FAO Rwanda has been working with Rulindo farmers in the respective sectors of Ngoma and Mugoti growing vegetables in Yanze marshland.
The organization started supporting farmers growing vegetables and later built dams to accrue water for irrigation.
Later on, 125 farmers grouped in ‘Horticulture Production Cooperative’ (YAHOPROCO) used these dams to start fish farming through a project dubbed ‘Knowing water better’ funded by Germany.
On Friday 12th March 2021, farmers harvested fish for the first time.
Harorimana Jean Marie Vianney is one of farmers who attested transformed livelihoods from the project’s interventions.
“Harvested fish will help us to fight malnutrition at home. We will pull several advantages from fish farming because we will also sell part of the produce to meet basic needs and increase our cooperative’s savings,” he said.
Mutimanama Olive, one of beneficiaries said they had never eaten fishes and had malnutrition related problems.
She highlighted that FAO’s support is promising to transform their livelihoods.
“We had never thought it could be possible to produce fishes from the dam used to water our crops. We plan to earn much from fish sales and feed the rest to our children,” said Mutimanama.
These farmers sell a kilogram of fish at Rwf 2500 and seek to save at least Rwf 5 million so that they can buy a car to supply fish to different parts of the country.
The Assistant FAO Representative, Otto Muhinda highlighted that utilizing such water for dual purposes increase returns for beneficiaries.
“ We sought how to introduce fish farming even though their core business was initially to grow crops. We are glad that their activities are progressing well. We wanted to teach farmers on practicing consolidated agriculture. We introduced the approach here to show others that it is possible and hope the project will reach greater heights,” he said.
Farmers were also trained on best fish farming techniques and express optimism to yield big even after FAO interventions are concluded.
As residents explained, they hardly accessed health services in the past that they would sometimes cross to Uganda for medical attention which has become history following the construction of 57 health posts completed at a cost of Rwf1.3 billion.
Speaking to IGIHE residents from different sectors of the district said they no longer need to cross to Uganda to seek health services because they have been made available closer.
“We hardly accessed health services in the past and decided to cross to Uganda. The situation has however changed. We are currently getting such services at Kamanyana health post which also attends to patients with eye diseases,” said Banyangandora Desire from Cyanika sector.
“We were accustomed to seek health services from Uganda or traditional healers since our childhood. As of now, men get circumcised at nearby Gatebe health post that we run short of nothing. Anyone crossing to Uganda might be going there for other personal reasons because health services have been made available,” explained another resident, Niyonizeye Samuel.
The mayor of Burera district, Uwanyirigira Marie Chantal, also emphasized that the matter of residents crossing to Uganda for health services has been addressed for good noting that residents currently receive most of services closer to their homes.
“We voice our appreciation to the Government of Rwanda for good policies and support through the Ministry of Health, especially President Paul Kagame who always oversees citizens’ interests. The problem of health tourism to Uganda has been addressed definitely because they often went there for eye, tooth diseases or circumcision reasons. All these services are available at these health posts. We also collaborate with health workers from other facilities to offer such services to health posts where they are not yet integrated on specific days,” she said.
These health posts were built on partnership between Burera district, the Ministry of Health, SFH Rwanda and Partners in Health among other partners in health sector.
These include a 17-year old young lady called Ishimwe Celine, a daughter of Bicamumpaka Esiri and Mukandahiro Aurélie living in Wakiso in Uganda.
The lady was arrested at home along with her brother, Ishimwe Eliel aged 19.
Security officers from Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence went to their home and arrested children after missing parents.
These children went to Uganda in 2015 with their mother through Gatuna border.
They were arrested on 10th December last year and taken into Police custody in Bukasa where they spent a week and taken to court on accusation of illegally staying in Uganda.
Ishimwe Eliel said that they have travel pass but his explanations were not considered and retained in prison.
On 25th January 2021, they were transferred to the detention facility of the Ministry of Internal Security until their deportation yesterday separated with parents. The two children have a grandfather in Nyanza district where they plan to stay.
Other deportees include Murindangabo Bernatus , the husband of Nisingizwe Michelle with whom they sired two children.
He is a son of Rutaza Révérien and Mukantagara Athanasie living in Bugesera district. He arrived in Uganda from Brisbane town, Queensland State in Australia.
Murindangabo went to Uganda on 13th February last year through Kigali International Airport onboard RwandAir. He had tour operator company guiding tourists in Uganda.
Murindangabo was arrested by CMI on 4th February 2021 and detained in Kansanga where he runs businesses. He was taken to CMI facilities and later at Makindye military camp accused of being a spy.
Another businessman, Mugisha Gahungu Shadrack, 29, hailing from Nyamasheke district went to Kenya in 2010 through Gatuna border.
He left Kenya for Uganda in 2015 and later arrested on 4th February 2021 in Kansanga at a bar known as Pyramid.
He was taken to CMI headquarters in Mbuya and later taken to military camp in Makindye accused of being a spy.
Mugisha has left his family in Uganda.
Rebero Napoléon is another deportee aged 47. He arrived in Uganda in 2000 through Gatuna border.
He was arrested on 10th February 2021 in Kampala where he was running businesses. He was also detained at CMI facilities in Mbuya accused of espionage.
Gahungu was also deported yesterday. After completing university studies in Rwanda, he went to Kenya in 2013 for clothes trading business. After spending two years, he went to Uganda where he established a restaurant. Gahungu later met with another Rwandan in 2017 and established a bar known as ‘Atmosphere Lounge’.
