League star's gorilla thriller

By NEIL REID - Sunday News

Smiling Joe Galuvao happily poses for a photo in the African bush with a majestic silverback gorilla in the background.

But little does he know that the grumpy ape, irritated at being disturbed, was about to charge at him and fellow NRL players Justin Poore, Joel Reddy, Matt Keating, Tim Mannah and Joseph Paulo.

Paulo, the 100kg Penrith Panther, was swatted aside by the mountain gorilla as it pounded down a path. Terrified Galuvao and the others ran for their lives.

"That was an experience in itself. I almost p*ssed my pants to be honest," Galuvao told Sunday News from Sydney.

"We went into the jungle and we were taken to see the mountain gorillas. Our guide told us not to make too much noise and then one of the gorillas got up and walked right past us.

"The guide told us not to run – but five of us scattered, trying to get out of its way.

"The guide was saying, `Don't run, don't run'. And we were going, `Like how can you not run?

"We have a great big gorilla coming right at us'."

The former Kiwis powerhouse, 31, had travelled to Rwanda, the scene of genocide in 1994, on an eight-day church mission.

One million people were killed during a horrific 100-day period, sparked by the military and militia led by the Hutu tribe.

Members of the rival Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus were targeted.

Galuvao and his league-playing colleagues immersed themselves for eight days in the ongoing rebuilding and "healing" there. They spent time with the survivors, listening to their stories of the bloody massacre.

He wants to continue with his fledgling Christian missionary work there. Galuvao, who played four tests for the Kiwis between 2003-04, has vowed to return to Rwanda when his career ends.

"Being a Christian, the church that I am part of is big on mission trips," he said.

"I had never been on one – so this was a first. And now I have been on one, I would love to go back.

"I would love to go back to the country and interact with the people again. It was a totally different world."

The six league stars were accompanied to Rwanda by Parramatta Eels chief executive Paul Osborne and Bonnie Scott, the fiancee of Eels and Kangaroos star Nathan Hindmarsh.

Their work centred around the Village of Hope, a haven for those left orphaned or widowed followed the killings 15 years ago.

They helped complete two brick houses, as well as donating cash, 1200 pairs of shoes collected in Sydney and even the clothes off their back to locals.

Galuvao said images and readings he pored over of the bloodshed at the Genocide Museum would stay with him forever – with few of the group managing to hold back the tears.

So too would the harrowing stories of survival that he was told first-hand during his mission work.

"You have to be a bit sensitive, but we talked to widows and survivors who had lost whole families. It is a healing process, you are just amazed," Galuvao said.

"People talk about hope, they talk about faith. There is hope through tragedy and it was very humbling for me to witness.

"I was talking to one lady who a month ago walked past one of the people who murdered her family.

"I talked to one of the survivors who is running the Hope village.

"His wife is a Tutsi and he is a Hutu. It was freaky. He talked about how he survived it and also the healing process after it.

"His wife was a Tutsi and she lost her whole family.

"She was that traumatised she couldn't differentiate her own husband from other Hutus.

"She just thought all Hutus were out to get her.

"For me, it was a process of healing and forgiveness.

"People are moving on and trying to live the best they can."

Galuvao said he went to Rwanda with his eyes open, having read up on the country's bloody history, as well as watching documentaries on the genocide.

But nothing could have fully prepared him for what he found.

"I don't think people can understand what really happened there until they go through it and see it with their own eyes," he said.

"It gave me more of an appreciation of what really happened there and what the people went through.

"It was one of the best experiences I have had in my life."

And despite his brush with the grumpy gorilla, he loved seeing Rwanda's wildlife.

"It was still a great experience. I am a massive fan of National Geographic and the Discovery channel. I watch it all the time with the family," he said.

"Just to be there and see it for myself was awesome. It is something that I will always cherish."