Author: Publisher

{In Rwanda the fashion industry is fast growing, unlike five years ago when there had nothing to talk about. New fashion and jewellery shops are opening at a high speed and there is a hope that within two years, it’s going to be a big industry.}

Uzuri K&Y Designs believe that the fashion industry can be taken to another level if fashion designers take into consideration the status of the Rwandan market.

UZURI mission as a clothing brand is to provide the community with functional and sophisticated products, to share the skills with other local tailors, to bring energy in Rwandan fashion industry and make a difference all over Africa and the whole world.

Shimwe Yzolde and Kagirimpundu Kevine are students of “Creative Designs” at the Former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. These young girls started their creative art in 2012.

In an interview with IGIHE.com, these girls said that they have decided to invest in Fashion Industry due to the fact that the profession is new in Rwanda and as soon as they progress they are finding a brighter future in this industry.

While explaining how they started their business, Kevine Kagirimpundu, a fashion designer and co-founder of Uzuri K & Y Collection based in Kimihurura, said that because they like Fashion, they never encountered the problem of lack of capital to start their business.

“We started without requesting loans to anyone. What we did is to join our hands and put together the Amount of the money that we had and then after we launched our activities. It was in 2012. Our work is to create African and international clothing styles including shoes and many other types of clothing. We started with little money and even today we cannot say that we have reached our goal, there are other steps ahead to develop our career. In the beginning you can meet challenges but when you know what you want to reach you defend yourself in front of those challenges”

Although their idea was conceived last year and registered officially in June this year, Kevine Kagirimpundu and Ysolde Shimwe decided to take their passion to the next level by opening their own fashion shop.

They said they are very happy because they have employed many people adding that they are also proud of the fact that their materials were displayed in the recent concluded Kigali Fashion Week and were very surprised that people responded positively to them.

According to Yzolde Shimwe, the act of Sonia Rolland, (a reknown French model and actress) to dressed in their kitenge dress and kitenge shoes inspired them and that is something big that’s going to take the image of their company to another level.

In the near future Uzuri K&Y Designs plans to present their fashions in different forthcoming Fashion festivals including African Fashion Week that will be held in 2014, Hangatt exhibition” that will take place in Kigali City Tower (KCT) from 14th December 2013 to 4 January 2014, “Christmas Bazaar”, “Accra Fashion Week”, “Dar-es-Salam fashion week” and many others.

angedelavictoire@igihe.com

{The Akilah Institute for Women, the first and only institute of higher education in Rwanda open exclusively to women, will graduate the second class of students on its Rwanda campus on December 6, 2013.
}

The ceremony begins on the Akilah campus in Kibagabaga at 8 am with guest arrivals and concludes at 12 pm after the graduate procession. This year’s graduation speaker is Swanee Hunt, former US Ambassador to Austria and the Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Amb. Hunt’s work to achieve gender parity, especially as means to end war, rebuild societies, and alleviate human suffering, spans more than two decades and 60 countries. Dr. Hunt founded Harvard’s Women and Public Policy Program, a research center focused on sharing knowledge to close gender gaps in economic participation, political opportunity, health and education.

“There’s no more effective way to address society’s most pressing needs than by elevating women,” said Ambassador Hunt.

“When women participate fully in society, communities flourish, generations thrive, and democracy prevails. My motivation is not simply fairness. As my friend Hillary Clinton says, raising the status of women is ‘not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do’.”

Many Akilah graduates have gone on to work for major international companies such as Marriott International in Dubai and Doha, while others have joined businesses in Rwanda or launched their own ventures.

Florence Mukundwa, class of 2012, started her own design business using African fabrics. She employs three women from her village.

Vestine Ukwishaka, class of 2013, won first place in a business plan competition at the
University of San Diego. Her bakery substitutes sweet potatoes for white flour to produce diabetes–‐ friendly baked goods without refined sugars. Since 2010, Akilah has graduated two classes of students, opened a second campus in Burundi, and launched a new major in
Information Systems in response to Rwanda’s priority to develop and expand the information technology sector.

