The World Family CookBook is part of a project developed by The Humphrey Fellowship Program of Boston University to raise funds for children of war in Africa. The goal of the project is to help establish an agricultural center, purchase much needed farm tools, and provide psychological counseling for some of the thousands of children who have been left as the sole caregivers of younger siblings, and as adoptive parents of abandoned infants.
History of War Children in Rwanda
Since the end of World War I Rwanda has long been the scene of tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi populations.
In 1994 the fighting broke again. This fighting erupted into a savage civil war and humanitarian crisis. It is estimated that from a pre-war Rwandan population of around 9 million people, up to 1 million people were killed in the bloodshed and a further 7 million people were displaced from their homes, with 3 million fleeing to refugee camps abroad to escape the fighting.
Disease and food shortages also took their toll. At the height of the troubles, it was estimated that warfare, starvation and disease were killing 3,000 people a day.
Many children were caught up in the war. In the huge population displacements, numerous children were separated from their families and became lost. Others were orphaned thorough war or disease, or ran away from the horrors they witnessed in their home villages.
Huge numbers of children were traumatized by their experiences of war. Many of them ended up as street children in the cities, living rough and begging or stealing food.
After the war, aid organizations estimate that there are 300,000 orphan children living in child-headed households. Many of these households adopted other orphan kids.
Many of these child-headed families own small pieces of land. They have no farming skill and frequently adults would try to intimidate them to move out of the house because land is very scarce in Rwanda
The proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will help to establish an agricultural consulting center for the orphans' assocations. It will provide important agricultural education and skills to help them survive and succeed.