David Bucura and Rachel Bugenimana joined forces with the Peace Education Programming Team and the dedicated staff of Auburndale Elementary, including the esteemed Dr. Bonnie Marshall and Dr. Geneva Stark. This gathering wasn’t just a meeting but a vibrant hub of shared knowledge, ideas, and a mutual passion for education and growth.
The day kicked off with an array of cooperative games. These weren’t just fun activities; they served a greater purpose – breaking down barriers and fostering a sense of camaraderie among all participants. It was a creative way to get everyone acquainted, setting a tone of unity and collaboration for the day.
As the morning activities wrapped up, the fellowship took a delicious turn with a catered lunch. This break offered a moment for informal interactions, where experiences and stories were exchanged over delightful meals. But the highlight of the lunch was a special presentation by David, which captivated and inspired everyone present.
Post lunch, the focus shifted to more structured learning. The afternoon and evening session delved into the initial components of developing a strategic plan. This segment was especially enlightening, offering practical insights and strategies that David and Rachel could take back to their respective roles.
The day wasn’t just about giving; it was also about appreciation and recognition. In a heartwarming gesture, David and Rachel were presented with souvenir gifts from the University of Louisville and Churchill Downs. These mementos were not just gifts but symbols of appreciation and a reminder of the valuable contributions they made to the event.
In summary, this event was a testament to the power of true collaboration. It was a day where learning, sharing, and community came together, leaving everyone, especially David and Rachel, enriched with new knowledge and lasting memories.
David Bucura
Coordinator of the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI) of the Friends Peace Teams
David Bucura has long experience as a pastor, peacemaker, and educator, with degrees in education, theology and leadership. He and his wife Rachel Bugenimana live in Kigali, Rwanda. They have three children, two daughters and one boy.
Along with working with AGLI since its inception in 1999 and Coordinator of the Friends Peace Team/ AGLI for the last six years, he is Deputy of the Peace and Development Network in Rwanda. He is an advisor of the Transformational Leadership Center in Rwanda. David is also FWCC (Quaker) Africa Section representative to the work of the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva. He served as General Secretary and General Superintendent of Rwanda Yearly Meeting. David offers Leadership Training to church and association leaders in: Servant Leadership, Management Skills, Stewardship, Dependence and Human Resource Management.
A leader in interfaith cooperation, he has served as Treasurer of Protestant Council of Rwanda. He is a former Treasurer of the interfaith Protestant Counsel of Rwanda and Alliance Churches of Rwanda.
He was first director of the Peace House, a Quaker-inspired center for interfaith and interethnic reconciliation started the year after the genocide in 1994. He and Rachel have directed many workshops over the last three decades that brought together victims, perpetrators, and their families to work through how to go on living together in the same communities. They helped train those village leaders that helped use grass root-level restorative justice to clear the literally tens of thousands of lower-level cases related to acts during the genocide, as well as addressing ongoing individual trauma and community conflicts.
David has family in Louisville and has formed bonds with local peace and justice groups. In 2009 he arranged for a group of Rwandan educators to be trained by Louisville’s Peace Education Program as trainers for school Peer Mediation and spread that work through schools in Rwanda. He has also arranged for Louisville’s Center for Interfaith Relations to implement training in Rwanda to help grow an interfaith coalition for better understanding and effectiveness.