According to Rwanda Country Director Aline Kabanda: “The 56 young ladies graduating from Akilah on December 6 have worked hard to complete a very intense and rigorous program that equipped them with the skills and professional knowledge necessary for success in Rwanda’s increasingly sophisticated service and hospitality sector. Ambassador Hunt’s participation in our graduation ceremony truly underscores the success we’ve seen in transforming the lives of low–‐ income women by giving them access to leadership tools and market–‐driven curricula.”

{The following essays are the top three finalists essays selected from submission received from over 25 schools across Rwanda as part of “The Power of Entrepreneurship” Essay Competition. These essays contests were hosted by the Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center (BREC) and the event was held during Global Entrepreneurship Week/Rwanda 2013. }

{{1.}} {{ Author Name }}: {ABIMANA Brigitte}

{{Essay Title}}: {{Power of Entrepreneurship}}

{The following essay was written by ABIMANA Brigitte from Institute St. Famille Nyamasheke.}

The power of entrepreneurship is shown in its role and contributions to the society, economy of a country and other business activities as it is following.

Entrepreneurship is defined as a process of creating new business or things assuming that risks and rewards are possible.

Entrepreneurship is the way of foreseeing business opportunities from society organizing the necessary resources using to initiate an economic activity and organize goods production and services and marketing them, covering with the aim of making profits. How can we use it to develop ourselves?

It enables to acquire income; to know how to reduce expenses, how to save for future consumption, it bears in us competitive spirit responsibility; to evaluate our performance and improving standards of living, controlling our behaviors towards others; developing ourselves physically and in mind.

Entrepreneurship as a key of creating job opportunities it enhances the following chances such as motivation and personal touch, decision making reduction in dependency ratio as we create our own job enabling us to satisfy our needs, solvency, self reliance, employing other people hence poverty reduction recognition in society, high income to the country due to innovation and creativity in society, more tax revenue to government due to high productivity of businesses created, creation of markets due to qualitative and quantitative approaches used in production process increase in community activities.

In our daily life we need to work in order to develop our life economically one of the studies helping us to innovate entrepreneurship is taking the first place. Entrepreneurship enables us to run a business by using available resources in the economy (including human and non human resources);

It helps us to acquire the skills in start and manage our own legal economic activities hence helping us to create self employment.

Most people don’t get well the use of entrepreneurship as it seems to be new but we as learners we have started to understand it and we took it as a key or basic way of good and everlasting standards of living because it helps for bearing business ideas, analyzing them and finding opportunity and then after put into action that will come up with tangible way’s for quick development of ourselves, society we are in, country hence reduction of dependency ratio because with a properly planned and legal economic activity we get ability to satisfy our needs.

As I have said that entrepreneurship bears in us competitive spirit and other important skill and attitudes, on my side often participating in first training last year of entrepreneurship which encourages people to put their ideas into the action and I take it as very helpful activity; I came up with an idea of making breads and during the holidays I had put it into action and by now it is still going on.

I asked capital to my family to buy yeast, oil, bread flow, incinerator, tables, metal plates, numbered boxes, sugar, salts and eggs and other requirements. I should have taken another economic activity but I found this more interesting and very needed in my society. We use to by the breads of law quality and sometimes expired whereas I live near by schools, health centers, restaurants, some alimentations, small markets; training centers and these are my project’s opportunity.

By now my business is being successful the money from it, I use them to pay school fees for me and my siblings, buying clothes and materials and also for the satisfaction of my remaining needs and I took some of the money I got to build a working house and the rest of them I have saved for future use.

Entrepreneurship has been the answer for me because my dreams have started to be realized as most of time I wanted to do an important activity for my family but nowadays I am very proud to employ some people who were job less and I have become famous in some neighboring regions.

All those I owe them to entrepreneurship that I have studied and I attribute all my standards of living to its power that had been strengthened by training I have attended.

