The Inyenyeri Association ("stars") was officially launched in 2006 in Rwanda. The Association works as a community based organisation and pursues the following objectives:
- Promoting Rwandan culture and positive values.
- Acknowledging roles in the genocide (of perpetrators); encouraging perpetrators to ask for pardon and victims to forgive.
- Sensitising and supporting alleged perpetrators living in Congo to come back to their country
- Assisting 1959 Rwandan repatriates and engaging with them in resolving land related disputes in the Rwandan community.
- Raising awareness among genocide survivors and perpetrators of the importance of providing accurate information regarding the genocide, and engaging with them in the process of reconciliation.
Achievements of the Inyenyeri Association
The Inyenyeri Association is recognised to have significantly contributed to the fight against genocide and divisionism ideologies; responding to corruption during the Gacaca process; sensitising people about the importance of peace and reconciliation in the post-genocide context; promoting anti-drug abuse among young people; addressing domestic violence and resolving conflicts within families; helping to resolve problems related to property looted or destroyed during the genocide; and encouraging people to speak truthfully to one another and collecting accurate information during the Gacaca trials (judiciary system established to judge and punish Genocide crimes).
The association has provided assistance for the needy in its community, regardless of their ethnic group and background. It has also provided livestock to community members identified as rescuers during the genocide, as a sign of collective recognition and gratitude.
The Inyenyeri Association has developed partnerships with The National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation (NURC); Search for Common Ground; Rubavu and Nyabihu District authorities.
The organisation has 82 members and serves the communities located in Rubavu and Nyabihu Districts.
