by Ben Kayumba, Good News International
Residents from Mubuga, Gishyta, Bisesero, Karengera and Nyange send their greetings.
There are of course many frustrations caused by covid-19 here is Rwanda including the curtailment of public transport between Kigali and the other provinces and curfews. We were, however, able to visit the Karongi communities recently and meet with a few people from each community. Everyone sends you all their greetings and their thanks and I will update you on the progress from each of the communities in turn.
MUBUGA
We were not able to meet with everyone because of covid-19 restrictions but the community were well represented.
Our visit to the Mubuga Genocide Memorial site which is still under construction showed us that the building is progressing well. It will be very good for this community to finally have a suitable Memorial site after all of these years since the genocide.
GISHYITA
The good news for Gishyita is that they were able to take in a good harvest of maize last season. They sold it at four hundred thousand francs and used some of the money to buy health insurance for every family. They also bought a goat or a pig for every family.
We were very encouraged to hear this from them, they have made good progress. So, they have discovered that maize project is very beneficial to them and have decided that it would be much better to use the funds that were originally intended for the pineapple project to extend their maize project instead by renting another field for 6 years.
BISESERO
The people of Bisesero are also doing well. These are the two houses which were chosen by the community to be repaired. The houses belong to two ladies who are widows and who are looking after many children
They were built in 1996, and so are considered to be very old. We will send you photos as soon as they have been repaired.
KARENGERA
Unfortunately we were not able to visit Karengera so we don’t have much to report. They have been in lockdown for a long time. Their district (Nyamasheke) and Rusizi district were more affected by covid-19 than other parts of Rwanda because of people crossing the border from Congo which caused the number of cases in the area to rise. In general all of our people from Karengera are doing well. They can still go into the field and work, just not in a big group.
NYANGE
The people at Nyange community are also doing well. As with the other communities they send greetings to their friends in Scotland. Last year in July they were given goats by the Arbroath academy.
Seven of these goats have given birth and the people who own them are raising the young goats so that they can pass them on to their neighbours. Some of the other goats are also pregnant. It is a great way to multiply the gift so that more families can benefit, thank you!
The group at Nyange have not been able to meet together as a whole since March because of covid-19. In April the area was affected by the heavy rain which caused many landslides and destroyed some homes. Some of the people in our supported community were able to help a family whose home was completely washed away by the rain. After lockdown they began to rebuild the house, now they are about to put the roof on the house.
a little can change a life