The masks are to be donated by individuals, government agencies, the private sector, embassies and international organizations among others. They will be given to vulnerable people, who are unable to afford them.
The organizers of the campaign say the idea is to close the gap in the fight against the spread of Coronavirus by encouraging the wearing of masks, for there are those who are unable to wear them due to their inability to afford them.
“We call on everyone, every company to take part in this campaign and I hope that we can work together to fight Coronavirus by helping those who can’t afford to buy masks,” said Emmanuel Habineza, the representative of the masks’ makers.
The Deputy Director of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Zephanie Niyonkuru, when launching the campaign, commended the private sector for their role in reducing the way the country imported everything from scratch, and now they have come up with the idea of getting everyone a mask.
“I’d like to thank the members of the @PSF_Rwanda that have been working in order to ensure that we have enough supply of masks and that effort now is being put into ensuring everyone has access to masks.” Said Niyonkuru.
“Back in March, we were talking about production of less than 30,000 masks in the entire country. As we speak now, members of the private sector have manufactured more than 10 million masks and we are now devising several measures in ensuring everyone gets masks.”
Niyonkuru personally donated 200 bags and promised that RDB would support the initiative.
MTN Rwanda donated 10,000 masks; Bank of Kigali (BK) donated 30,000 masks.
The German Embassy in Rwanda donated 34,000, and the CEO of I&M Bank Rwanda Plc, Robin Bairstow, donated 500 masks.
The Governor of Western Province Munyantwari Alphonse and area Senior Commanders handed over the iron sheets to Bweyeye residents thanked HE the President of Rwanda and C-in-C of the RDF for his citizen-centred leadership. The western province leadership hails local population’s contribution to bringing security in their communities.
“The collaboration between security organs and Bweyeye residents has proved that we are united and ready to protect the national progress and achievement. We commend your understanding that owning, protecting our country’s safety and security is a pillar for its sustainable development’’.
The Governor of Western Province urged Bweyeye residents and beneficiaries of the development projects to be more grateful by charting the way of self-development to uplift their living conditions to another level.
Nyirandimubanzi Meliyana one of the beneficiaries said: “I was living in a holed roof house; my belongings were damaged during the rain season; I was desperate after the death of my husband… thanks to our President who has sent the RDF to deliver the iron sheets… We are very grateful that our life will change for good”.
Bweyeye residents alsoexpressed their satisfaction for the infrastructure development projects that have improved their living conditions.
“I am a witness of Bweyeye development. This Bweyeye was underdeveloped with no electricity, schools, health facilities… we are witnesses of the real national liberation. We can testify that we have been liberated… we are waiting for the 32 km tarmac road under construction to celebrate the fruits of national liberation struggle’’, testified Kanyabashi Thomas, Bweyeye resident.
On August 16,the City of Kigali announced that it had decided to close Nyarugenge market known as the ‘Kigali City Market’ after tracing large numbers of people infected with the coronavirus back to the market.
Fifteen days after the closure, the City of Kigali issued a statement on August 31 stating that the market would reopen in a few days but that all operations would be carried out to prevent the spreading of the pandemic, which has led to the traders to alternate in the market with 50% coming one day and another 50% coming the following day.
“Life was difficult but the fact that the market was closed was for the good of the community, me included. As the number of cases found here kept on increasing, we did not expect them to open today. We are going to step up prevention measures, such as washing your hands every time, to wear our masks properly, and respect the social distance as required,” said Karara Jean d’Amour, a clerk in the market.
“We are happy to be back. Although the market was closed, I did not lose anything because they let us come in to remove the goods that could have been damaged.
We thought they wouldn’t open soon; I thank the leadership for doing everything possible to get us back to work. We are going to step up prevention measures, while also protecting those who come to us,” said Fridaus Mukarusagara, one of the food vendors in the market.
The market was closed at the same time as that of Nyabugogo known as Mutangana; but the City of Kigali has announced that due to the nature of the latter one it will “continue to close”. Traders and food buyers will continue to operate on at Giticyinyoni and at Nzove.
