IGIHE

Author: Théophile Niyitegeka

  • Call Rwanda to facilitate communication of monthly community work

    {As a way of promoting quick delivery of communicated messages to the mass, Call Rwanda has offered special discount for village and cell leaders in need of sending short messages communicating whereabouts community work will be held. }

    This comes as a solution for citizens who would fail to identify whereabouts to hold community work in case it is communicated by word of month in their absence.

    Using the Bulk SMS of Call Rwanda can avail the message to phone users regardless of where they are located.

    Call Rwanda encourages Rwandans in general to use its services and go in line with technology vision embraced by the government.

    Call Rwanda has also delegated agents in various regions of the country to facilitate easy access to its services.

    For more details about services offered by Call Rwanda, contact 0788302371/ 0789533616 or send email to crispin@call-rwanda.com and Patrick@call-rwanda.com

  • Nyarugenge:Two pick-pocketers arrested as police cautions against unprotected money

    {Rwanda National Police (RNP) calls upon the general public to refrain from tendencies of exposing money noting that such practices can also influence a crime.}

    The call follows an incident on Tuesday in the Central Business District of Nyarugenge where a trader, while walking and holding a big sum of money in his hands, was robbed of about Rwf200, 000, after snatching it from his hands.

    Although the police managed to pursue and arrest the two suspected thieves, and recover the money, which was handed back to the owner, the force maintains that such recklessness tendencies can influence one to commit crime

    Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, Supt. Emmanuel Hitayezu named the suspects as Denis Karangwa alias Kadake Seti, 32, and Alexis Kamanzi, 28.

    “The owner was carrying the monies in his hands before one of the thieves snatched it and passed it over to another, who fled the scene. They were however pursued following information by some people who saw them committing the crime, arrested and the money recovered,” said Supt Hitayezu.

    The suspects are currently detained in Nyarugenge police station.

    “Although there is safety and security, it doesn’t mean that you have to move with big sums of money or expose it in your hands. The best way to prevent a crime is to prevent what can cause it. We appeal to the public to always take precaution or upgrade to electronic transactions such as use of Visa Card, Credit Card or telecom banking and transaction systems,” he advised.

    Penalty for theft with violence or threat ranges between three and five years in prison and a fine of five to ten times the value of the stolen asset, under article 302 of the penal code.

    Source:Police

  • Weight-bearing exercises promote bone formation in men

    {Human hormone, protein linked to bone mass are impacted by 12 months of targeted exercise}

    Osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide and is a serious public health concern, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Now, Pamela Hinton, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, has published the first study in men to show that long-term, weight-bearing exercises decrease sclerostin, a protein made in the bone, and increase IGF-1, a hormone associated with bone growth. These changes promote bone formation, increasing bone density.

    “People may be physically active, and many times people know they need to exercise to prevent obesity, heart disease or diabetes,” Hinton said. “However, you also really need to do specific exercises to protect your bone health.”

    In the study, men 25- to 60-years-old who had low-bone mass were split into two groups. One group performed resistance training exercises such as lunges and squats using free weights. The other group performed various types of jumps, such as single-leg and double-leg jumps. After 12 months of performing the exercises, Hinton then compared the levels of bone proteins and hormones in the blood.

    “We saw a decrease in the level of sclerostin in both of these exercise interventions in men,” Hinton said. “When sclerostin is expressed at high levels, it has a negative impact on bone formation. In both resistance and jump training, the level of sclerostin in the bone goes down, which triggers bone formation.”

    The other significant change Hinton observed was an increase in the hormone IGF-1. Unlike sclerostin, IGF-1 triggers bone growth. The decrease of harmful sclerostin levels and the increase in beneficial IGF-1 levels confirmed Hinton’s prior research that found both resistance training and jump training have beneficial effects on bone growth.

    To increase bone mass and prevent osteoporosis, Hinton recommends exercising specifically to target bone health. While exercises such as swimming and cycling are beneficial to overall health, these activities do not strengthen the skeleton. Hinton suggests also doing exercise targeted for bone health, such as resistance training and jump training.

