Day 2: Equipping all generations

Posted: 15 August 2019

Equipping… students
This morning Elsa, Gemma and Zara presented a talk on Faith and Law to around 50 Law students of various years from National University of Rwanda and the University of Kigali. The session started with a short devotion from Psalm 27 by Elsa. Kiera (Guitar), Gemma (voice) and Zara (Flute) finished the devotion by leading everyone in Be Thou My Vision. Gemma started the first part of the session discussing the connection between God and Law and how he cares about our careers. She then in particular the how God cares about justice. After a relaxing break on the Solace terrace we came back for the second part of the session discussing how as Christians we incorporate Justice into our studies and work. Highlighting the importance of God being at the centre of our work/ studies and how as Christians we instigate this in our workplaces and university. In doing this we talked about the importance of support from church, family and remembering to pray about our studies and work. There were some great questions from the students and we ended the session with a Kinyarwandan rendition of How Great Thou Art.

Equipping… lawyers
Around 60 members of the Rwandan Bar Association attended two days of training on Labour Law and Practice. Most were experienced lawyers, some were experienced in labour law, but most were looking to gain an understanding of labour law with a view to developing work in this area. The delegates included a former Permanent Secretary of State and member of the Law Reform Commission, a journalist turned lawyer who was involved in the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Over two days of interactive sessions Mark worked through Rwandan Labour Law, drawing lessons from UK and EU law, and identifying practical ways of developing labour law practice. Engagement by delegates was good. The group discussed legal policy, thorny topics such as terminating employment, and drawing on the experience of practitioners, sought to clarify provisions of new legislation. At one point Mark was able to answer a question about the theology of labour law.

The two-day session was a great opportunity to promote the work of Lawyers of Hope among Rwandan Lawyers and to show Christianity has implications for legal practice. The RBA expressed their appreciation for the work of LOH and the love shown by the LCF team. The RBA expressed their desire for future partnership with LCF and the RBA and the input of our lawyers including in the review of labour law.

Equipping… trustees
In the evening the LCF team and the board of the LOH had a chance to spend some time together, encouraging each other, hearing a little more about the challenges LOH are facing and considering the principles of running a Christian charity well.

Mark and Elsa shared some thoughts from their respective experiences of running the LCF as Executive Director and being a trustee, including some helpful thoughts on biblical delegation and management. There was a chance for questions and some good discussions the end.

We all had dinner together afterwards, and enjoyed getting to know each other in a more informal environment while stuffing ourselves with more of the incredible food from the Solace kitchen.