In 2018, his bar became famous that he started working with Rwandan DJs.
As Coronavirus emerged, he moved to Kansanga and worked with another bar dubbed Pyramid. He was arrested on 4th February accused of espionage.
“I am not the only Rwandan arrested. They were held at different times for the past three years for similar accusations. People are sometimes abducted in night hours with their faces covered. I was also tortured like other Rwandans illegally detained,” he said.
Gahungu returned to Rwanda bare hands leaving or his properties.
Since 2017, Rwandans have been abducted by Uganda’s CMI accusing them of being Rwanda’s spies.
Abduction of Rwandans living or traveling through Uganda is linked to CMI’s close collaboration with Rwanda National Congress (RNC), a rebel group against the Government of Rwanda led by Kayumba Nyamwasa with intentions to destabilize Rwanda’s security.
Through the cooperation, Rwandans on Uganda’s land denying cooperation with the rebel group are arrested; tortured in CMI prisons while others are taken in Minembwe of DRC to be tortured.
Uganda has been arresting Rwandans since 2017 in different operations. The Government of Rwanda has since 2017 been condemning such arbitrary detentions and advised Rwandans not to travel to Uganda in March 2019.
Later on, Angola launched discussions to mend Rwanda, Uganda relations which led to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Angola, Luanda known as Luanda Agreement in 2019.
The memorandum was signed on August 21st 2019 in a bid to solve conflicts between Rwanda and Uganda.
Despite efforts to sign the agreement between both heads of state. CMI continues arbitrary detention of Rwandans who endure torture in its facilities.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta welcomed Patricia Scotland to Kigali with a lunch in her honour also attended by High Commissioners to Rwanda.
Minister Biruta said: “In less than four months, the Commonwealth will gather in Kigali for our biennial family reunion. Our teams are working round the clock to ensure a safe and memorable event in June 2021.
“Rwanda very much looks forward to hosting the Commonwealth family in their second home and we hope that your delegations will take time to visit our beautiful country and learn more about our people and our culture.”
Thanking him for his hospitality, the Secretary-General said she was impressed by the level of commitment and preparedness for CHOGM that is already in place, and the milestones which have already been achieved since her last visit to Rwanda.
She said the next CHOGM must be a springboard for concerted action.
“As we seek to overcome the challenges before us, not least the devastating impact of the Coronavirus epidemic across the Commonwealth, CHOGM presents an opportunity to be the launch pad that propels us onward, upward and forward together,” she said.
“As we strive to live up to the ideals of the theme ‘delivering a common future’, building on the aspirations of the 2018 CHOGM, I look forward to working closely with Rwanda when it assumes the mantle of Chair-in-Office, in advancing our shared objectives, whether it be advancing the rights and well-being of women and girls;
Combatting the threat of climate change; promoting trade and good governance; championing the health, wellbeing and human rights of every one of our citizens; or ensuring that all young people have equitable access to the opportunities they need in order to fulfil their potential.”
The Secretary-General’s visit to Rwanda coincides with celebrations to mark Commonwealth Week.
About 1.6 million twins are born each year worldwide, with one in every 42 children born a twin.
Delayed childbearing and medical techniques such as IVF have seen the rate of twin births rise by a third since the 1980s.
But it could be all downhill from here as the focus shifts to one baby per pregnancy, which is less risky.
According to a global overview in the journal Human Reproduction, the peak was reached because of large increases in twinning rates in all regions over 30 years – from a 32% rise in Asia to a 71% rise in North America.
The researchers collected information on twinning rates from 165 countries for 2010 to 2015, and compared them with rates for 1980 to 1985.
The number of twins born per thousand deliveries is now particularly high in Europe and North America – and worldwide it’s gone from nine per 1,000 deliveries to 12.
But twin rates in Africa have always been high and haven’t changed much over the past 30 years, which could be due to population growth.
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Africa and Asia make up about 80% of all twin deliveries in the world at present.
Prof Christiaan Monden, the study’s author from the University of Oxford, said there was a reason for that.
“The twinning rate in Africa is so high because of the high number of dizygotic twins – twins born from two separate eggs – born there,” he said.
“This is most likely to be due to genetic differences between the African population and other populations.”
Twinning rates in Europe, North America and Oceanic countries have been catching up – and the increasing use of medically assisted reproduction since the 1970s – for example IVF, ICSI, artificial insemination and ovarian stimulation – have been the main reason.
These techniques all increase the likelihood of a multiple birth.
Women choosing to start families later in life, increased use of contraception and lower fertility overall also play a role, the review says.
But the emphasis is now on singleton pregnancies, which are safer, says Prof Monden.
“This is important as twin deliveries are associated with higher death rates among babies and children, and more complications for mothers and children during pregnancy, and during and after delivery,” he says.
Twins have more complications at birth, are more often born premature and have lower birth weights and higher still birth rates.
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The review found that the fate of twins in low and middle-income countries was more of a concern.
In sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, many twins will lose their co-twin in their first year of life – more than 200,000 each year.
“While twinning rates in many rich Western countries are now getting close to those in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a huge difference in the survival chances,” said Prof Jeroen Smits, a study author.
Looking ahead, the researchers say India and China will play a major role in future twinning rates.
Declining fertility, older mothers at birth and techniques like IVF will all have a bearing on the numbers of twins in years to come.
