Rwanda, the rising nation

Rwanda- THE PAST

When one mentions Rwanda most folk immediately think of the 1994 genocide. The people of Rwanda suffered the worst genocide in modern times.
The differences between the Tutsis and Hutus the two ethnic groups in Rwanda go back a long way and it said these were compounded by the colonisation of the country by Belgium who put the Tutsis a minority group in power. Over the years Rwandese migrated to Uganda for economic and political reasons, and whilst in Uganda some prospered some didn’t. Those that didn’t were often found working as farm hands and my own family had 3 such refugees.

If you are in interested in learning more about the history of the country Wikipedia is a good start

My Association with the country

My work at Ethnic Supplies brought me in contact with a few African High Commissioners and Ambassadors and one of those was the High Commissioner for Rwanda. He told me that he had heard about my work and wondered if I would include women in his country in my project. I finally got around to doing so late last year, when I was approached by a vet based in the Netherlands who wanted me to help him source sleeping baskets for cats and dogs from Africa. Whilst working on this I was approached by a UK based company who had decided to go green and wanted and this involved developing their product using sustainable and environmentally friend raw materials, but also provide employment for African women.
When I looked across East Africa my gut instincts told me that Rwanda would be the best country to take both these projects.
I got in touch with the High Commissioner and was blown away when he sent his Commercial Attaché to come and meet with me in Surrey so he could understand my requirements and how they could best help me! I was blown away as the Ugandan High commissioner to London would not do such thing!

So it was that on 21 December 2009 I hit the road to Kigali Rwanda
Rwanda- A Rising Nation

On arrival I was met by the Head of Export Promotion Jean de Dieu Hakizimana who would be my guide for the duration of my stay in Rwanda. Prior to leaving the UK he had emailed me with an itinerary of what I would do and see and asked if it met my approval!! If I am honest I was embarrassed by this since he was doing me a favour, but I later learned why he did it (more on that later).

As I had never been to Kigali, he had also taken the trouble of identifying a couple of suitable Guest Houses for me to choose from by way of accommodation and drove me to both.

As we drove through Kigali I was struck by how clean the city was compared to the other East African cities I have been to, in fact I can go as far as saying it is immaculate.

My accommodation was a quaint guest house with a lovely garden with Wi-Fi.

My room

There was hedge on the other side of my room with an Avocado tree!

3 Hours due North
The following day Jean De Dieu and I hit the road 3 hours north of Kigali to visit a co-op called KIAKA. The route there was fascinating for various reasons. There were these little houses patched on the hillsides and I was reminded of Positano on the Amalfi coast. Rwanda is sometimes referred to as a country of 1000 Hills and I could now see why. What was interesting to the city council provided litter bins along the way as well as public latrines/toilets this is unusual indeed especially in the rural areas and I have not come across it in any of the other East African countries I have been to.

Kigali Hillside

Positano- Amalfi coast

We drove the land of the might Mountain Gorillas right to the boarder of Rwanda and Congo. We had lunch at a beautiful Lake Kivu. It was a sunny day and the locals were out in full swing, children were swimming in the lake so were other holiday makers.

It was market day so folk were out buying and selling the most fresh of vegetables and fruit you will ever see and generally getting on with life. There was the odd burned out house overgrown with grass etc and I did wonder whether this was a remnant of the 1994 genocide. I also wondered when would be an appropriate time for me raise the subject, not that it was important. I have a real interest in History and I felt the urge to learn about this particular period in this country’s life from the natives themselves. I was also nervous as I didn’t know how my host would take it, would he even want to talk about it. Then there was the issue of his driver, what if they were from different tribes (with Rwanda it is hard to tell as both the Tutsi and Hutu tribes speak the same language unlike other African countries).

We stopped for lunch at this lakeside restaurant

As soon as the driver was out of ear shot I asked Jean de Dieu about the genocide. He spoke briefly about the subject mostly to say that a lot of work has been done to reunite both the Hutus and Tutsis.

“It is hard work but we are getting there. The country is committed to investing in its people since it doesn’t have minerals or Oil, people are the assets. We are also doing a lot of work to encourage inward investment and therefore anyone coming in to invest in the country is given the best customer service! We are like a big corporation with our President as the Chief Executive and this company we have huge plans for our people starting with those who provide services to others!”

Suddenly I understood why I had been given such a reception. Fascinating stuff!

He didn’t want to dwell on the subject so I dropped it. As we drove through the area I noted that there several new buildings with several more under construction. Jean de Dieu said that several towns had opted to start again by pulling down old buildings and putting up news ones. There was certainly a feeling of a rising nation here!

In the next post I will tell you about the people at the two co-ops I visited.
Ida

Ida Horner is the founder of Ethnic Supplies, a UK Social Enterprise that helps the women of Africa become independent.