Category: Arts & Culture

Residents of Kinyaga cell, Nkanka sector of Rusizi district have requested for establishment of historical memorials in the area which has the historical bearings of Rusizi and Nyamasheke districts.

Many people versed with Rwandan history remember Kinyaga Kingdom when they hear Rusizi and Nyamasheke district.

A 76 years old Bernard Nshizirungu residing in Kinyaga cell has told IGIHE about the origin of Kinyaga.

“King Rwabugiri went to fight for and redeem his land basing from this place. When he arrived at Nkombo Island he shot a bullet between two mountains. At Kirimbi River he turned and said ‘you are Kinyaga’.This is where the name of Kinyaga came from,” he said.

Veronique Nyiranahari, 65, and her nephews who live in the cell where the lanced bullet of King Rwabugiri disappeared, says that they have never seen the bullet shell other than hearing that it happened in the past.

“My child, old people have been telling us this history from the past but we have not yet seen the bullet shell. We have planted there mango trees in remembrance,” she said.

The elderly and younger generation are requesting for establishment of monuments reflecting the history of the area to enable preservation of history.

The Rusizi district official in charge of culture, Lambert Shema, says that in collaboration with MINISPOC and the National Institute of Rwandan Museums are assessing how to preserve the Kinyaga historical sites..

Kinyaga is located in Rusizi district and extends to a large area of Nyamasheke district. It is not known of the exact time when the king based in the place to recapture his land but records show that Rwabugiri reigned over Rwanda in the 19th century.

Residents of Mimuri sector, where a mini-palace of King Mutara III Rudahigwa is built, have requested for renovation of the place and to be decorated with vestiges of the old regalia that will be a telling platform of heroism.

The palace of Mutara III Rudahigwa is located in Rebero village, in Rugari cell, Mimuri sector of Nyagatare district. Mutara Rudahigwa who was identified as hero of Imena category built the mini-palace in 1950.

The place is characterized by disjointed tiles and nests.

An elder in the area, Karasanyi Yussufu, who was alive during King Mutara II Rudahigwa’s reign, explained that the place was not a royal palace but a temporary residence where he would camp when he visited the area. In an event the king was elsewhere, the mini-palace would be used to accommodate people coming from or going to Uganda on different missions.

Talking to IGIHE, Karasanyi said that Mutara III Rudahigwa’s times were marked by excellent milestones that include elimination of hard labor.

“Before his death, he had eliminated hard labor and serfdom that white people were visiting upon Rwandans. At that time Rwandans would carry milk cans from Nyagatare to Gicumbi on their heads. It is believed he was killed because of mobilizing against such forced labor,” he said.

Residents of Mimuri say that they have a leaf to pick from Mutara’s actions for he died fighting for citizens’ interests.

The mini-palace is in ruins, the roof having caved in. Twahirwa Théoneste, a Nyagatare district official in charge of culture, said that underway to rebuild the mini-palace to museum standards.

“This mini-palace together with the place called ‘Kucya Rudahigwa’ are among places we plan to renovate during the 2016-2017 budget, so visitors can see more with regard to the history of Kings in Rwanda,” he said.

For almost 100 years, Save the Children has been making a difference in children’s lives in more than 120 countries as the world’s leading independent organization for children, with a vision of a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

Save the Children has been working in Rwanda since 1994, and, in the immediate aftermath of the Genocide, helped trace parents or relatives of thousands of children who had become separated from their families. Since then, the organization has been working in partnership with the government and local stakeholders to promote a bright future for Rwanda’s children.

Currently, the organization is implementing development programs in the thematic areas of Education, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, Health and Nutrition. In addition to development programs, it is also supporting the humanitarian response following the influx of Burundian refugees in Rwanda.

EDUCATION

Since 2013, Save the Children has been implementing an innovative education program in Rwanda which is currently operational in 5 districts. Save the Children believes that being able to read is the foundation for all future learning. Ensuring that children master this skill early is essential as it paves the way for their ongoing learning, decrease the number of children dropping out of school early and reduce inefficiencies in the education system.

The program provides a continuum of services for children aged 0-9 years, focused on supporting emergent and early grade literacy to ensure all children who leave school are able to read by offering interventions in both schools and communities, and working with stakeholders to increase the quality, quantity and range of age appropriate, Kinyarwanda children’s books.

CHILD PROTECTION:

Save the Children believes that school and home settings should be free from violence, to allow children to develop their potential and gain self-esteem. Save the children is implementing a program that promotes positive discipline in early childhood care and development centers and primary schools, in partnership with Burera District. The project supports teachers, early childhood care and development care givers, children, parents-teachers associations’ members and local leaders to use positive forms of discipline with children, focusing on the promotion of better parenting and problem solving with children, as to prevent conflict.

The NewTimes

As we all know about human life, the first socialization of each human being is a very important step for each individual. The Rwandan society before colonization, as other societies over the world, had its own manner to prepare or to educate its members, children, in order to introduce them in the society.

The primary socialization took place within the family community which includes both members of the nuclear family and other close relatives; without ignoring the influence of other closely related families.

In practice, this primary socialization included some specific differences, according to the sex (male or female) of the child to be educated. For now, we mainly talk about the socialization of the boy.

