President’s Note
Families are facing a multitude of challenges in modern times. Domestic violence has unfortunately become commonplace for many families, while divorce and separation are more frequent than ever. Social isolation and lack of communication among family members are also prevalent issues, compounded by the fact that technology can often exacerbate these problems rather than alleviate them.
Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including raising awareness and providing specialized support for victims of domestic violence, promoting social connections through community engagement, and encouraging open and honest communication between family members.
Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including raising awareness and providing specialized support for victims of domestic violence, promoting social connections through community engagement, and encouraging open and honest communication between family members.
Rwanda has taken significant steps towards placing the family at the center of its development agenda, recognizing that equitable and sustainable development is only possible when families are empowered and supported.
The country has made great progress in ensuring strategic coordination of policies related to gender, family, women’s empowerment, and children’s issues, by creating a secure environment for all family members, empowering women and girls, promoting non-discrimination and gender equality, and fostering positive masculinity. Other initiatives include eradicating gender- based violence, reinforcing family unity and positive parenting, reducing poverty, and promoting economic empowerment of families.
Recognizing the need for additional support in this area, a faith-based organization called FAMILLE ESPERANCE (FAES), was found in 2012 in Rwanda. This organization has been granted legal recognition by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), with mission is to enable families and family members to become active participants in love and hope, sanctify the vocation of marriage, build families based on Christian values of fidelity and mutual respect, raise children in a religious culture with positive values and behaviors, accompany youth and children on faithful pathway, propagate God’s lo ve amongst coupled and single families to build hope for their future, life’s challenges through their faith.
By working together to strengthen families and promote positive values through religious teachings, we can create a more supportive and nurturing environment for families to thrive.
Ultimately, through the power of faith and community, we can work towards a brighter future for families and communities.
Origin
“There is no such thing as a perfect family!” Pope John Paul II
Famille Esperance was found in 2012 by Sister Immaculee Uwamariya, with aim of helping families to live in harmony, spread God’s love among them, and strengthen the vocation of marriage. The organization’s mission is to contribute to the social and spiritual protection of families by supporting them to build their relationships on Christian values,preparing brides and bridegrooms for happy marriage,motivating family exchange through couple times,promoting families through humanism, spirituality, and unity, and creating an exchange room between partners to express their concerns and find solutions.
Famille Esperance thus supports families to live in peace, love and harmony towards their well-being, protection,cohesion,stability, as well as their spiritual and socio-economic development. It gathers all Christians from different stages of life who desire to commit to an authentic human Christian and apostolic life within the Catholic Church and beyond, aiming at promoting the family in general. Today the organization has set up groups : Abadatana (couples living together); Abeza b’imana (single parents); Abakundwa b’imana (divorced parents); Urumuri (youth and young adults); Abatoni b’imana (children); Abadasigana (brides and bridegrooms about to mary); and Iwacu mu rugo (online and spiritual Education program), which provides an online family study through categories per gender (men : Rudasumbwa and Women : Ikibasumba); with aim of working in peer-to-peer support to rebuild the family of its members.
Strategic Orientations
- FAES Capacity Development;
- Securing marriage sanctification and family holiness through raising awareness of the vocation of marriage ; make marriage preparation supportive, engaging, and accessible ; support couples regularizing their marriage ; as well as promotion of exchange room and Christian values amongst couples ;
- Promotion of Socio-Economic well-being of families while put emphasis on divorced, single parents, unmarried single and children-headed families ;
- Strengthening youth, young adult and children ministry by providing them Spiritual Nurture through family education ;
- Management of family conflicts while assuring exchanges, active listening, healing and reconciliation platforms, as well as psychosocial
Core Values
Famille Esperance is committed to promoting Christian Values, integrity, responsibility, empathy, healing and reconciliation, sustainability and freedom. It promotes among its members healing and reconciliation within families, protect the environment, and live in harmony with others.
FAES members and beneficiairies
However, Famille Esperance also welcomes other interested persons who share its values and mission, and whose needs align with the organization’s areas of intervention. These individuals can benefit from Famille Esperance’s services and support, provided they adhere to the organization’s principles and requirements.
Famille Esperance is committed to promoting Christian Values, integrity, responsibility, empathy, healing and reconciliation, sustainability and freedom. It promotes among its members healing and reconciliation within families, protect the environment, and live in harmony with others.
Overall, Famille Esperance aims to foster a sense of community and solidarity among its members and beneficiaries, with focus on promoting strong, health, and harmonious families based on Christian values
Structure
Activities
- Preparing couples to marriage,
- Sanctification of the individual members,
- Promotion of the Christian family,
- Gospel teaching to couples, Human, spiritual, Christian, familial, and social promotion, Apostolate in the name of Jesus Christ, Proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Programs
- Monthly debate-workshops and group discussions of family mentors,
- Longtime retreats of families to share experiences and testimonies with the aim of family strengthening and learning,
- Quarterly meetings with external stakeholders for capacity building of FAES members,
- Annual retreats of FAES members to strengthen their spiritual life so that they can sanctify themselves to better sanctify the entire community they serve;
- Organizing trainings and conferences per categories of FAES beneficiaries including Couples (Abadatana), Single Parents (Abeza b’Imana), Divorced (Abakundwa b’Imana) Youth and Young Adults (Urumuri), and Children (Abatoni b’Imana);
- Conducting a 10 months Iwacu mu rugo Online Cultural and Spiritual Education Program of Women (Ikibasumba) and Men (Rudasumbwa) (in separate way per each category);
- Organizing the 6 months marriage preparation session of brides and bridegrooms (Abadasigana) about to marry;
- Follow up of couples in disputes/conflicts in way of conflict management and reconciliation;
- Sharing prayers and life experience within small brotherhood groups;
- Mobilizing contributions from FAES members to fund and manage the account “Mugore Ntukababare”, the financial account which supports vulnerable women registered in FAES educational programs to cover their basic needs;
- Payment of Health Insurance for vulnerable families.
Famille Esperance regularly organizes retreats to strengthen familial relationships by addressing communication issues in a supportive environment.
Topics covered include effective communication, financial management, self- care, and support networks.
The aim is to equip families with the necessary tools and skills for maintaining healthy relationships, benefiting both the family and wider community.
Overall, the aim of Famille Esperance retreats is to equip family members with the tools and skills necessary to maintain healthy and happy relationships with one another, which can have positive effects not only on the family unit but also on the wider community.