Police also seized 1,985 liters of locally made illicit substances from the five suspects.
The operation is part of the strengthened fight against production and sell of illicit drinks, and to dismantle illegal distilleries.
If was facilitated by credible information from community policing partners in the area, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Alphonse Mayinga, the District Police Commander for Nyaruguru.
“We are working with youth volunteers, DASSO and community policing committees to identify and arrest people involved in criminal activities. These include dealers in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. We are also combining operations with sensitization on awareness and prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic,” SP Mayinga said.
The five men arrested are; Emmanuel Ntakirutimana caught with 610 liters; Janvier Manirakiza with 350 liters; Sylvester Bizimungu had 830 liters; Joseph Hakizimana with 100 liters, and Jean Claude had 95 liters.
According to SP Mayinga, these psychotropic substances pose a threat to human security.
“We have had cases of people, who turn violent after drinking illicit brew and becoming threats to the security of residents and their own families in particular.
That is not all, because during this period when everyone is urged to be vigilant, their clients remain exposed to the risk of contracting the Coronavirus, as they drink from closed up places where social distancing is not applied, neither are facemasks worn. Sometimes, they even drink from the same bottle,” the DPC observed.
Article 263 of the 2018 law determining offences and penalties in general, stipulates that producing, trafficking or selling simple narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances attracts a term of not less than seven years and not more than 10 years in prison, and a fine of not less than Rwf5 million and not more than Rwf10 million.
Alcoholic drinks produced without complying with standards and other laws; and chemical substances whose original intended use had been altered, and used as narcotic drugs are classified under simple narcotic drugs by a 2019 ministerial order establishing the categorization of drugs.
In the evening of Wednesday, September 2, at around 6pm, 19 people were found gathered at the bar drinking beer, according to the Executive secretary of Gisozi sector, Providence Musasangohe. Not only were they drinking beer, they were also seated very close to each other. Additionally, this was the second time the bar owner was caught in such illegalities.
“This is not the first time that this bar has been caught violating COVID-19 prevention measures. What is next is for the owner to pay a double fine for recidivism because they were warned the previous time. People who were drinking at the bar will also be fined,” Musasangohe said.
She also noted that people should understand that when people take alcohol, there is a higher risk for them to get closer and touch each other, or even drink from the same bottle. All these accelerate the spread of the Coronavirus.
The bar owner, Innocent Urimubabo told the media that he regrets to have been influenced by his clients’ demands to serve alcohol.
“I had changed the bar posters to ‘restaurant’, and we spent some time without serving alcohol. But yesterday (Wednesday), people were having alcohol. That is when I was caught red-handed by the authorities,” Urimubabo narrated.
He also advised owners of other hospitality establishments to not fall in the same trap of violating the COVID-19 prevention measures.
The government recently ordered the closure of all bars, including those operating in restaurants and hotels.
Rwanda National Police (RNP) spokesperson, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera gave a fresh warning to all members of the public against COVID-19 prevention measures violations.
“The virus is still around and some Rwandans have succumbed to it. Violating measures put in place to save lives is something we cannot tolerate, and whoever fails to abide by the directives will face immediate consequences.”
The August 31 directives issued by City of Kigali on the penalization of people, who violate COVID-19 prevention measures stipulate that whoever will be found operating a bar business in their hospitality establishments, homes, supermarkets, and other places will pay a fine of Rwf150,000 and their businesses closed for at least a month but not more than three months.
The City directives also provide that any client caught in these establishments drinking also face a fine of Rwf25,000, and taken to allocated centres for at least 24 hours, where they are enlightened on the pandemic of COVID-19 and prevention measures.
“Condolences to the family of 31-year-old man who passed away in Kigali,” said the Ministry of Health on Thursday, September 3.
On Thursday, though the country met a loss, the figures were inspiring hope, with 37 new cases, the smallest number in the last three weeks and 92 recoveries bringing the number of recoveries to 2,163.
The Ministry said that of the new cases, Kigali has confirmed 23 cases from contacts of traders in Kigali market cluster; Rusizi has 4 cases, Gisagara 3, Gakenke 2, while Nyabihu, Kamonyi, Nyanza, Musanze, and Rubavu have each recorded 1 case.