    The study, “Serum sclerostin decreases following 12 months of resistance- or jump-training in men with low bone mass,” was published in Bone.

    Source:Science Daily

  • Over 1500 CPCs acquire more policing skills

    {Over 1500 members of Community Policing Committees (CPCs) from seven districts have been equipped with more policing skills as Rwanda National Police (RNP) continues to build and strengthen strategies in crime prevention.}

    The training held on March 20 and 21, benefited the policing partners of Ngoma, Kirehe, Bugesera, Rwamagana, Gasabo, Nyanza and Kayonza districts.

    The training focused on, among others, the role of CPCs in ensuring safety and security, their partnership with security organs, the people and other entities; values of a CPC member, patriotism, and the role of every Rwanda in fighting and preventing crime.

    Others include sanitation and hygiene, environmental protection, human rights, preventing domestic conflicts, gender based violence and child abuse, and corruption.

    In Nyanza, Inspector of Police (IP) Jean Baptiste Bizimana, the District Community Liaison Officer (DCLO) emphasized the importance of real time information in response to prevention of crime.

    “Don’t wait for a crime to occur. In most cases, there are signs like when a family has internal conflicts. In such as case, if not reported to resolve the issues, they are likely to become violent,” he said.

    In Rwamagana, IP Albert Kayinamura, while speaking to CPCs of Karenge, reminded them to be exemplary in their policing activities as one way of winning the heart and partnership of the residents.

    Similar messages were also delivered in other districts, with a call for the CPCs to focus more on crime prevention rather than dealing with the consequences.

    Source:Police

  • Scientists identify brain circuit that drives pleasure-inducing behavior

    {Surprisingly, the neurons are located in a brain region thought to be linked with fear}

    Scientists have long believed that the central amygdala, a structure located deep within the brain, is linked with fear and responses to unpleasant events.

    However, a team of MIT neuroscientists has now discovered a circuit in this structure that responds to rewarding events. In a study of mice, activating this circuit with certain stimuli made the animals seek those stimuli further. The researchers also found a circuit that controls responses to fearful events, but most of the neurons in the central amygdala are involved in the reward circuit, they report.

    “It’s surprising that positive-behavior-promoting subsets are so abundant, which is contrary to what many people in the field have been thinking,” says Susumu Tonegawa, the Picower Professor of Biology and Neuroscience and director of the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

    Tonegawa is the senior author of the study, which appears in the March 22 issue of the journal Neuron. The paper’s lead authors are graduate students Joshua Kim and Xiangyu Zhang.

    {{Driving behavior}}

    The paper builds on a study published last year in which Tonegawa’s lab identified two distinct populations of neurons in a different part of the amygdala, known as the basolateral amygdala (BLA). These two populations are genetically programmed to encode either fearful or happy memories.

    In that study, the researchers found that the neurons encoding positive and negative memories relay information to different parts of the central amygdala. In their new work, they set out to further clarify the connections from the two BLA populations to the central amygdala, and to determine the functions of the central amygdala cells that receive information from the BLA.

    First, the researchers analyzed the genetic profiles of the central amygdala neurons and divided them into seven groups based on the genetic markers they express and their anatomical location. They then used optogenetics, a technique that allowed them to control neuron activity with light, to investigate the functions of each population.

    The researchers found that five of these populations stimulate reward-related behavior: When the mice were exposed to light, the mice repeatedly sought more light exposure because these neurons were driving a reward circuit. These same populations all receive input from the positive emotion cells in the BLA.

    Another population of neurons underlies fear-related innate and memory behaviors, and the last population was not required for either fear- or reward-related behavior.

    This finding contradicts the consensus that the central amygdala is involved primarily in fear-related behavior, the researchers say.

    “Classically people have generalized the central amygdala as a fear-related structure. They think it’s involved in anxiety and fear-related responses,” Kim says. “However, it looks like the structure as a whole mainly seems to participate in appetitive behaviors.”