On my side, I see that in my developing country Rwanda which in facing a great challenge of unemployment in general to many of its learners, students who even finish their studies at high levels whereas all of them are there waiting for job according to faculty or option they followed, it is advisable to engage themselves with entrepreneurial mindset to start and create their own job to empower themselves and satisfy their needs and those of relatives who depend on them.

Once they will be using their force this will be sign proving that really they studied and they end up by applying their education in social life we all need money for our welfare changing potentially economy of our country.

But the only problem that is still being faced by the youth is to neglect some kinds of jobs saying that they are not filling the one who finish for example university studies. What I can ensure them is that the small job help to reach or attend to the big one in other words the less paid job led to high paid job. So youth we don’t have to disconsider any job by our arrogant judgment.

Some people may get viable business ideas and they fear to express them due to outside influence or non self confidence. This is mostly seen in young people who are with old people in a given region and most of time the girls are attempted to have such attitude saying that what the mature persons or the men are going to think or they are going to take me somehow that I am not and as result they remain with those ideas whereas those ideas can be the source of we force of society in general or they can be changed into profitable economic activity for a whole regions.

Sometimes youth’s ideas may not be totally compete or fulfilled it is better to express them and the old person are there for advising adding something missed and encouraging us. I have notice that everything in society whether what we miss or what we have but there is need of improvement of other’s perform once inspire us to think deeply after analyzing them and look if opportunity is there, as entrepreneur we become speeded up and start to run our targeted work.

To start a business does not ask to have much money mainly, just it is to have a willing mind, information about social standard of living and time for managing your purpose that need to be sat on intellectually and make a proper legal and oriented plan. So everybody is concerned with this self reliance motivation and empowering entrepreneurship and don’t give up.

{{2.}} {{Author Name}}: {MANIRAREBA Anastase}
{{Essay Title}}: {Power of Entrepreneurship}

{The following essay was written by MANIRAREBA Anastase from Teacher Training College Save}.

People define entrepreneurship as a way of thinking and acting that focuses on identifying opportunities, informs action with analysis, and that is driven by a passionate individual or team. From this definition, an entrepreneur is the one who sees that there is an opportunity to do something and gets profit from it. After recognizing a business opportunity, an entrepreneur does not keep quiet and does not end by there. He or she makes decision to do that identified business and starts taking steps towards such a business. Nowadays, entrepreneurship changes completely lives, communities and nations. More details are in the following evidences.

Everywhere, lives of people are being transformed because of entrepreneurship. Some become entrepreneurs by carrying out different activities after guessing who they are and knowing what is needed by other people. This helps them become self-employed. By employing themselves and being their own bosses, they become Independent and self–reliant. For example, in Rwanda, a man called Sina Gerard came up with an idea of producing juice from fruits after examining that Rwandans need to get it. His enterprise entitled “Urwibutso Nyirangarama” (Urwibutso Nyirangarama P.O.Box 3652 Kigali) started a small enterprise but today, it has expanded country widely.

Also, apart from his initiative, he provides other people with jobs and work as his employees. This changes their lives because they get salary and use it to run their families and to satisfy themselves. This man not only gives them jobs but also satisfy needs of Rwandans. Before starting his enterprise, Rwandans could not get enough juice. After seeing that it is needed by people, he started this enterprise of producing this healthy juice. Thus, Rwandans are getting the juice which contains vitamins .He also started manufacturing the pepper, after noticing that he has got many customers. He expanded the business and started to produce it. This pepper is consumed by most of Rwandans. It makes the food delicious. That is why they like it.

