Real Stories

Desperate hunger for God's Word inside a Rwandan prison 

Chloe Morland of the British and Foreign Bible Society visited Rwanda in 2009 

It was a warm day when a group of staff members and supporters of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) arrived in Nyanza, a town two hours drive away from Kigali, the capital city. We had come to visit and distribute Bibles at the Mpanga prison with a team from the Rwandan Bible Society.

Many of the 7,500 prisoners are perpetrators of the genocide of 1994, which left about one million Rwandans dead. We had no idea what we would find inside the prison walls. 

A Startling Sight

When we entered the main courtyard, we were met with a startling sight – a sea of orange and pink-suited prisoners – waiting eagerly for the service to start. There were at least 7,000 men and 30 women there, and they all turned to greet us with waves and warm smiles and we felt very welcome.  

Pastor Deo Gashagaza led the service and the prisoners listened intently. But when the worship began, we saw an amazing sight that we didn’t expect to see inside a prison – hands raised in the air and eyes closed in praise. 

When the Bible was read, we could feel the prisoner’s desperate hunger for God’s Word. A few were fortunate enough to have their own Bibles and followed the readings. The rest strained forward to listen and we realized that each one carries many memories, regrets and traumas but they are finding hope and comfort in God’s Word.

Just before the service, the Bible Society of Rwanda had distributed about 300 Bibles. But there were not enough to go around. At this time, I realized that I had hardly ever thought about prisoners and their needs for healing, forgiveness and the love of God. This experience showed us what a huge opportunity we have for taking God’s Word to people in prisons who are desperate to receive it.

Let’s take action and remember to pray for these prisoners at the Mpanga prison. It is because of generous donors that Bible Societies are able to share God’s life-giving Word with them and others who are incarcerated all over the world.