    The researchers cannot rule out the possibility that some yet-to-be-discovered cells in the central amygdala control negative behavior, they say. “However, the cells that we have identified so far represent more than 90 percent of the central amygdala,” Tonegawa says. “If there are some other cells for negative behavior, it’s a small fraction.”

    {{Surprising circuits}}

    In another surprising finding, the researchers discovered that the fear-linked neurons they identified in the central amygdala do not send messages directly to the part of the brain that is believed to receive fear-related input from the central amygdala. This part of the brain, the periaqueductal gray (PAG), is located in the brainstem and plays a role in responding to pain, stress, and external threats.

    Still unknown is where those central amygdala cells send their output, and whether it eventually gets to the PAG after stopping somewhere else. Tonegawa’s lab is now trying to trace these circuits further to find out where they go.

    The researchers are also studying the role of BLA neurons in fear extinction, which is the process of rewriting fearful memories so that they are associated with more positive feelings. This approach is often used to treat disorders such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.

    New findings contradict the consensus that the central amygdala is involved primarily in fear-related behavior, the researchers say.

    Source:Science Daily

  • 6 kinds of people that will never overcome failure

    {Failure can lead to success and lead to more failures; it all depends on how you take it.}

    Life will always throw difficult moments and challenges at us, and it’s only those who are willing to fight, will get their breakthroughs. The fact you fail currently doesn’t mean you would fail tomorrow; however your actions can predict how long you’ll continue to fail.

    So many great successes have been born out of failure and so many failures have been extraordinarily consistent; this shows that failure isn’t really the problem, but your attitude towards failing.

    These six kinds of people below have a terrible attitude towards handling failure:

    {{1. The ones who think they can’t }}

    The ones who think they can’t make it, and who believe it’s just impossible have already made it easy for themselves to fail. Failure first starts in the mind, and when the mind is geared up to fail, there’s nothing the body can do about it.

    {{2. The ones who believe they need the help of someone }}

    There are people who see themselves as nothing and who believe they need connections to make it in life. These ones could wait for the rest of their lives for connections that aren’t forthcoming. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.

    {{3. The ones who are too lazy to work their way up to the top }}

    There are those who are very lazy to work for what they want; they always want the easy way out and look for shortcuts in all they do. But there’s no shortcut to legitimate success.

    {{4. People who always complain about their circumstances}}

    People who always complain about the circumstances they find themselves will be too blind to notice opportunities when they come knocking. The time spent complaining will add value if it’s geared towards improving that situation. Besides, complaining wouldn’t solve a thing.

    {{5. People who desire to be pitied }}

    People who want the pity and envy of others will get it. When you choose to be pitied, that’s what you’ll get and nothing more. So make a decision to choose between being pitied and striving to achieve that which you want.

    {{6. People who are okay with their present situation }}

    Once you are okay with a certain point — that will be the highest point you can get; you’ll never surpass that point. Once you get comfortable with your present situation, you’ll never get beyond that.

    Do you belong to any of these categories? The time to make a change is now.

    Source:Elcrema

  • Wild chimpanzees have surprisingly long life spans

    {A 20-year demographic study of a large chimpanzee community in Uganda’s Kibale National Park has revealed that, under the right ecological conditions, our close primate relatives can lead surprisingly long lives in the wild.}

    The study, published March 19 in the Journal of Human Evolution, establishes an average life expectancy of about 33 years in its sample of 306 chimpanzees, nearly twice as high as that of other chimpanzee communities and within the 27- to 37-year range of life expectancy at birth of human hunter-gatherers. These findings are important for understanding the evolution of chimpanzee and hominin life histories, the researchers argue.

    “Our findings show how ecological factors, including variation in food supplies and predation levels, drive variation in life expectancy among wild chimpanzee populations,” said Brian Wood, assistant professor of anthropology at Yale University, the study’s lead author. “They also inform the study of the evolution of human life history, helping us to imagine the conditions that could have changed mortality rates among our early hominin populations.”

