Telling the new story of Rwanda

Richard, our Rwandan Program Director, having fun post mission with a new friend at Rwanda's Akagera National ParkAkagera is home to the Akagera River, the most remote source of the Nile

As Bpeace works with our associates to tell their story in the marketplace, our mission as always is to tell the remarkable story of Rwanda, one of the most compelling places on earth. The genocide is just one part of this nation's history. The more lasting we hope will be the story of reconcilation and rebirth as a modern African nation. As such we hope that Rwanda stands forever in peace and refuge . . .a home . . .for all Rwandans, and of hope and beauty for visitors around the world. Come visit. The gorillas await at Parc National des Volcans, which we featured during our September 07 mission, 13 species of primates abound in Nyungwe National Park and the wonders of big game come to drink among the lakes of Akagera. We urge you to come and be a part Rwanda's recovery and to recover a little bit of your own humanity in the process.

And so after weeks of hard work, with Bpeace volunteers safetly back home, we must share a few photos of Richard last weekend when he visited one of Rwanda's natural wonders, Akagera National Park. As the Rwandan Tourism webite shares: "On the border with Tanzania, Akagera is, above all, big game country! Herds of elephant and buffalo emerge from the woodland to drink at the lakes, while lucky visitors might stumble across a leopard, a spotted hyena or even a stray lion. Giraffe and zebra haunt the savannah, and more than a dozen types of antelope inhabit the park, including the world's largest, the statuesque Cape eland".

Richard's and the volunteer's rest is well deserved following a truly successful mission. As this blog documents, months of preparation led to two weeks of intense delivery. The result?

One associate's store now has tools and advice to differentiate her from the dozens of other stores; Another has a path to perhaps creating retail franchises; One more has a entire new branding strategy to position her business for couples; groups of friends, families; not just kids; One of Sabra's mentees is closer to her loan; Two partners have new branding, signage, brochure and sales strategy to get lots more import business; An expanding associate has brochure and marketing plan to get more commercial corporate clients and start to inoculate the community for the grand opening of her new center later this year; While an associate with new dreams has the tools to expand into a new segment.

These businesses and their owners are the new story of Rwanda. We hope you will continue to follow their progress and be a part of it with a visit and by continuing to support their work and ours.