Vancouver survivor of Rwanda genocide hopes coffee company will help heal trauma

Part of the proceeds from Neza Coffee will go toward mental health and trauma supports for fellow survivors in Rwanda and Vancouver.

A Vancouver resident who survived the Rwandan genocide nearly 30 years ago has launched a coffee company to raise money for fellow survivors’ mental health needs.

Not only does Neza Coffee source its beans from coffee farms run by Nadine Umutoni’s family and neighbours back home in Rwanda, but a portion of all profits will also go toward mental health and trauma resources for survivors of the brutal massacre — both in Rwanda and in Vancouver.

“It’s my life’s calling,” Umutoni told Global News.

Umutoni knows the need for that mental health therapy all too well.

In 1994, the Hutu ethnic majority in Rwanda set about systematically killing members of the country’s Tutsi ethnic minority. Thursday marks the 28th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide.

Between half a million and 800,000 Tutsis are believed to have been slaughtered within just three months, while the United Nations places the overall death toll — including some moderate Hutus opposed to the genocide — over 1 million.

Umutoni, a Tutsi, survived the massacre due to the kindness of a Hutu neighbour who helped her escape the country. She lost her mom, three brothers and two sisters in a single day shortly after the genocide began.

“It’s so hard to talk about,” Umutoni said, explaining this difficulty is felt by other survivors who had to focus on survival before addressing their own trauma.