    The Ngogo chimpanzees reside in the center of Kibale National Park, in southwestern Uganda. The directors of the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project — David Watts (Yale), John Mitani (University of Michigan), and Kevin Langergraber (Arizona State University) — have monitored births, deaths, immigrations, and emigrations in the unusually large Ngogo chimpanzee community since 1995, producing the largest demographic dataset available for any community of wild chimpanzees. This study reveals that Ngogo chimpanzees have the highest life expectancy on record for any group of wild chimpanzees.

    Favorable ecological conditions largely account for the Ngogo community’s high life expectancy, according to the study. The forest in Ngogo provides a relatively consistent and abundant supply of high-energy and nutritious foods, including easily digestible figs. The research team argues that this rich food supply helps buffer the Ngogo chimpanzees against periods of hunger, and helps fuel their ability to stave off diseases that would otherwise lead to higher mortality. The Ngogo chimpanzees also benefit from a low risk of predation, because leopards are not found within Kibale National Park, and from the fact that during the study, the chimpanzees did not experience major disease epidemics, either introduced by humans or due to other causes, like those that have affected wild chimpanzees at several other long-term research sites.

    In the same national park, not far from Ngogo, other researchers have studied the life expectancy of chimpanzees in the Kanyawara community. Like Ngogo, this community lacks natural predators, but its life expectancy at birth is nearly 13 years shorter than that of Ngogo. The Ngogo chimpanzees’ higher survivorship appears to be an adaptive response to a more abundant and less varied food supply than that of Kanyawara, the researchers argue.

    “It has long been proposed that there are extreme differences in the life expectancies of human hunter-gatherers and chimpanzees,” said David Watts, professor of anthropology at Yale and a coauthor of the study. “Our study finds that while maximum lifespan differs a great deal, the differences in average lifespan are not as dramatic as typically thought, especially when chimpanzees are not subjected to major negative impacts caused by humans. In fact, the Ngogo community’s pattern of survivorship more closely resembles that of human hunter-gatherers than those documented for other chimpanzee communities.”

    Source:Science Daily

  • Kagame receives World Bank president

    {President Paul Kagame has received the World Bank (WB) President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim who completed his two days visit to Rwanda with a promise that the WB is committed to maintaining partnership with Rwanda.}

    After holding talks with Kagame yesterday, Dr Kim said that Rwanda is managing well its economy and more committed to transforming the future compared to other countries.

    Dr Kim explained that Sub-Sahara African countries are promising to boost their economies though the rate has been low for long. The worries however arose from instability international economy.

    “There are different elections, Brexit among others but Rwanda is placed in a good position. Even though the country has limited natural resources, it manages the economy excellently and we hope development here will keep progressing,” he said.

    “We have been partners for long in various development sectors .It is good for us to see Rwanda having a good development framework. We are looking for various ideas and continued support. It is exciting being here witnessing development, innovation and creativity being done in Rwanda,” he added.

    The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Amb Gatete Claver told the media that Dr Kim came to Rwanda to strengthen the good partnership with WB which is taking another level overtime.

    “ He has come to witness because they help us in many sectors especially in infrastructure.They built majority of the roads, they provide the largest funds in energy,in agriculture ,in renovating cities,Ubudehe related activites which he has visited today,” he said.

    Kagame in talks with the World Bank president.

  • Experts discuss Digital Archives, Memory and Reconstruction in Rwanda

    {The King’s College London, Digital Humanities Department and Aegis Trust have brought together academic, private and public sector stakeholders from Rwanda and abroad to explore the implications, impact and transformative effects of digital archives and digitization processes in understanding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and post-Genocide reconstruction as well as supporting the country’s development. }

    The conference, titled ‘Digital Archives, Memory and Reconstruction in Rwanda’, is being funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council and is taking place from 21-23 March 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Kigali.

    Rwanda’s Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, opened the event by highlighting how equipped Rwanda is to lead the way in using digital archiving as a tool for both remembrance and development.