With the new cases, Rwanda has now confirmed cases to 4255 of which active cases are 2,074.
Although many services are still open, Rwandans are urged not to be deceived and think the pandemic is over. They are advised to continue to follow the established rules, remembering to wear masks every time they leave home, wash their hands often, to avoid meetings and gatherings. All those who feel the symptoms of this pandemic, including coughing, shortness of breath, among other things; should call the tall free line 114 for medical assistance.
The bodies were found on Wednesday, September 2, 2020. 42 bodies were found in Rwamibabi Village in Ntovi Cell, and two more were found in Bare Village in Rwintashya Cell. The discovery followed information provided by the community, prompting Ibuka authorities in collaboration with local authorities to begin the search.
Rukumberi Sector Executive Secretary Mbarushimana Ildephonse told IGIHE that they had started searching for the bodies two days ago after receiving information from the community that may people were killed from that place.
He called on those who still have information on the whereabouts of the bodies of Tutsis killed in the genocide against the Tutsi to provide it so that victims can be afforded decent burial.
There is a memorial in Rukumberi sector where remains of over 40,000 victims are buried.
The event was organized by Access Bank Plc through its department that cares for women, Maternal Health Care in collaboration with the national blood transfusion center, Inzira Collect na Iby’Iwacu.
The event was themed ‘Protect mother’s life, donate blood, give life.’ It was aimed at collecting blood that will be given to people who need it, especially women who give birth and face a problem of over bleeding.
Natacha Sandrine Umuhoza, Representative of Access Bank Rwanda at the beginning of the event, said that in addition to their work as a bank they also have other activities that help the country.
She added that as a bank they have chosen to launch a blood donation campaign because they believe that a person does not thrive without good health.
“We have chosen to do this through our branch at Access Bank because we have thought that women are among the people who need blood mostly, especially when they give birth they often have various problems that require blood, and for a person to thrive she also has to have a healthy life,” she said.
The blood donation process will last for three days and will end on September 4, 2020.
The Director of the National Blood Transfusion Center, Dr. Gatare Swaibu, thanked Access Bank’s involvement in the long-running blood donation drive due to COVID-19.
“The event seemed to have stalled since COVID-19 arrived in Rwanda, we realized it is necessary, we collaborated with Access Bank Rwanda branch which cares for women to make this event possible,” he said.
Fiona Cecile Umulisa, the director of Ibyiwacu, says Rwandans should have a better blood donation culture.
Akingabire Marie Claire, one of the participants in the blood donation event, said that she donates happily because she has seen so many people lose their lives because of the lack of blood which makes her sad.
In a concluding ceremony on Friday last week the joint achievements of the two organizations were commemorated and celebrated, and decisive steps were taken to ensure that AMIR can promote the positive development of the microfinance sector without the support of its long-standing partner SBFIC.
Initially the partnership was launched in 2009 with a strong focus on financial education. The largest of the financial education activities initiated at the time, World Savings Weeks, is still celebrated annually and enjoys high participation all over the country. During this time, more than 500,000 people were sensitized and made aware of the savings culture, and more than 100,000 children opened their own savings account with a total amount of Rwf 2.2 billion.
In her opening speech, Maria Knappstein Country Director SBFIC Rwanda gave a pertinent summary of the 11 years of cooperation and illustrated the dynamic development that not only the country of Rwanda but also the entire microfinance sector has undergone during the time of this partnership, e.g. that AMIR membership increased by 850 %, from 30 up to 340 or financial inclusions (including informal ones) were promoted and could be expanded from 47 % to 93 %.
During her retrospective journey through time, Knappstein mentioned that interventions to develop the capacity of microfinance staff and bodies were another focal area that was included from the very beginning. Initially, AMIR, with SBFIC’s support, was directly responsible for organizing training courses to professionalize its members.
Soon afterwards, the idea of founding its own training academy for microfinance institutions emerged. Consequently, AMIR and SBFIC were among the key players in the conception and establishment of this academy called RICEM (Rwanda Institute of Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship and Microfinance).
