“If the African nations today agree together to say, ‘No more aid,’ … I tell you, they can grow slowly, but they can grow.”

John Rucyahana was forced to flee his homeland of Rwanda at the age of 14 and spent many years as a refugee in Uganda. He was ordained in the Anglican Church and became rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Hoima, Uganda. After the Rwandan genocide, Bishop John returned to his homeland.  In his roles as parish priest, in his work with the Sonrise School, as Chairman of Prison Fellowship Rwanda, and as a member of President Paul Kagame’s Presidential Advisory Council, Bishop John has continued to work actively in the reconciliation process between those who lost loved ones in the genocide and those who participated in the slaughter. Bishop John became the first African bishop with a parish in the United States. From that experience, the Anglican Mission in America was launched. He also works on the Saddleback Church’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan and as a co-founder of Bridge2Rwanda.