The facility caters to visitors looking for comfort and homeliness, all at an affordable price.
Located in one of Kigali’s calmest and greenest areas, the Guest House offers privacy with a friendly, efficient staff that is ready to assist with suggestions of the city’s hidden treasures and other sights to visit, allowing you to get the most out of your stay in Rwanda.
“We believe in taking the bed and breakfast business to the next level. We chose Rwanda because it is easy doing business here and there are low-risk factors. We believe Rwanda to be the African Giant when it comes to tourism and hospitality. Let’s not forget about the security, which can be seen as you stroll through the streets of Kigali by night.” Says Empathy Manor’s Management.
Empathy Manor Guest House catches the eye with its impressive garden terrace, in which one can enjoy a leisurely breakfast or relax with an iced drink on a late afternoon. Guests will as well benefit from a continental breakfast.
“We are ready to welcome both locals and internationals and give them an experience that will be memorable.”
Empathy Manor is a subsidiary of Empathy Collections LLC. based in the US. The Guest House offers accommodations with a bar, free private parking, among others. The guesthouse has family rooms which include a wide and spacious balcony. Guests can also enjoy free WiFi for their use.
For more news and details regarding Empathy Manor Guest House, and other insightful details on Rwanda, Hospitality, and Tourism, please visit Empathy Manor’s blog: https://empathymanor.com/blog/
The decision came into force on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, after days of exposure to Coronavirus in the area.
A statement issued by the district administration said, “The Nyamagabe district administration has informed all residents of Nyamagabe district and elsewhere that it has suspended services to the people at the district level from July 21, 2020.
“The district administration is informing the public that their issues will be processed in the sectors where they live and they can call the toll-free line3201 for advice.”
The Mayor of Nyamagabe District, Uwamahoro Bonaventure, told IGIHE that they had already set up a community response program on Wednesday but found that continuing to do so could be the root cause of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and thus changing the way it receives those questions.
Uwamahoro said the district administration officials will increase village outreach visits to the sector to see if any issues need to be addressed.
Uwamahoro explained that it was not a complete shutdown of the service but a change in the reception of the public so that no one would travel long distances aa a precaution against the Coronavirus.
Nyamagabe District stopped receiving complaints at its local office after the nearby Kigeme Hospital on Wednesday also suspended medical services to outpatients to prevent the spread of COVID infection. -19.
The hospital also identified a doctor and nurse who were infected with the COVID-19 virus, causing about 160 of its staff to be placed under quarantine (inside the hospital) for the first examination.
On July 14, 2020, the Ministry of Local Government announced that some of the cells in Nyamagabe District had been put under lockdown for 15 days, due to a Coronavirus outbreak.
The cells are Kigeme in Gasaka Sector and Ruhunga Cell in Kibilizi Sector.
In June this year, Inkomoko, in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation, launched a $ 2.3 million project worth about Rwf 2.2 billion to develop small and medium-sized businesses.
It is expected to reach 3,500 beneficiaries. The first phase consisted of 1,000 entrepreneurs from different camps and environs.
In the second phase, 1,000 small and medium-sized entrepreneurs will be assisted based on the impact Covid-19 has had on their operations, to cope with them, and to develop new and sustainable strategies for their operations.
Inkomoko Managing Director, Nathalie Niyonzima, said small and medium-sized entrepreneurs have a significant role to play in the country’s economy but face various barriers that should not be overlooked.
Cabinet Minister of Trade and Industry, Soraya Hakuziyaremye, spoke about the efforts the Government is making to meet the business needs of small and medium enterprises created by Coronavirus.
“As the pandemic spread, the Government faced a major challenge; we wondered if we should stop the economy and take care of health. But as we have seen, strong decisions have been made, but policies and measures have been put in place to restore the affected economy.”
The government recently announced a $ 100 million fund to help the economy recover. Minister Hakuziyaremye said it was one of the strategies to help traders including those entrepreneurs.
The acting country representative of the MasterCard Foundation in Rwanda, Rica Rwigamba, said that because of the coronavirus, there is a lack of employment opportunities and the young entrepreneurs meet with problems, and building them requires a variety of strategies.
Head of Special Economic Zone and Export in the Rwanda Development Board, Sayinzoga Diane, said the support was timely and that RDB needed similar support from other organizations.
