History

A Short History of the Rwanda Group Trust

The story of the Preston based Rwanda Group Trust starts with teacher, Joe Bamber and his wife Rosemary, setting up a Third World support group through Catholic priests and nuns who were working there at the time.

Joe visited Rwanda for the first time in summer, 1983 where he saw first hand the issues caused by poverty. He was able to forge links initially with people in two different regions, Kigali (the capital city) and Cyangugu in the south-west.

Other visits followed, some including trustees of the RGT, the Bamber family members and students from Newman College Preston, where Joe taught.

In 1994, over a million Rwandans were killed during the genocide. The United Nations reported that in just 100 days men, women and children were brutally killed. This resulted in even greater poverty as many families suffered the loss of wage earners and the need for humanitarian aid became even more apparent.

This devastation was revealed to Joe when he visited again in 1995 and prompted him to redouble his efforts to raise much needed funds through car boot sales, raffles and other parish events.

Joe Bamber with trustee Myra Gregory on a visit to Rwanda with some of our Rwandan friends

 The founding principle of the charity is to:
“help the poorest of the poor in the fields of health, food, shelter and education.”

The vast majority of money raised came through the town centre RGT charity shop. Many people willingly gave up their time to volunteer either working in the shop or sorting through donations. Sadly, during the Covid pandemic the shop was forced to close for good, resulting in a huge loss of income. However, Joe and the trustees were determined to continue raising as much money as they could through online, auctions and private sales. Sponsored events became significant fund-raisers. (More information about current ongoing fundraising can be seen on the Home page).

The RGT now helps 4 groups in different parts of the country (see map). One leader in each of these areas distributes the funds to those they consider having the greatest need.

To make a donation click on: How to Donate