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Rwandan Youth Village Flourishes

Agahozo Shalom Youth Village east of Kigali, is home to 500 orphans. Credit: ASYV

Agahozo Shalom Youth Village east of Kigali, is home to 500 orphans. Credit: ASYV

It�s been 19 years since the Rwandan genocide. Much has been done regarding reconciliation and rebuilding. But the work continues, including helping those who became orphans during and after the mass killings. At a youth village in Rwanda, more than 100 high school seniors, all orphans, recently passed their national exams to graduate.

It�s called Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. The name is a combination of Kinyarwanda and Hebrew — Agahozo meaning �where tears are dried� and Shalom meaning �peace.�
Anne Heyman, the founder, said, �I actually was attending a lecture on genocide, and there was a speaker speaking about the Rwandan genocide. This is in the fall of 2005. My husband asked him what was the biggest problem facing Rwanda today? And he said in a country where you have 1.2 million orphans, with a population of 8.5 million people, there really is no future for the country unless you come up with a sustainable solution to the orphan problem.�

Heyman is a South African born lawyer, who now lives in New York City.

�It occurred to me that Israel had had an orphan problem after the Holocaust, and they had come up with a system that reintegrated those kids into society, and they don�t have an orphan problem today. So there really is a systemic solution to dealing with the orphan problem,� she said.

Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village is about an hour�s drive east of Kigali, near the town of Rwamagana. It�s built on land Heywood and supporters purchased from local landowners.

�The philosophy and methodology that are infused in living in the youth village are really geared so that the village as a whole can provide parenting for each kid, even though it�s done, sort of, on a mass scale. We have 500 kids in the village. Everyone gets the kind of support that you or I would give our biological children. Yes, they get food, clothing, shelter and all those things. We�re a high school age community. So, we have a high school where kids really get a top notch state-of-the-art education,� she said.

It�s the Liquidnet Family High School, where all but one of the 118 qualifying seniors passed Rwanda�s national exams a few months ago. It�s the school�s first graduating class. The students are now waiting to see who might get a scholarship or have access to student loans. Those who don�t would have to delay university classes unless they get a job and save some money.

�All of our kids are orphans. So they�ve all gone through some traumatic episode, otherwise, they wouldn�t be orphans. We take the most vulnerable kids in the country. We focus on, as we would do with our own kids, trying to heal their emotional scars; giving them a healthy outlook on life; helping them determine what they want to do with their futures. Our goal is really not to send kids to universities. It�s to help every child maximize their potential. So they�re really looked at as individuals,� said Heyman.

Families consist of 16 youths, along with so-called brothers or sisters, who work at the village. And each family is headed by a mom.

�It�s a staff position at Agahozo-Shalom. We have 32 homes. Each home has a mom. Many of them, the vast majority of them, are women who lost their families during the genocide. And for them, too, the village is a very healing environment. They all say that they have found incredible meaning in their lives and restoring the rhythm of life for these young kids has really been incredibly uplifting for them,� she said.

Each night, there�s family time. For about an hour, members of each family get together to discuss the days events, issues in the village or new information about some sensitive issue.

Heyman said, �Some of our kids are out on the street when we get them. Some of them have drug addictions. Some of them have alcohol addiction. So we have programs for those kids. We have a very serious HIV/AIDS education program. We really work hard at it until every kid who comes through our gate gets tested so that we can deal with whatever we find.�

There are also classes on job skills, such as writing resumes or conducting interviews, and classes on hospitality, computers and modern agriculture.

Heyman said that funding comes mostly from donations and much time is spent drumming up support. She hopes to one day turn Agahozo-Shalom into a self-sufficient village, where small businesses can fund operations.

�If we can fix that last loop, making it self-sustaining in terms of income, then I think we have a tremendous model for development for the world.�

Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village has a statement of philosophy. It reads in part: Each traumatized youth has a past, present and future. Trauma causes a break between the past and present.� Heyman says life in the village is about repair.

