Our Story
Building Bridges with Rwanda began with a simple belief: communities become stronger when people have opportunities to meet, listen to one another, share knowledge, and build relationships across cultures.
Since 2008, BBR has created bridges between Canada and Rwanda through education, experiential learning, community partnerships, storytelling, and dialogue.
A bridge is built one relationship at a time.
Why We Build Bridges
Too often, Africa is understood through stories told from a distance. Building Bridges with Rwanda creates opportunities for people to encounter one another, learn from one another, and discover what becomes possible when knowledge and experience move in both directions.
For nearly two decades, we have connected communities in Canada and Rwanda through storytelling, experiential learning, community partnerships and shared action.
The bridge carries people, knowledge and opportunities in both directions.
Vision, Mission and Values
Our Vision
Stronger communities connected across cultures, generations, and borders through mutual learning and meaningful relationships.
Our Mission
Building Bridges with Rwanda connects people, knowledge, and opportunities between Canada and Rwanda through community partnerships, experiential learning, education, and storytelling.
Our Values
- Mutual Learning
- Respect
- Community
- Reciprocity
- Inclusion
- Shared Leadership
The BBR Knowledge Tree
The roots represent the values that sustain our work. The trunk represents our mission. The branches are the programs and partnerships through which that mission comes to life. Some branches are mature; others are just beginning to grow. Like every healthy tree, BBR continues to evolve as new opportunities emerge and communities shape our future together.
Our Journey
From 2008 to 2013 alone, BBR hosted over six hundred visitors in Rwanda — volunteers who worked side-by-side with Rwandans building the Covaga Innovation Centre and more than thirty-six kitchen gardens for vulnerable community members. Guided by the ubuntu philosophy — "I am what I am because of who we all are" — that journey continues today.
- Founding
BBR was established by Lama Mugabo to support the reconstruction of Rwanda following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.
- Fundraising
A fundraiser was organized, raising seven thousand dollars to support Covaga, a weaver's cooperative turning environmental challenges into social and economic opportunities.
- Collaboration
Lama Mugabo returned to Rwanda and collaborated with various organizations supporting the country's post-genocide reconstruction and reconciliation.
- Partnership
BBR partnered with Developing World Connections (DWC), recruiting volunteers for 2 to 4 weeks.
- Sponsorship
Upon returning to Canada, Lama continued the work, bringing visitors from Canada to Rwanda. Two proteges, Cedric (VP) and Steven (Treasurer), both educated in Canada and the US, served on the BBR board.
- RR25 Legacy Project
BBR collaborates with Hogan's Alley Society and the SFU Institute for Black and African Diaspora Research and Engagement to launch the Remember Rwanda 25 Year Legacy Project.
- Reflection Tours
BBR takes people from Vancouver to Rwanda — including participation in CHOGM 2022 — to visit the projects that have transformed the nation.
Our Partners
Nearly two decades of bridges are built with many hands.
IBADRE — Simon Fraser University
The Institute for Black and African Diaspora Research and Engagement, our academic partner in the RR25 Legacy Project and the Rwanda Sustainable Development Learning Exchange.
Hogan's Alley Society
Co-founder of the RR25 Legacy Project, connecting Vancouver's Black community history with Rwanda's story of remembrance and renewal.
Baraza Collective
A storytelling collective founded by Lama Mugabo — podcast and documentary work that shares stories from this work with a wider audience.
Community Partners in Rwanda
COVAGA weavers cooperative, QuinoaHub Ltd., the Gashora Sector, Gira Ubumuntu, and Developing World Connections.
See the difference this work makes
Numbers, stories, and voices from both countries.