Jean de Dieu Sharangabo was an innocent 14-year-old boy when the Interahamwe militia ran amok in Rwanda, killing and maiming.

Then, 19 years ago, Mr Sharangabo had just completed his primary school education in Bugesera District where he lived with his family.

He was born in a polygamous family of 17 siblings from four mothers. Only he and one of his stepmothers survived the 1994 genocide.

Unfortunately, his step-mother is in a mental institution due to the head injuries inflicted on her by the killers and Mr Sharangabo has cuts on his thighs and the back.

Mr Sharangabo is one of the beneficiaries of the Fund for Support to Genocide Survivors – which is better known as FARG, an abbreviation of its French name, Fond d’Assistance aux Rescapes du Genocide – which caters for his school fees, medical bills, food and clothing. He refers to the organisation as his second parents.

He heads Rwanda Christian Youth Survivors of Genocide Ministry, which he formed after he became a born-again Christian. The aim of the ministry is to help other genocide survivors get their lives back. The ministry relies on well-wishers.

The ordeal Mr Sharangabo went through did not stop him from working hard in his studies; he will go to university in September. And, once again, FARG will pick up the tab.

In 2004, the government set up a unity and reconciliation commission to foster peace between genocide survivors and the perpetrators.

Initially, Mr Sharangabo says, he was against the idea as he was not ready to forgive the perpetrators of genocide, especially those who killed his family and the man who attacked him.

However, with the help of FARG, he was able to put the dark past behind him.

“Were it not for FARG, I don’t know where I would be today,” he says.

Five years ago when he became a Christian, Mr Sharangabo realised that everything is possible in God’s name. He even visited his attacker in prison and forgave him.

Louis Rwagaju is the Mayor of Bugesera and, like Mr Sharangabo, is another FARG success story. Mr Rwagaju comes from a family of 10 and only three of them survived the genocide. His parents were killed, leaving him with no hope for education.

Mr Rwagaju was in Senior Four during the genocide and FARG took care of him until he completed his secondary education. He passed with flying colours and was admitted to the National University of Rwanda (NUR) where his college fees was paid by the Ministry of Education. Today he has very kind words for FARG and the government for making the lives of survivors bearable.

Rwagaju and Sharangabo both come from Bugesera, one of the hotspots of the genocide.

FARG, as it is commonly known, is a government institution which was founded in 1998 for the sole purpose of helping the 1994 genocide survivors and integrate them in normal lives. It is divided into five programmes.

Its first priority was health, the biggest problem for many survivors. The survivors were traumatised by the difficulties they went through during the genocide. Others bear the scars of machete cuts.

Child-headed households

A large number of them lost their family members and/or relatives while many women and girls bore the brunt of having being raped and infected by HIV/Aids.

Badly affected orphans and widows were everywhere and counselling centres were set up to help them. Those who were affected or infected by Aids received help in different forms though many have succumbed to the disease.

To date, those living with the disease receive treatment and anti-retroviral drugs while those who have wounds inflicted during the genocide are treated at the military hospital or at home, depending on the gravity of the situation. Those who need specialised treatment are flown abroad.

Also, there were many children who needed to attend school and most of them had started heading households, taking care of their siblings.

Most of these children had no family members who could take care of them. Those who were willing to take them in were not in a position to educate them. So the second phase of FARG programme was started, to educate these orphans.

FARG beneficiaries have hit 164,200. There are about 7,600 people who have finished universities through FARG’s sponsorship and are now working in public and private sectors, leading normal lives.

The organisation pays for the education of 32,143 students in secondary schools and 8,100 in tertiary institutions and universities.

Vulnerable survivors, both young and old, had nowhere to live after their properties were torched or damaged during the genocide. Most of these families became very poor and helpless.

FARG began constructing homes for the orphans and widows. So far, it has built 15,923 homes on its own and 39,723 in collaboration with various partners. In a recent survey, FARG discovered that 12,300 of the homes needed to be refurbished while 21,118 were in good condition.

There are 21,023 people who are being helped by FARG to sustain themselves. Some 5,000 cows have so far been distributed to poor families and, out of these, 1,500 calves were born and distributed to other families.

The organisation also gives Rwf1 million to small-scale co-operatives which have about 10 members to help them to engage in income-generating activities.

FARG also supports its members to lead normal lives. They provide foodstuffs and books, among other things.

According to the executive secretary of FARG, Theophile Ruberangeyo, the organisation has friends who help them in funding small projects. There is a group of former students and genocide survivors who pay school fees for some students.

Another group of goodwill ambassadors consists of widows who contribute Rwf300,000 every three months towards helping orphans and fellow widows.

For the past 15 years since FARG came into existence, it has spent Rwf132 billion on improving the lives of genocide survivors.