Knappstein also emphasized that one partner could only grow through the other and that she is very grateful for this intensive time of partnership.
Speaking on behalf of the AMIR, its Executive Director, Aimable Nkuranga, said the project was aimed at polishing the skills of microfinance staff for better services delivery. He said that all the activities that took place have had a positive impact.
“In various training, financial institution staffs have been empowered. We have also made benchmark visits to different countries to learn best practices and share experiences,” he said.
One of the most important topics on the agenda to further boost AMIR’s activities was the signing of a license agreement for the so-called business simulations. SBFIC’s business simulations are an international brand for an innovative interactive learning experience, in which learning is supported by haptic and computer-based simulations, far away from dry theory.
The simulations offer participants a risk-free environment in which they can try things out. The main goal of the simulations is to teach people to recognize the causes of problems and analyze relationships.
By interpreting the results and evaluating the players’ performance, the teams form and refine their own success strategy. AMIR will thus be authorized to offer these business simulations to its members and beneficiaries even after the partnership ends.
Charles Kayumba, Vice Chairman of AMIR, reported in his speech that he himself had benefited from professional training that AMIR had been conducting in the microfinance sector with the support of SBFIC from the very beginning. He appreciated the quality of the training courses developed and conducted specifically for the sector and thanked SBFIC on behalf of AMIR for the many years of fruitful partnership.
A certain level of digitization is an essential prerequisite for future activities in this sector. In order to demonstrate the supportive possibilities of digitization, the organization team arranged a quasi-live connection to Germany, in which the two regional coordinators of SBFIC East Africa, Britta and Thomas Konitzer, sent their greetings and best wishes to AMIR.
They also reminded of the joint successes, such as the introduction of Shared Audit Services or the establishment of different meeting formats with the member organizations, in order to be able to inquire for their needs directly at the basis.
Last but not least, they emphasized another success story, which was a joint development of a new product specially designed for women: Tinyuka Wigire Munyarwandakazi, launched in 2016, educates more than 5,000 women on savings and credit, with more than 7,000 accounts open and a total of Rwf 400 million that has been disbursed as loans to profitable projects, most of which have been made by women who have been trained by this project.
The subsequent handover of all joint projects was not only symbolic. Knappstein emphasized that she would not let AMIR go without the best possible preparation for their trips and ventures when SBFIC does no longer sit in the ‘passenger seat’ for potential support.
Therefore, all colleagues had made every effort to document the joint projects of the past years. All concept papers, templates, implementation plans, monitoring files and lessons learnt were collected and ceremonially handed over to AMIR on a flash drive. This includes the following joint projects:
Coaching of big MFIs, Mystery Shopping, Dual Apprenticeship System, Financial Education for Children, Member Meeting Formats, Shared IT Services, Shared Audit Services, Farmers Business Simulations, Micro Business Simulation, Savings Game, Tinyuka Wigire Munyarwandakazi and World Savings Week.
As the event’s guest of honour, the two organizations were able to welcome Mr. Kevin Kavugizo from BNR, Director of Microfinance Institutions Supervision Department, who was the only one of the attendees able to follow the entire development of the partnership between SBFIC and AMIR from the beginning and now report on it.
In his review, he reported on an impressive joint study trip, which has had an enormous impact on him and has developed him further in his role at the BNR.
He said that the BNR’s supervisory role is much easier if the capacity of MFI staff is enhanced, and that the sector is currently on a good path. Kavugizo also sees many advantages for the National Bank as a supervisory authority, provided that the entire microfinance sector emerges strengthened from this development.
He did not forget to mention, and he appreciated very much that SBFIC will remain in Rwanda despite the expiration of the partnership with AMIR in order to provide support elsewhere, for instance in the Umurenge SACCO professionalization project in the field of data cleaning and business planning for the future District SACCOs.
The concluding photoshow with pictures from the entire 11-year partnership had some treasures from the photo box ready and let the participants revel in good memories.
The tenor of all speakers expressed: ‘Let us remember each other and meet again as good friends!’
