Have A Cow

Meet Jean

Jean is a 35 year old survivor of the 1994 Genocide. He was 10 years old during the Genocide, and he recounts his memories with vivid detail. Jean explains that he lives with scars, hurt, and pain caused by the Genocide. He lost 70 of his family members in the Genocide, surviving with only his two brothers. He recalls when the Genocide started, “The militia and soldiers attacked our village, killing people, burning houses, raping women in broad daylight and looting everything in their home.” He narrowly escaped and ran to Lake Kivu. Growing up on the lake, he knew how to swim. Along with many other people, Jean started to swim to Congo. Most people were drowned in the Lake trying to escape. He says, “We will never see them again.”

While in a refugee camp in Congo, he found a job to take care of cows for a local Congolese family. In return, he would be paid enough to get food and milk. Finally, when the Genocide ended, he returned from Congo and found that his father had remarried after his mother was killed. Jean’s father was now living with his step mother. Jean’s education ended at 4th grade and he never had a chance to go back to school. Instead he continued to work on people’s farms with a hope that one day he’d make enough money to buy his own cow.

Jean has worked so hard and now owns own 200 coffee trees, a banana plantation and is soon hoping to start his own family. He has been praying for a cow to provide manure for his farm, milk and a stronger income in the future. With the manure from the cow, he believes his food production is going to increase in the next season and his coffee farm is going to have a better yield. The cow is not only blessing Jean, but also other farmers in his village. Jean is giving them manure to fertilize their farms. When asked how he feels about the cow, Jean said, “I thought no one thought about me or loved me anymore. This cow is a sign that God still loves me and cares for me. This cow is a sign of love from God. I would like to thank Arise Rwanda Ministries and the donors who have continued to give genocide survivors hope through the Have A Cow campaign. Mat God richly bless you!”