Moreover, entrepreneurship comes to transform the lives; because people in different regions create their own enterprises which speed satisfaction of human basic needs. For example, in Nyagatare district, Eastern province of Rwanda, there is an agro-pastoral enterprise done by a team. They rear animals specifically cows. These cows produce and furnish milk so as to satisfy needs of Rwandans. We may not forget Nyabisindu Dairy where people treat milk very well and pack it in boxes. This milk is good in quality and rich in nutrients. It is consumed by many people as it is sold at affordable price. Thus, Rwandans and other people from abroad benefit from this enterprise. It is found in Southern province of Rwanda, Nyanza district (Nyabisindu Dairy, P.O.Box 6129, Butare-Rwanda). Since people are healthy because of having milk from this enterprise, lives of people get transformed as it helps them improve their standards of living through carrying out activities which bring income to them or other profits.

In addition, entrepreneurship transforms communities. Before starting any business, an entrepreneur first has to know his or her community and its needs. After this, he or she works to satisfy that community. This should be done well. It is too important to continually reflect on community’s needs as well as your knowledge, passion, and skills and as a result, reshape your opportunity. This helps the community continue getting what is needed. For example, in my village, a man had realized that people need tomatoes. He got the place where he could buy them and sell them in the village. The community became very happy for it was difficult for them to get tomatoes.

As mentioned above, they could go far in order to get them. After this, the community started saying that they need onions. This man listened to them carefully and started looking for the ways he could get other money to sell onions. He borrowed money from a friend and started selling onions and tomatoes. Now, he is working well and the community likes him very much as he satisfies different needs to the community. From this highlighted example, the man gets money and in return people get what they need. It doesn’t call for a special degree but only passionate, skills and attitudes. This is how entrepreneurs are getting powered through their entrepreneurial activities.

It is said that business men are always respected and recognized in the community because they tend to contribute to development of Community. For instance, people work together in cooperatives like RWASAVE in Gisagara district, Southern province of Rwanda. This cooperative keeps fish in pounds and as a result gains money and satisfies the needs of other people by supplying fish to eat.

More importantly, through means of transport very easy, entrepreneurs have noticed that people are not getting their destination on time. This encourages them to create enterprise so that they may serve them. As an example, ATRACO transport agency (ATRACO̦P.O.BOX 3409, Kigali), is popular to all Rwandans. Their buses transport people in different regions of the country. Indeed, it has developed the country by employing local people. People owning enterprises employ others to work for them and are paid. For example, in Rwanda, there are industries which produce different products such as CIMERWA, located in Bugarama, western province of Rwanda. This is because of limestone soil that is found there. People who live near this region have been offered jobs. They get salaries and they are now satisfied in their communities.

Also, we cannot forget that entrepreneurship transforms nations. In different countries, there are entrepreneurs. Some work for themselves and others employ others. This enhances the country’s development because people gain money and pay taxes. They encourage innovations in the country .As an Austrian economist Joseph Schumpter stated in a book entitled New Venture Creation, he defined entrepreneurship by putting an emphasis on innovation such as new product, new product method, new market and new form of organization. The wealth is created when such innovation results in new demands. We can say that these innovations bring wealth in the country.

Also, so many people work to preserve the culture of their countries in which they live. For example, according to Rwanda culture, there are people who do cultural activities like weaving basket and arts. These activities are done in different areas in Rwanda especially in Kigali city. These baskets are attractive. The tourists buy them whenever they come in Rwanda. Also, other Rwandans buy them for decorating or other purposes because they are accepted in Rwandan culture. Hence, they gain money from small projects other are used to neglecting in the society. So, entrepreneurs who do those activities preserve culture of our nation and it is developed because those who buy these products pay money .This money can be used in developing the country.

On the other hand, it transforms nations because there are people who work to fight against illiteracy in their nations. For example, people who identify education as need, they leave no room for them to generate any business ideas other than starting schools. As an example in Rwanda, we may say the establishment of the National University of Rwanda in 1963. Now, people who are ending their studies in this university are able to create their own jobs. To illustrate, Timex Limited known as “La Réponse” is a small enterprise owned by a former university student.

