu Tree Project described above.

Bishop John K. Rucyahana is the Chairman of Hope Rwanda and Prison Fellowship Rwanda. His main objective in all these projects is for peace, unity and reconciliation for the people of Rwanda.

For positive feedback and any criticism, I can be reached at johngahindiro@yahoo.com