Source: Voice of America

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March 21, 2013   No Comments

Rwanda’s Measles-Rubella Vaccine Campaign

A child being immunised

A child being immunised

The 12-15 March measles-rubella vaccine campaign was the latest in a long list of Rwandan vaccine rollouts. Health Minister�Agn�s Binagwaho�explains how political commitment to high immunisation coverage has helped her country more than halve child mortality

1. Why is this vaccine so important for Rwanda?

This new conjugate measles and rubella vaccine is essential, not only for Rwanda, but for the whole world as well. Rubella is a very serious disease, particularly in pregnant women, because it can cause the death of the foetus or congenital malformations (congenital rubella syndrome). There is no specific treatment. Few people are protected against this disease. In Europe, it was brought under control by immunisation, but the disease is still extremely widespread in Africa.

Moreover, this conjugate vaccine will also provide better protection from measles, a disease that is still causing a significant number of deaths. Rwanda has brought this disease under control, but there is still more work to be done. Immunisation is the only way to avoid and control measles and rubella.

2. How will this campaign be conducted?

We will introduce this vaccine throughout the country over an intensive four-day period. All the stakeholders in public health, in every city and village, will make certain that no child is forgotten. Even nursing school students have been enlisted.

Healthcare workers will be working round the clock to immunise almost five million children between 9 months and 14 years of age. All children under five years old will be immunised in health centres while school-age children will be immunised at school.

This is the first time that immunisation is taking place in our schools. We tested this approach with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and it worked well. Ahead of this campaign, we improved and modernised our cold chain to ensure that all Rwandans would receive safe and effective vaccines. We also conducted an awareness campaign to inform people of the importance of measles and rubella vaccine.

We are hopeful that it will be a success, just like other immunisation programmes we have conducted in the past.

3. This is the latest in a long list of Rwandan vaccine introductions. Do you think Rwanda is setting an example in immunisation and, more generally, public health?

With GAVI support, in January 2014, the conjugate measles and rubella vaccine will be incorporated into routine immunisation. We have already introduced vaccines to fight one of the primary causes of pneumonia and rotavirus diarrhoea. We have also launched the HPV vaccine.

Finally, Rwanda has long used the five-in-one pentavalent vaccine to fight diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP3), hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Today, the people of Rwanda have access to the 11 vaccines recommended by WHO for routine immunisation. Our performances are remarkable: DTP coverage rate is over 95%, a level seldom seen in Africa. These results are being achieved thanks to political will and the support of the people, not to mention our international partners.

The Government and I are truly involved and engaged in promoting health for all the people. With this cohesion, all of us are able to move forward in the same direction.

In Rwanda, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have long been a part of our public policy as indicators of progress. Our health priorities are therefore primarily to reduce maternal and child mortality. To date, Rwanda has more than halved its child mortality. We are one of the few African countries with such amazing results. Our high routine immunisation coverage is contributing to this result.

4. How are you getting the message across to Rwandans about the importance of these vaccines?

Rwandans have confidence in us. We have never lied to them. However, as in any public health campaign, an immunisation campaign requires preparation.

The parents and communities must be informed to ensure their grassroots support. Therefore, we clearly explain what will happen, and what are the benefits. For example, for this week’s campaign, we conducted campaigns on radio and television as well as in health centres to inform families of the benefits of the measles-rubella vaccine. Everyone is enlisted, including myself, because Rwandans must be convinced if immunisation is to work. The people are always part of the solution.

5. What is your greatest satisfaction as Rwanda’s Health Minister?

Every night, I go to bed knowing that the health of the children of Rwanda and of the world is better.

Source: All Africa

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March 21, 2013   No Comments

Rwanda: A Stunning Turnaround On A Continent Marked By Broken Promises

Kigali, Rwanda

Kigali, Rwanda

At a recent gathering of business and political leaders in Kigali, President Paul Kagame, the charismatic yet controversial Rwandan leader, stated, �We have understood for a long time that you can�t cure poverty without democracy. The only cure is through business, entrepreneurship, and innovation.� His pro-business and free-market comments are the moral of the story of the �other�Rwanda,� the one that has moved beyond what it is perhaps best known for�the 1994 genocide in which one million people were killed in 100 days. And, it contrasts with the current crossfire of accusations (vehemently denied by the Rwandan government) of alleged support to a rebel group in its chronically violent next-door neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Within Rwanda, another narrative continues to unfold, with a positive impact that could extend well beyond its borders: the slow, steady, and consistent promotion of entrepreneurship and private sector development, two powerful ingredients in the progress toward full democracy in this landlocked country of 11 million people.