Entrepreneurship changes nations because people think and bring things which are important to all nations. From Alexander Graham Bell invention, we have a tangible example of how entrepreneurship is powerful. He launched the telephone communication industry with the telephone. Bell invention of the telephone may have been in great part an accident .Bell had been working for years on a way to improve communications for the deaf and hearing impaired people. He really wanted to create a hearing aid, but his mechanical voice box produced the telephone. This is stressed in the book of entrepreneurship entitled ‘New Venture Creation”. Little by little, this has been transforming the nations because the telephones are used all over the world by many people to communicate.

To sum up, entrepreneurship is everywhere and is powerful. It is a problem solving technique and way of thinking in which problems, wants or needs of group of people are identified as an opportunity. So, with entrepreneurship everything can possibly be achieved as it transforms the lives of the communities and nation’s. This is because of people who do different activities. These activities help the business owned and others may benefit from them. The nations also are transformed because of entrepreneurs. Due to their work, they pay taxes which are used in development of countries in which they live by fighting against poverty.

{{ {{3.}} {{Author Name}}: {Kalitanyi Kayitesi Ange}
Essay Title }}: {The Power of Entrepreneurship}

{The following essay was written by Kalitanyi Kayitesi Ange from Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology}

“Entrepreneurship rests on a theory of economy and society. The theory sees change as normal and indeed as healthy. And it sees the major task in society – and especially in the economy – as doing something different rather than doing better what is already being done. That is basically what Say, two hundred years ago, meant when he coined the term entrepreneur. It was intended as a manifesto and as a declaration of dissent: the entrepreneur upsets and disorganizes. As Joseph Schumpeter formulated it, his task is “creative destruction.” by Peter F. Drucker. Entrepreneurship can be defined as a way of acting and thinking that focuses on identifying opportunities, informs action with analysis, and is driven by a passionate individual or team. Therefore, it is more practical than theory. It involves risk taking, resource organization, innovation and initiating. According to the Austrian American economist Schumpter, an entrepreneur is a person who is willing and able to convert a new idea or invention into a successful innovation. The entrepreneurship helps the entrepreneur to answer the question of why, where and when to set the business and finding what is needed in the community. I believe with the help of entrepreneurship, an entrepreneur acquires skills and knowledge that help him/her to transform lives, communities and nations by providing employment, eradicating poverty and acquiring new skills among others.

To begin with, entrepreneurship leads to eradication of poverty in the world. Starting from my community where I study, there are many people around the school who are very poor; my community service club is trying to help these people by using different ideas to overcome their poverty. What came up first, was establishing a small business in order to help the unfortunate. Due to the knowledge we acquired from studying entrepreneurship, we came up with an idea of selling popcorns around the school during the weekends. As of now, my club has earned more than eight thousands Rwandan francs from one sale .The money received from the sale will be used in assisting the poor people to satisfy their simple basic needs like soap and others. Moreover, a successful Rwandan entrepreneur Sina Gerard pays school fees for over 891 young people from poor families (mostly his workers). “I finally thought it worthwhile to support the school project since I saw the need to be responsible for my employees and their families. They work for my company and I make a profit out of their work. The least I can do for them is to give back something to them. That is what I am doing with the school project. The schooling is free and the children can attend from nursery to high school.” Sina Gerard said. As the youth is the power of the country, the support got from Sina Gerard will transform their lives by putting into practice the knowledge obtained from school, hence transforming their communities and the nation.

To add more, entrepreneurship leads to employment opportunities. The role of an entrepreneur is to put together all the factors of production; land, labor, capital and creates employment for himself while giving jobs to others. For this reason, successful businessmen like Larry Page and Sergey Brin established Google Company which employed 44,777 people in 2013. Another example is that, the branches of Rwandan Mountain Tea Company together offer about 15000 jobs to the rural communities. Entrepreneurship is not only about creating jobs for others, but the main reason why entrepreneurship education was introduced in secondary schools of Rwanda, is because the government wanted to solve the problem of unemployment among its citizens. Many people were completing their bachelor degrees and failing to get jobs. What entrepreneurship education helps is to put the knowledge nourished from school into practice. It helps the learners to become job creators instead of being job seekers, thus improving people’s income and standards of living and transform their lives, communities and the nations as well.