Small and medium enterprises account for 98% of the country’s business. 55% of the Inkomoko funding will be given to small businesses and 18% to medium businesses.
For the entrepreneur to be supported, the project will be considered, whether it is in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry or the hotel and hospitality sector.
Skol consumers swear by it because it has an incomparable test that makes whoever drinks it to add more, and once he is thirsty he only thinks of a drink from this factory that has been in Rwanda for a decade.
Now in various parts of the country, you will see billboards that advertise it, and where they serve drinks, Skol dominates. The brand has become a friend of all in Rwanda.
Many prefer it for its hungover-free character, allowing consumers to go about their routines without any hitch.
With such a soothing blend of characteristics, the brewers have expanded. The Prime Minister Dr. Ngirente Edouard on January 29, 2020, opened a new packaging line to double the production of beverages on the Rwandan market and capture regional markets.
The new packaging line was opened at the Nzove factory in Nyarugenge District with a bottling system worth $ 10 million.
The company started with the capacity to produce 80,000 hectoliters (hl) of beer per year and in 2015 it launched a new production line that put its production to 200,000 hectoliters (hl).
In 2019 it increased capacity where a new packaging line with a capacity of 500,000 hl per year was installed, according to the General Manager of SKOL Brewery Ltd, Ivan Wulffeert.
In addition to providing jobs, both directly and indirectly through different supplier and agent chains, in 2018 the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) revealed that SKOL is one of large taxpayers in the country.
{{Supporting entertainment }}
SKOL is also committed to supporting various major entertainment activities in Rwanda.
It has sponsored different activities in the entertainment industry including the Celebrities Christmas Party organized by The Mane, which took place on December 25, 2018, at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition known as Camp Kigali. It was intended to connect Rwandan celebrities and fans, socializing and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Mupenda Ramadhan, the co-founder of The Mane Music Label, has been working with SKOL and has supported him in various concerts. He told IGIHE that he is thanking the company for its support of various concerts in Rwanda and other activities and urging it to keep up the good work.
“SKOL is great; it helps people enjoy a lot of entertainment; it encourages a lot of entertainment, and at the end of last year, it gave a lot of support to different concerts. Like me, we have worked on more than two concerts and other entertainment projects, but I would like to continue to do so because its products are related to entertainment,” he said.
SKOL also sponsored the ROC NYE concert, which brought together the top DJs, on the night of January 1, 2020, at Camp Kigali, which was attended by a large number of people.
DJs including DJ Ommy crazy from Tanzania, DJ Tyga, DJ Julz, DJ Marnaud, DJ Sparks from the UK, DJ Miller, DJ Kim, and DJ Klean were invited to the concert.
It is one of the sponsors of the annual Tour du Rwanda Concerts in Rubavu, Musanze, and Kigali Districts that brings together various sportsmen and artists including those from Kina Music of Ishimwe Clement.
On January 1, 2019, it also hosted a concert hosted by a group of two singers, Charly and Nina, to the delight of the crowd gathered at the Kigali Convention Center, celebrating the start of the new year 2019.
It was part of a concert to join its customers in celebrating the New Year, at concerts held at the Kigali Convention Center from December 29, 2018.
It was one of the sponsors of a concert that brought together artists including Riderman, Bruce Melodie, Deejay Pius, Amalon, Members of Green Ferry Music (Bushali, Slum Drip, and B-Threy), Queen Cha, Safi Madiba, Marina, Jay Polly, Social Mula, Jack B, Davis D, Active, Sintex, Rafiki, Uncle Austin and Rich Mavoko from Tanzania at the annual concert of The Mane Music Label titled ‘Kigali Summer Fest’ held on July 27, 2019, at the Kigali Conference & Exhibition Village (Camp Kigali).
Deejay Princess Flor from Belgium was also allowed to mix popular music, especially as it was the first time she had played at a major concert in Rwanda.
SKOL also has shows every Friday starting September 13, 2019, aimed at promoting SKOL Lager drinks and reaching out to comedy lovers, the first of which took place at the Le Poète bar in Nyarutarama and continues in various other locations in Kigali City and Musanze.
It brings together comedians including Kibonge Clapton, Joshua Kamirindi, George, Babou, and 5K Etienne known from Bigomba Guhinduka, Michael Sengazi, and others.
Comedian Mugisha Emmanuel [Kibonge Clapton] said the shows bring fans who were never able to meet them, making them socialize more freely.