According to the World Bank�s Doing�Business�2013 report, Rwanda ranks 52 out of 185 on �ease of doing business� and 8 on �ease in starting a business.� It is the second most improved nation globally and the top improved in sub-Saharan Africa since 2005. Through safety and security, zero-tolerance for corruption, and a stated goal to eliminate foreign aid (currently about 40 percent of its budget), Rwanda has put itself on a trajectory toward greater self-sufficiency; the evidence is in the numbers�projected 7.8% GDP growth in 2013, making it the ninth fastest growing economy in the world.

On a return trip to Rwanda last week, we saw ample evidence in Kigali: a new and fully-leased 20-story skyscraper, tower cranes that punctuate the skyline, and shiny metal roofs in rural areas that attest to growing household income. (Rwanda raised one million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2011.) Agricultural cooperatives improve efficiency and productivity. Coffee washing stations produce value-added �fully washed� coffee beans stripped of their outer hull and mucilage for export to the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Foreign direct investors include�Visa�Inc., with its year-old cashless banking and payment processing ventures, and ContourGlobal, a�New York-based company installing technology to extract methane gas from the waters of Lake Kivu to generate electricity. Chinese construction, South African telephony, and soon an Israeli solar-power venture are but some of the multinational involvements. Carnegie Mellon�s new Rwandan campus offers a master of science degree in information technology, reflecting Rwanda�s vision of evolving into an IT-based economy.

Yet most impressive are the more modest homegrown ventures: new boutique hotels, restaurants, small IT shops, printers, event planning, and tourism offerings. (In 2010 alone, 18,447 new businesses were registered in Rwanda.) �A young woman dressed in smart attire urged two visitors to come to her new shop, which sells upscale fabrics and offers custom tailoring. The nascent Rwanda Stock Exchange lists four stocks�two Rwandan and two cross-listings�along with a few bonds, and plans to expand from truncated open-outcry sessions (which with a handful of brokers and light volume are more murmur than roar) to an electronic platform.

While hardly the next�Facebook�or�Google, this is the kind of entrepreneurship that�s needed in Rwanda, where the average age is just under 20. Twelve years of compulsory education, increased enrollment in institutions of higher learning, and more vocational training will produce a generation of workers who cannot possibly be employed by the government. On a continent in which power tends to coagulate at the top and rarely spreads to regional and local levels, Rwanda preaches a gospel of free enterprise and private sector job creation.

Rwanda is not without its challenges and criticisms; among them are human capital development, particularly at the mid-tier level, and bureaucracy and chronic delays that are the unintended consequences of the drive to prevent corruption. (Paralysis can set in when something should, legitimately, be expedited, out of fear of even the appearance of impropriety.) Politically, Rwanda needs further gains in free speech (critics charge it silences political opposition) and more freedom for local press that must professionalize.

But Rwanda has come very far, very fast, from the lowest level of human-induced catastrophe that left it morally, socially, politically, and financially bankrupt. Out of those ashes of the 1994 genocide, when the West did nothing to intervene, Rwanda learned not to depend long-term on the outside world for help (a lesson that should be heeded in Haiti, where despite billions in aid, virtually no material gains have been made).

As Rwanda receives help from the likes of the Clinton Foundation, Partners In Health, Tony Blair�s Africa Governance Initiative, and many others, its appetite is for knowledge and development of institutions, not hand-outs that come with someone else�s agenda attached.

If Rwanda does, indeed, develop entrepreneurship and free enterprise as tools to build a future of its own design, its success will provide a stunning example of �the ultimate turnaround� on a continent in which there have been far too many examples of broken promises and unrealized potential.

Patricia Crisafulli and Andrea Redmond are authors of Rwanda, Inc.: How a Devastated Nation Became an Economic Model for the Developing World (November 2012, Palgrave-Macmillan).

Source: Forbes

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March 21, 2013   1 Comment

Water Treatment Plants to Help 100,000 Residents in Rwanda

Water plants were launched in Nyabimata sector, Nyaruguru district

The water plants launched in Nyabimata sector, Nyaruguru district

THE MINISTER OF STATE for water and energy, Emma-Francoise Isumbingabo, has reiterated the government�s commitment to supply clean and safe drinking water to the population.

She was speaking on Tuesday at the launch of two water treatment plants and water schemes in Nyabimata sector, Nyaruguru district. Nyabimata and Mata Water Treatment plants, have the capacity to process 2,400 cubic metres per day, distribute safe drinking water to about 100,000 residents in Nyaruguru, Huye and Gisagara districts of the Southern Province through a web of water schemes stretching to over 296 km.

