A little history

Kumbya was first identified as a possible location for a rest house and retreat centre in the early 1940’s by missionary doctors working at nearby Kibagora Hospital. These were exciting but exhausting times for these pioneer missionaries – often living in very primitive conditions and under immense pressure. At the same time, revival was sweeping the land and there was a new desire for unity between the various Protestant missionary groups operating in the country – the Danish Baptists, CMS and the Anglicans, Free Methodists, Evangelical Friends, and Swedish Pentecostals.
In 1943, these missionaries organised the first of what was to become an annual convention of missionaries working in the Great Lakes Region, at Mutaho in Burundi. In 1945, having identified and purchased the land at Kumbya (which included nearby Gako Island), local missionaries started to prepare the site as an ideal place to hold future conferences. The different missionary societies built simple cottages on the northernmost ridge overlooking the view of the islands, and a meeting hall and kitchen was built at the other end of the hill.

The first conference to be held at Kumbya was in 1946. The annual conferences were important times of spiritual and physical refreshment, which were pivotal in establishing and maintaining good relationships between the various missionary groups during the following decades. At times Kumbya was used as a safe haven by missionaries caught up in unrest in Congo and Rwanda.

The conferences took place each summer up until 1994. During the genocide the buildings were ransacked and almost destroyed. After much hard work, they were repaired and rebuilt and the conferences started again in 1999. The photos of Kumbya were taken by Peter and Elisabeth Guillebaud in the late 1940's. Kumbya Eden Retreat will sit on land immediately to the left of the view in this picture.