    “I am very pleased that this conference focuses on developing digital content technologies and skills to utilise the digital economy, for both remembrance and reconstruction. In doing so, I believe we will build a better-informed and more cohesive society that can benefit from all the opportunities the digital economy presents,” Minister Nsengimana said.

    In the past three days, experts have been addressing a range of issues and sharing experiences and best practice under four broad themes: Memory and Memorialisation, Education and Peace Building, Social Justice and Inclusivity, Capacity Building and the Digital Economy.

    The conference is identifying how the theoretical, practical and pedagogical aspects of these themes can contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of Rwanda. It will make specific recommendations and propose an action plan to take forward new initiatives and partnerships that can build on and leverage existing work.

    On the first day of the conference, Mutanguha Freddy, Aegis Trust Regional Director, stressed the importance of sharing experiences.

    “This is a great opportunity to understand the relevance and the place of digital archives in Rwanda’s social & economic reconstruction since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” he said.

    Rwanda's Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, giving his opening remarks.
    Participants at the conference in a session on using digital archiving as a tool for both remembrance and development.
    Experts on panel discussing Digital Archives, Memory and Reconstruction in Rwanda.

  • U.S. Embassy honors three Rwandan women of courage

    {The U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda Erica J. Barks-Ruggles has today honored three Rwandan women at an event held at her residence to celebrate Women’s History Month. The three women, selected from nominations submitted by U.S. Embassy Kigali’s 40,085 Facebook fans, were recognized with the Embassy’s third annual Rwandan Women of Courage awards for their exceptional service and leadership. “By honoring women, we show the next generation that they too can reach their dreams and change the world,” Ambassador Barks-Ruggles told representatives from the government, business, and NGO sectors who attended the reception. }

    Since 2007, the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC has presented International Women of Courage awards to inspiring women from around the world who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for human rights, social justice, and women’s equality and advancement. This year, the U.S. Embassy in Kigali recognized for the third year inspiring women of Rwanda. The three winners of the U.S. Embassy’s 2017 Women of Courage award are Chantal Munanayire, Kabanyana C. Ketsia, and Gakire Jeanne Francoise.

    •Chantal Munanayire is a successful businesswoman, and CEO of QUICK & C LTD, an automobile business specialized in painting. She is the first woman elected to be the President of Rwanda Garage Association. In 2014, Chantal graduated from the Peace Through Business Entrepreneurship Training Program and since then she has trained other women in entrepreneurship skill. Chantal is a Co-founder of the Mother and Childhood Development Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the socio-economic lives of low income women and children.

    •Kabanyana C. Ketsia is the President and Founder of Dorcas Consolation Family (DCF), a local humanitarian NGO which aims to equip and empower vulnerable children. Through DCF, Claire has worked with sex workers, teaching them how they can abandon prostitution and join cooperatives and support their families. She has demonstrated innovation, creativity and selfless voluntary service to the community at large.

    •Gakire Jeanne Francoise is a laboratory agent at Cyakabiri Medical Center (Muhanga) for more than twenty years. She is a great example to us all that physical disability does not define one’s abilities to be successful. Her leadership and intellectually rigorous work have set an good example to the community, that demonstrates to the community the strength and capability of those with disabilities, helping to change societal perceptions of people with disability.

    Last year’s awardees were Agnes Twagiramaliya, a teacher in Nyamagabe district who has dedicated herself to educating youth for 36 years; Ms. Zulfat Mukarubega, founder of the University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies (former RTUC); and Jeanne d’ArcGirubuntu, the only woman on Rwanda’s national cycling team.

    In 2015, the U.S. Embassy recognized Chantal Ingabire, who leads a team of more than twenty lawyers, investigators, and social workers at International Justice Mission to secure justice for Rwandan children who have suffered sexual assault; Jeanne Mwiriliza, the founder of Tubahumurize Association; LiberathaMukasine, who overcame the loss of her husband and three children in 1994 to become a successful cassava farmer in Ruhango district; and XaverineMukamunana, the founder of Jyamubandimwana Association.

    The U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda Erica J. Barks-Ruggles posing for a group photo with honored women.