Notably, entrepreneurship leads to acquisition of life skills. Starting a business is not just something that comes into someone’s mind and acts on it immediately. It takes a long process to come up with a business idea, good goals, and self-confidence and develop leadership skills. A business idea can be a response of an entrepreneur to solve an identified problem, and meets perceived needs in the community. Entrepreneurship assists the entrepreneur to come up with good business ideas that are visible, realistic and feasible in terms of production costs. It also supports the entrepreneur to emerge with an original idea to avoid competition and so captures the whole market. Not only does entrepreneurship help the entrepreneur to introduce business ideas, it endorses the entrepreneur to be good at goal setting in order to set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and achievable in a time frame so as to help the business to prosper instead of collapsing. Besides, it assists the entrepreneur to build self-confidence and trust in his or her abilities and gain the courage and determination to address effectively any problem that may arise in the business. To add on, entrepreneurship trains an entrepreneur to possess the qualities of a good leader who is able to guide, influence, direct correctly and persuade his employees and the public. Entrepreneurship skills positively impact people’s lives and communities and nations are transformed.

Furthermore, entrepreneurship leads to provision of goods such as clothes, food and drinks. For instance, Mukwano Enterprise from Uganda which serves many counties including Rwanda produces variety of goods such as cooking oil, soap and biscuits which are needed in the community to satisfy their needs. More precisely, Unilever Company an Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods company produces products such as food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. I believe that a good company is a company which produces goods basing on what the community needs and worked under the norms of the society where it is located. So the Unilever Company managed to produce variety of goods needed by the society, hence reducing imports and depending on other countries because it is able to produce products that satisfy the country.

Additionally, entrepreneurship promotes international trade, which eventually leads to international friendship and recognition. More precisely, Rwanda is the first country in the East African community which produces tea with high quality. Rwanda called upon entrepreneurs to invest in tea and coffee growing and to establish many tea factories and so the two crops are among the top exports that register high revenue for the government. By 2012 Rwanda ranked 30th in the world economic forum as the most competitive country in the world. The total exports of the tea sector alone amounted to 55.7 million USD in 2010. The Rwandan coffee and tea are mainly exported in China, United States of America and European countries like Belgium. Goods like Akabanga (pepper) and Agashya (juice) are also exported by Urwibutso Enterprise which is owned by Sina Gerard (from Northern Province of Rwanda) to South Africa. This has fostered friendship between countries at the global level. Therefore, countries may learn much from one another and use the acquired knowledge to ameliorate their communities.

Entrepreneurship leads to improvement of infrastructure. Infrastructure is basic physical systems of a business or nation. Transportation, communication, sewage, water, schools, hospitals and electric systems are all examples of infrastructure. These systems tend to be high-cost investments; however, they are vital to a country’s economic development and prosperity. For instance, two successful women from United States of America, Suzanne Senegal McGill and Shalisan Foster built my own school in Rwanda called Gashora Girls Academy with the purpose of empowering girls from Africa and also helping the country to recover from its bad history. Lastly, MTN Company based in South Africa which is a multinational mobile telecommunications company operating in countries like Ghana, Republic of Congo and Botswana improved the communication of the counties. I admit that communication is a key to development of countries because, by adopting the system of using communications in countries like Republic of Congo, it will impact the country positively and as well its citizens.

In conclusion, entrepreneurship has an unlimited power to shape the future of a country. It is undoubtedly crucial since it helps in the eradication of poverty, provision of employmxent, acquisition of daily life skills, and improvement of international relations. Collectively, such benefits associate to raise the standards of living of individuals, develop societies and strengthen the economy of a country. It is therefore quite important to prioritize entrepreneurship in a nation in order to ensure a straight path to a sustainable development.