On the long list of sponsorship is the third edition of the Kigali International Comedy Festival, which brought together comedians from different parts of Africa.
The festival, organized by Comedy Knights in collaboration with SKOL Brewery Ltd, was attended by African comedians.
It took place on November 8 and 9, 2019; attracted comedians including Michel Gohou, Oumar Manet, Joyeux Bin Kabodjo, Kigingi of Burundi, Clapton Kibonge, Joshua and Lindy Johnson, TSITSI Chiumya from South Africa and others.
Beyond sponsoring entertainment, SKOL is currently the main sponsor of Rayon Sports, the top tier of the most popular team.
The partnership began in May 2014, under a three-year contract with Rwf 47 million annual support to the team. In 2017, a new contract worth Rwf66 million was signed each year for five years.
SKOL installed the Rayon Sports stadium on September 29, 2017, with the finest green grass at a cost of about Rwf100 million.
Since July 2018, SKOL has also been helping young Rwandan teams train in Belgium. In the Tour du Rwanda 2020 it had his team partner with the Adrien Niyonshuti institution for the Promotion of Cycling Talents. The Skol Adrien Cycling Academy (SACA) is a new team, which is part of the continental competition, which is set up to promote the talents of Rwandan cyclists.
SKOL has also been supporting the Fly Cycling Club since 2016, where it provides all the equipment that cyclists need; it gives them insurance, coach, and even feeding the players.
The factory has soft drinks such as SKOL Panache and alcoholic drinks such as SKOL Malt, SKOL Gatanu, SKOL Lager, Virunga Mist, Virunga Gold, and SKOL Select.
At the age of 80, Lewis died of pancreatic cancer that had lasted for a few months. Lewis was one of the leaders in the fight against injustice and discrimination against blacks in the United States in the 1960s.
Together with Martin Luther King Jr organized the protest against the injustices that the blacks faced until some of the laws that governed the country changed and blacks were given the same rights as whites.
President Kagame is one of the bows to Lewis, emphasizing that his legacy will help the present and future to stand firm and fight injustice from the bottom up.
President Kagame said on Twitter: “John Lewis’s actions inspired many, in the US & around the world, who have had to stand up to situations of injustices of different kinds. May his legacy continue to inspire generations to have the courage to face injustice with #goodtrouble. My condolences to his family&loved ones.”
Lewis is known for his long-running black rights movement in the United States. When he was in his 20s, Lewis was one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid black human rights groups.
In 1963, he collaborated with Martin Luther King in organizing the protest in Washington, which uttered powerful words, the rally at which Dr. King delivered his historic “I Have a Dream”.
He was one of the few black rights activists still involved in the 1963 protests.
CNN reports that Lewis was abused when he was in the black rights movement but never discouraged. In 1965 Lewis was beaten by police in Selma, Alabama, but never give up.
He has been imprisoned more than 40 times regularly for peaceful protests against injustice but continues to march.
Lewis once said that he reflects and wondered why they were not discouraged, and found that it was God who helped them.
“Sometimes I look back and wonder how we were doing; otherwise how did we do it? How did we do that? We didn’t have an internet site; we didn’t have a phone. Only when we were sitting on those wooden chairs or in demonstrations, there was the power behind us. Almighty God was with us.”
Lewis was considered an experienced member of the U.S. Congress where he had been a Member of Parliament for more than 30 years.
He died while Americans protested against the injustice of blacks, as a result of the brutal death of George Floyd, who was brutally killed by police, after being stabbed to death by a police officer with knees.
Pacifique Usengimana, 22, was intercepted in the evening of July 17, just after crossing into Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonaventure Karekezi, the Police spokesperson for the Western region, said that Usengimana was intercepted by securing organs on duty.
“Usengimana used an illegal border point to cross into Rwanda, fortune enough, members of security organs, who were on duty saw and stopped him. When they searched him they found the luggage he had contained 582 rolls of cannabis. He was immediately taken into custody for drug trafficking,” CIP Karekezi explained.
He added: “Such illegal acts of crossing the border and criminal behaviors of trafficking and distributing narcotic drugs can equally be the source of COVID-19.
It’s criminal and risky to both the dealer and the community where such a person operates his criminal activities. Usengimana has been isolated for COVID-19 medical examination before he faces court for the alleged criminal act.”
