Healing Hearts & Creating Peace

Report from facilitator, Njeri Ndiangui – Kenya

In the quiet hills of Murambi Village in Gatsibo District, Rwanda, a group of 17 people — 12 women and 5 men — gathered from 5-7 July 2025 for a journey they did not quite expect. They came carrying wounds, questions, and hopes. They left with lighter hearts, deeper clarity, and a new commitment to become creators of peace.

The Creators of Peace Circles is more than just a workshop. It is a safe space where burdens long carried are released, forgiveness is explored, and the possibility of peace, first within oneself and then with others, becomes real.

Over three days, participants opened their hearts and discovered truths that will hopefully shape their families and communities for years to come.

“I have started my healing journey. My family and neighbours will experience a new me. I am a different person than I came here,” one participant said.

Another reflected, “This workshop has been like medicine to my illness, both physical and emotional. Writing the forgiveness letter helped me feel lighter in my heart.”

The discoveries were liberating. “I used to think that someone must apologize to be forgiven. I have learnt that I can forgive without an apology. I will now be a creator of peace,” shared one.

Another confessed, “I had sworn that I will never forgive some three people that deeply hurt me… today I feel free of the bitterness I was carrying and ready to open my doors.”

One participant summed it up simply: “It is my responsibility to create and protect my peace.”

The circle also reminded many that listening is more than hearing words. It is listening to understand, not to respond. For some, these were the first moments of realizing how they, too, had caused hurt and how the cycle could end with them. As one said, “I have been doing things to hurt other people without realizing I was also hurting myself and taking my peace away.”

Among the most moving voices was that of Jean Nepo Sibomana, the Director of the Mustard Seed Institute, which hosted the workshop. He reflected, “We are a country that needs healing. I have attended many sessions on personal healing from different organizations, but Creators of Peace Circles is unique. Should we have more support to conduct many of this kind of trainings? The Mustard Seed Institute stands for peace, and will always welcome collaboration for Creators of Peace Circles in the future. Thank you for opening our eyes and hearts to become true ambassadors of peace!”

Jean Nepo’s life embodies the power of forgiveness. He is the only surviving member of his immediate family after the 1994 genocide. His childhood was marked by moving from one relative’s home to another, carrying unimaginable grief. Yet, instead of bitterness, he chose forgiveness. If forgiveness needed a face, it would be Nepo’s. Inspired by the Eastern Africa Youth Forum, a program of Initiatives of Change in Africa, he returned to his home in the Murambi village to establish the Mustard Seed Institute, a peace and healing centre. Together with his wife and their two children, he not only nurtures dialogue, trust, and reconciliation but also runs a modern agribusiness that creates jobs, many for the children of genocide perpetrators. Truly, he is a modern-day hero, proving that peace is not just spoken, it is lived and practiced on a daily basis.

For three days, Murambi Village became a sanctuary where silence spoke, tears healed, and laughter returned. The 17 participants left not just with words but with conviction. Rwanda, a land still marked by its past, continues to write a new story, one heart at a time, one act of forgiveness at a time, one circle at a time. And as the peace circle reminded us all, peace begins with me. As the facilitator of this workshop, I left Murambi village deeply humbled. To witness people forgive, release years of pain, and reclaim their peace is a sacred honour. This transformation was made possible by the partnership of IofC Rwanda, through its Chairperson, Rock Evodia Noah, the hospitality of the Mustard Seed Institute, and the fundraising endeavours of Creators of Peace in South Australia. Jean Nepo wrote afterwards, ‘It always starts with one’s inner-self and spreads across!"

The facilitator opened many hearts, healed some inner deep wounds and created the need for more Peace Circles!

We are a country (Rwanda) that needs healing, and I have been attending many sessions on personal healing from different organizations, but Creators of Peace is unique. Should we have more support to conduct many of this kind of trainings? The Mustard Seed Institute stands for peace, and will always welcome collaboration with Peace Circles in the future’