{After the defeat of M23 rebellion, the FDLR rebels are the next target of the intervention brigade of the United Nations, in its mission to neutralize armed groups in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. However many people are asking what will happen to FDLR rebels and when that will be done. Jeune Afrique has attempted to analyze these issues and tell us the following:}

The first question to ask is what threat do FDLR rebels represent in the Kivus? How many FDLR rebels are still there? Where do they hide? In which villages are they? To respond to these questions, everyone has his comment.

Figures and assumptions differ, depending on whether one is in Kigali, Kinshasa or New York at the UN Headquarters.

However, the FDLR are the next target of the intervention brigade of the United Nations whose mandate is to neutralize all armed groups that swarm for nearly two decades in the eastern part of the DRC.

In fact, after the misfortune of the Movement of M23, rebellion which controlled part of North Kivu for more than 18 months, the noose tightens around the FDLR.

“We will target them because it is our military priority at this time,” recently confirmed Martin Kobler , the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN in the DRC.

A position that is similar to that of the Congolese government, which says also ready to launch the attack, with the support of peacekeepers, a ” strong action ” against “negative forces ” still present on its soil, the first being Rwandan FDLR rebels and Ugandan ADF – NALU (Allied Democratic Forces – Army for the Liberation of Uganda) and, last, the national liberation Forces of Burundi (FNL) and all – mayi mayi fighters.

{{FDLR, the most dangerous?}}

On paper, the FDLR rebels appear as the main threat to peace in the Kivus and in the Great Lakes region while in Kinshasa, it claims to have reduced the number of “over 80% “before the outbreak of the rebellion of the M23 in April 2012.

How many are they today? Around” 1,500 fighters,” according to estimates by UN experts who work on the issue of armed groups in eastern DRC.

“It is impossible to give an exact figure on the number of FDLR in the Kivus “explains Christoph Vogel, Independent Researcher.

“One thing is obvious. Nobody talking about 8000 or 10 000 FDLR rebels as in the past. “Vogel and many observers believe that “the power of the Rwandan rebels declined significantly “in recent years however they were not totally destroyed.

“In the long term, the DDRRR (disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration, and resettlement) of the UN Mission in Congo has reduced their number,” justifies the expert, noting also that “attacks conducted by Raïa Mutomboki [local militia anti- FDLR] have contributed to the weakening of the FDLR.”

Elected in Walikale, a territory of North Kivu often disturbed by the incursions of the FDLR, Juvenal Munubo confirms the involvement of local Mai-Mai militias in the hunt for Rwandan rebels.

“We must admit that these armed groups helped chase the FDLR. They accomplished what should have been the task of the government,” he told Jeune Afrique.

Therefore: “The FDLR are no longer the main threat [May be for Kinshasa],” argues Munubo.” But this is not a reason for Government and UN to fold their arms, they must continue until their last stronghold,” he adds.

Now UN has already sent drones to monitor the movements of armed groups in the Eastern Part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the mobility of FDLR rebels who are the first in the viewfinder of the brigade of the UN intervention groups.

{{“Two unarmed drones” were sent on December 3 }}

“These devices will allow the peacekeepers to monitor the mobility of various armed groups to better position themselves and especially anticipating action to protect the civilian,” said a source in MONUSCO.

Since the end of the rebellion of the M23, fearing the possibility of a future attack of Congolese army supported by MONUSCO, several militiamen chose to disarm. But FDLR combatants, they have not moved or disarmed.

“They occupy some villages in Mwenga and Walungu in South Kivu and parts of Lubero in North Kivu,” recalls Christoph Vogel. “They are also located in Oninga the border between Lubero and Walikale, near the Maiko National Park in the Eastern Province,” says Juvenal Munubo.

FDLR rebels have not ceased to commit atrocities in the villages they occupy in Kivu. They are torturing men, enslaved or killed them and even raping women,” describes Kavota Omar, spokesman for the civil society in North Kivu.