Generally, as in other societies, we can say that at each stage of growth of the child, there were appropriate educational activities. Parents, especially mothers who are supposed to be more available to children, were using every possible technique within Rwandan culture to fully pass on their knowledge. Everything was done in anticipation of the general framework of future roles that the young man, had to play in the community as an adult.

For the transmission of wisdom and knowledge, the educator could, for example, use different literary genres, such as proverbs (Imigani migufi), stories, legends or tales (Imigani miremire), riddles (Ibisakuzo) and many others. In carrying out this educational function, we note that cultural homogeneity that has always prevailed in Rwandan society could well facilitate the task in the whole society.

To develop mental and intellectual faculties, the child was subjected to regular exercises that helped him to sharpen his powers of observation, his ability to remember and to establish a coherent relationship between various phenomena observed.

When, for example, the child returns from a trip, accompanied by his parents or his colleagues, is questioned to see if he can remember everything he saw or heard, people that he met and finally to discuss how he manages to establish a relationship between all. Once the child has well completed its report, and then his mother congratulates, kisses and gives him, as a reward, some sweets that children love. Next times the child will get used and more attention as well to observe, to coordinate everything he sees, in order to give a more reasonable relationship.

At the same educational setting, the child is accustomed, from a young age to comprehensively know the important facts of the history of his own family, traditions and above all remember well his genealogy. Thus the fact of hearing parents often repeat what they have also retained from their own parents about the life of the ancestor of the group, these children eventually learn the lessons without much troubles.

Indeed, in traditional Rwandan society, the individual had his place as both singular person and as a member of the family or community.

The individual was perceived not as an isolated atom, but as part of a whole. The identity of the individual was not declined as now, only by individual characteristics: first name, name, age, father’s name and mother.

Another area that regularly recurred in basic education of boys was that of lawsuits and other litigation settlements. The flexibility of Rwandans in the discussion and especially in the litigation has always been an enigma to anyone not initiated into the Rwandan traditional culture.

Some people, following a regular practice, became ‘specialists of the law ‘. The child, who is invited, from a young age to follow this kind of jousting between adults, will draw a double intellectual enrichment: the judicial point of view, then the view of eloquence or reasoning.

To conclude, we can say that the traditional Rwandan society, before the introduction of the modern school, had indeed its specific and well appropriate manner to prepare its members for their effective and harmonious insertion in the active life of the society.

The Author is Dr. Gasana Sebastien
Lecturer at INATEK (Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Education of Kibungo)

A report in the BBC has stated that an explosion has caused part of the walls of Aleppo’s ancient citadel to collapse.

The citadel was built in the 13th Century, and overlooks Aleppo’s Old City and is part of a UN-listed World Heritage site.

Syrian government forces have been using the citadel as a military position.

Government and rebel forces have been fighting for control of the city for over three years. According to the BBC, it is not known which side caused the explosion.
The citadel prior to the war in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the explosion occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“The blast caused the collapse of part of the wall of the citadel,” the organisation’s chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP news agency.

World Bulletin

The Embassy of Rwanda to Korea in collaboration with Rwandan community in Korea have participated in a three-day cultural and promotional event that took place in Seoul. The event was named “Embassies Day in Seoul 2015”.

The main activities have been the participation in promotion bazaar booth operation, promotional film screening and culture dance performance.

Rwanda was the only foreign country which participated in cultural performance at a stage, in front of a big crowd of guests at the closing day.

Rwandan Community participation to the event was marked by Rwanda’s achievement exhibition and Cultural throughout dances. Rwandans also shared with Koreans and other population living in Korea tea and coffee from Rwanda to taste its excellence, in order to publish them to the Korean market.

They have also marketed different handcrafts products made in Rwanda as well as Rwanda’s tourism.

Rwandan community in Korea performed different cultural dances by Umucyo Rwanda Diaspora Dancing Group, the troop that represented others in that event. They showcased how Rwandans are brave workers and how they are efficient in team working. They also presented Rwandans’ hospitality and joy.

Closing the event, Rwanda and Korea amongst others had demonstrated their cultural dances and Rwanda was awarded for promoting the cultural in general.

The Event is organized every year by an organization called World Masters Committee. This year Embassies from more than 70 countries participated in the three days event.

Saturday 9th May saw Hope Academy Rwanda end their Solidarity Campaign 2015 with a Festival of Culture, celebrating the diversity of the school. The motto of the event was: “Unity through diversity”.

17 nationalities were represented through students and staff, with each dressed in traditional costume. The programme included songs, dances, and poetry readings before culminating in a fashion show to reveal all the different cultures that make up Hope Academy Rwanda.

Handicrafts were on sale from Rwanda and Kenya, with school staff running stands to explain their own cultures. Students’ art work was exhibited and a piece of art by the school’s art teacher was auctioned.

The Festival was also the final event in the school’s campaign to raise funds for a rehabilitation centre for street boys, Les Enfant De Dieu, on the outskirts of Kigali. When everything has been counted, the proceeds will be used to provide food, bedding, and stationery for the boys at the centre.

Hope Academy Rwanda administration would like to thank everyone – both inside the school and out – for their support during the Festival and Campaign; we couldn’t have done it without you.