Josephine Mukambibi is the chief of the Pygmy community in Ruduha, Rwanda. She has walked with PIPES since the beginning of mission work in Ruduha village in 2019. Josephine is a widow whose husband passed on several years ago. She has been through thick and thin. She has been a victim of domestic violence and has also seen the ugly side of poverty. For a long time, Josephine was a bitter woman.

As the chief of her community, she takes care of 10 households with about 100 people. She organizes meetings, meets guests, and makes reports to the local government authorities.
Josephine, a widow, takes care of her six (6) children and several grandchildren. Owing to frustrations in her life, Josephine turned to alcoholism. She became a drunkard and an immoral woman who was abusive and termed anyone who crossed her line as an enemy. She says she did this because of the abuse and bitterness she had gone through in her life.
When PIPES International came to her village in December 2018 with the good news of the Kingdom of God, she was among the first people who gave their lives to Jesus, and to date, she has kept the faith.

She has opened her house to be used as a meeting place during their weekly prayer and Bible study. She did this to seek solace and prayer amid all the turmoil in her life. Josephine had a son who had signs of mental sickness. She sold all she owned to take him to witch doctors without any success. After getting saved, members of her Christian support group prayed for him, and today, he is of sound mind. Today Josephine is a changed woman. She is a servant leader with a great heart. She is a deaconess in her local church. She is hardworking and feeds her children without depending on handouts or men like she did before. Today, she rears pigs and chickens. Josephine says, “Since I embraced the Lord Jesus Christ, things have totally changed in my life; I enjoy peace and joy that I cannot explain.” Josephine is these days slow to anger, unlike in the past when she could easily be irked by even light issues. Her self-esteem has significantly improved. Her home and environment are clean; her farm production has increased, and she is now a more confident person when speaking to people.

It is a pleasure to meet and interact with Josephine. In many of the villages leadership is predominantly a men’s affair. Josephine has guided the community in the right direction. Some community members meet for prayers at her house weekly. She joins social workers and community development officers to assist with agriculture and other emerging needs. PIPES is so proud to have a servant model leader like Josephine, who is a light and beacon of hope in the community.