Water points are installed within 500 to 1,000 meters from houses in scattered habitats and 200 metres for villages (imidugudu), officials said.

The water infrastructures were constructed by the Water and Sanitation Project in the Southern Province, known by its French acronym as PEPAPS, under the financial support of the European Union (EU).

The inauguration was held as part of activities to mark the Water Week in preparation for World Water Day, due on Friday. Rwanda is marking the week by inaugurating new water infrastructures, setting up new ones and putting up measures to protect the existing ones, including sensitisation campaigns targeting the population, Isumbingabo said.

�Today�s inauguration is in line with the government�s policy of supplying safe water to all the citizens. We want 100 per cent of the population served by the year 2017.�

She urged residents to protect existing water infrastructures for the benefits of the entire community.

Celestin Ndakaza, 71, a local resident, said the new water facilities will help boost people�s health while at the same time contributing to their socio-economic development.

�We spent so much time lokkingfor water, which was not safe,� he said. �

Rwanda commended:

The World Water Day is observed every March 22 across the world and is an occasion to reflect on the role of water in the life of the world�s population. On the occasion, world leaders are urged to come up with appropriate mechanisms to enable families have access to clean water.

This year�s national theme is: �Cooperation in management of water resources and water supply infrastructure�. Available statistics indicate that over 800 million people in the world still lack access to safe drinking water while two out of five people do not have access to drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: All Africa

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March 21, 2013   No Comments

ICC officials travel to Rwanda to pick up Congolese Rebel Ntaganda

Bosco Ntaganda - "The Smiling Terminator"

Officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) are on their way to Kigali in order to pick DR Congo�s war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda, a senior US official has said.

Ntaganda turned himself in at the US Embassy in Kigali on Monday and asked to be transferred to The Hague-based tribunal.

Amb. Johnnie Carson, the United States Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, was yesterday addressing journalists at the US Embassy in Kigali via a video link.

�Officials from the ICC are, as we speak, en route to Kigali,� he said. �We believe that it is important to accommodate Bosco Ntaganda�s request to be transferred to the ICC.�

The US, like Rwanda, is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the court.

Carson said; �The timeline (of Ntaganda�s transfer to the ICC) is uncertain but the need for rapid and quick action is clear, we have been told that officials from the ICC are, as we speak, en route to Kigali. We hope that when these officials arrive, they would be admitted into the country, that they would be allowed to proceed to the Embassy and accorded appropriate diplomatic passage and to move Ntaganda out of Kigali into the arms of the ICC.�

Rwanda has indicated that it would not interfere with the transfer of Ntaganda to the ICC.

Foreign Affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo said on Tuesday, �It is a matter for the US, who are holding the suspect, the DRC�the country whose nationality the suspect holds � and the ICC.�

The US diplomat noted that there had been �very open and good contact� with Kigali, with assurances of cooperation.

Amb. Carson noted the next 48 hours or so will be critical could not explain why Ntaganda chose to surrender to the US.

�I suspect that he may have come because he knows that we are a symbol of fairness and justice and integrity in this kind of process…but I don�t know and can�t read his mind,� he added.

On the likely implication of sending Ntaganda to the ICC, Carson said this would send a �clear signal� to other rebel leaders and would be one step towards improving situation in the volatile eastern DR Congo.

�It will take off the battlefield one of the most notorious rebel leaders,� Carson said.

Ntaganda fell out with President Joseph Kabila early last year after the latter seemed to bow to international pressure to arrest him after joining the government under a March 2009 peace deal.

Since then, Ntaganda kept a low profile despite repeatedly being linked with the M23 rebellion in eastern DR Congo, which broke out around the same time he deserted from the army.

But in the days leading up to his surrender, a split within M23 saw its military commander, Col. Sultan Makenga, dismiss Bishop Jean Runiga, who was believed to be in favour of a hard-line stance in the ongoing peace talks with Kinshasa and working closely with Ntaganda.

Runiga, along with an estimated 700 loyalist fighters crossed into Rwanda on Saturday after they were uprooted by rival M23 fighters, sparking speculation that Ntaganda moved deep into DRC jungles without protection.

�Source:�newtimes.co.rw

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March 21, 2013   No Comments