He appealed to members of the public and communities residing along border lines to give no room for such drug traffickers, who can also easily infect them with Coronavirus.
Anyone convicted for “severe drugs” under article 263 of the law determining offences and penalties in Rwanda, faces between 20 and life imprisonment, and a fine of up to Rwf30 million
This is not the case, because in the Catholic Church and other religions there have been one mass or one service, contrary to expectations.
In Kigali City, only 18 churches were allowed to resume operations. The Mayor of Kigali City, Rubingisa Pudence, explained that the decision to reduce the number of services was based on compliance with the guidelines for the prevention of the pandemic.
“We have made it clear to the church and mosque leaders that the intention is for people to go to church but to avoid the Coronavirus pandemic. So between first mass and second, or between two services, that cleanliness must be done in-depth,” he said.
“There is also disinfecting the church, chairs and even opening up to fresh air. It is a time-consuming process, and we have found that having one mass followed by another in an hour is not possible.”
Rubingisa said the clergy heard it and complied with it. He stressed that the purpose is for people to pray or do other work but avoid Coronavirus.
Among the directives issued by the Ministry of Local Government is that the temples will be put into operation only if they are first inspected by a monitoring team to establish that they meet the requirements for Coronavirus prevention, approved by the district administration and notified in writing.
Before entering the church, people were first tested for temperature levels and washing hands with clean water or hand sanitizer, and then everyone went through their place of registration so that when needed can be easily found.
When this phase is over, one enters the temple and sits in a designated position. Congregants keep the social distance and wear masks; from the leading singers to the priest who leads the Mass or the pastor.
It was a day of great rejoicing for those who were able to gather in places of worship and pray, 127 days after the churches were closed.
However, some places of worship postponed their reopening due to the fact that some have yet to line up their requirements; the ones that have been completed have been cleared while others are waiting.
IGIHE journalists went to the City of Kigali, as well as in other parts of the country, to see how the standard operating procedures were being followed.
Social distancing was the order of the day and there were no handshakes or hugs, which are the known modes of greeting among the faithful. Mass celebrants and the clergy wore masks and there was no holy communion.
After a temperature check and handwashing with clean water or hand sanitizer, believers went through their registration so that they can be monitored easily when needed.
Many of those who had turned up for the Sunday services returned home without attending due to overcrowding.
At ADEPR Muhima it was necessary to set up loudspeakers outside so that people could follow the teachings, while also continuing to be sensitized to follow the instructions.
Pastor Théogène Kanamugire, leader of the ADEPR Muhima, said they were well prepared to receive people while respecting the Coronavirus prevention measures.
“It is a happy day, we ask Christians that as we are rejoicing, we should observe the instructions,” said Pastor Kanamugire.
At the Cathedral of St Michel Parish, a digital system has been put in place to help members register and place people in such a way that allows them to know who will be attending what mass.
Father Innocent Consolateur, head priest at Saint-Michel Cathedral said the digital system works perfectly and makes it easier for people not to waste time registering on the church line.
“In the English Mass at 3 p.m., many were using this digital system and there was no problem. It also has a better approach when reporting to the relevant authorities,” he said.
In the Western Province, there are some districts that saw Christians gathering such as Rubavu, while others such as Rusizi have held meetings but churches allowed to open are only in Kamembe Sector.
In Musanze, when arriving at the church, a group of trained people were testing temperature using special devices, others were writing down people and phone numbers at the entrances of churches.
In the Eastern province, home to almost 4000 churches; only 45 of them were allowed to reopen, these churches are in 6 districts except in Gatsibo, where no church was allowed to open.
The Executive Secretary of Ruvune Sector in Gicumbi District, Ngezahumuremuremyi Theonetse, told IGIHE that the accident was because the road was slippery.
None was either injured or lost a life. Residents in the immediate neighborhood rushed to the scene, rescued the victims and the bus continued with the journey.
The biggest percentage of the Sunday figures is from Kigali.
The Ministry of Health on the update tweet wrote “Kigali: 34 high-risk isolated cluster. Rusizi returned 3 cases, Rubavu: 3, Rutsiro:1, Nyabihu:1 and Nyamasheke:1.”
Rwanda still has 743 active cases while deaths are five, including an 88-year-old woman recorded on July 18.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Rwanda allowed worship places to be reopened.