{{“Weakened but not destroyed”}}

Lawsuits in Germany against two of their politicians and the arrest of their deputy commander, ” General ” Stanislas Nzeyimana , aka ” Izabayo Bigaruka ” in Tanzania are not likely to fix things for the rebels … “They are weakened, but so far not destroyed , “concludes Munubo Juvenal , the representative of Walikale .

{A ceremony for the presentation of more than 100,000 new books for Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and the University of Rwanda’s College of Education (CoE) will be held at the CoE on Friday. The USAID-funded Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative will hand over the books to 13 TTC principals and the CoE in the effort to promote a culture of reading. }

The books, donated through the International Book Bank (IBB), include children’s storybooks, reference books for teachers, and novels and nonfiction books for recreational reading. At Friday’s event, representatives from the CoE, USAID, and the L3 Initiative as well as a TTC principal will make remarks. Refreshments will be served, and there will be time for discussion.

This project is a component of the national Rwanda Reads Initiative. “The College of Education is committed to promoting reading in order to improve the quality of education,” said Dr. Faustin Habineza, head of primary education and TTC coordinator at CoE.

These books will be put to good use by TTCs, which are using a new curriculum that includes a newly-developed course on language methods. The use of story in teaching reading and techniques for before, during, and after reading are emphasized. TTC tutors will use the new storybooks to model effective use of story in the classroom for TTC students, who will practice this during their student-teaching at primary schools.

Reference and recreational reading books will also greatly benefit both TTC students and tutors. The aim is for TTC students to develop a culture of reading themselves. When they become teachers, they can share their love of reading with primary students and even other teachers.

Jean Pierre Mugiraneza, an assistant lecturer at CoE, stated that a lack of reading materials and a reading culture is a major challenge in Rwandan schools. “It is clear that this new shipment will provide a solution,” he said.

The L3 Initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the foreign assistance agency of the United States government. It is implemented by Education Development Center (EDC) in partnership with the Rwanda Education Board and the University of Rwanda’s College of Education with assistance from Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), Concern Worldwide, International Education Exchange, the Peace Corps, and Never Again Rwanda.

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{An official of the National Itorero Commission has warned youth who don’t have the certificate of Itorere that in the near future they will not be able to apply for jobs in public institutions.
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Landrada Umuraza, Commissioner of the National Commission of Itorero warned young students in Ngoma on Tuesday, 3 December during an official launch of the solidarity camps for youth who have completed their Secondary studies.

She said that during job application, the applicant will be required the certificate of Ubutore which shows that he/she has participated to solidarity camps.

“We are heading to somewhere anyone who will not have such certificate will not have value in Rwanda. We know that one who has participated in the Urugerero and postulated for a particular post can pass tests with satisfaction because we confirm that his beliefs and knowledge will help us enable the development of Rwanda “said Landrada

She also informed that Urugerero is not just meant for youth who completed their secondary studies adding that even every Rwandan citizen aged between 18 and 35 can participate in this Urugerero.

Urugerero is another ancient, custom that has been resurrected and incorporated into Rwandan society, spearheaded by Itorero National Taskforce.

Urugerero was part and parcel of Rwandan culture, where young men left their families to heed the calling of the state. They built a strong lasting bond with their peers in the national service that sometimes ended in a blood pact, where one was ready to lay down his life for his colleague and vice versa.

The initiation into Urugerero was not only a rite of passage into manhood; it was also an expression of the high esteem and inherent pride the youth had in their country. They learnt the virtues of patriotism, family values and Ubupfura (a cocktail of all the positive virtues) which they would aim to instill in their off-springs. While the current generation, and several before them, might not feel a strong attachment to the ancient culture, Itorero Task Force has the initiative to reintroduce this age old culture of patriotism is aimed mainly at changing people’s perception and focusing on developmental agenda.

Like other home-grown solutions introduced with uncertainty about their success, Urugerero will light the patriotic fires in the hearts of the young generation.