On request of the Presbyterian church, a Rwandan deaconesses community was established in 1984.
Until 2008 a Dutch deaconess* was in charge. The community has forty sisters and is led by a management team of two deaconesses and a pastor. The community is interdenominational and legally independent. The community is located in western Rwanda in the town of Rubengera. It is not far from Lake Kivu that forms the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sisters are active in many areas. In addition to church work, they support orphans, work on agriculture, manufacturing, education and healthcare.
*The deaconesses community of Amerongen is connected with the Rwandan community in Rubengera since 1956. From the foundation of the community of deaconesses in 1984 until 2008, the leadership was in the hands of a Dutch deaconess.
The sisters of Amerongen are still closely connected with the sisters in Rwanda and support the work through the Foundation Friends of Sisters in Rwanda.
You can read more information about the sister community in Amerongen on the website of community Bethanië.