Friday, July 21, 2023, two humanitarian organisations: “Forum pour la Mémoire Vigilante, FMV” (Forum for Vigilant Memory) under Rwandan law and the American NGO Spirit In Action (SIA), came together to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide committed against the Tutsi in 1994 in Rwanda.
Members of the two organisations laid a wreath at the “Kigali Genocide Memorial” where more than 250,000 genocide victims, killed in the capital Kigali and its surroundings, are buried with dignity.
“A moment of silence, a way of saying No to genocide and other tragedies that claim human lives in the Great Lakes region, in Africa and around the world, Never again,” said Mr.
Ferdinand Ndayiragiye, legal representative of the FMV, recalling that this kind of activity is part of the right-wing of the FMV’s missions for “Peace Education” and “Peace Building”.
Regarding to SIA, the American NGO SIA is for “a world without tragedy” before considering “a world where everyone has enough food, security and prosperity” according to the Executive Director of the American International NGO “Spirit in Action (SIA)”, Tanya Cothran.
Community Recovery
The executive director of SIA was just concluding her tour of Africa to inquire about the situation of beneficiaries and evaluate projects funded by this humanitarian organisation. Tanya Cothran passed through Malawi and Burundi before arriving in Rwanda Thursday July 20, 2023 where she visited the projects carried out by the “Forum for Vigilant Memory, FMV”.
The FMV, founded by Burundian refugees, is a non-governmental organisation active in education against crimes and humanitarian assistance for the most vulnerable populations: refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and immigrants most vulnerable following crimes or conflicts.
Through its pig farming project, FMV intends to contribute to the community recovery of refugees settled in the district of Muhanga in the southern province of Rwanda, an approach that the Executive Director of SIA who funds the project appreciated when she visited the pig farm in Muhanga, Thursday July 20, 2023.
“I encourage you and I am very pleased that the first beneficiaries of the project are vulnerable because of their refugee status but who are very resilient in order not to remain in this vulnerability, but rather to move forward and self-develop,” she said.
Inspired by SIA’s “Share the Gift” jargon, the project was initially run by the FMV, which then handed over the pig farm to the refugees, gathered in the “Urunani” cooperative, which brings together around a hundred members.
The Executive Director of SIA found herself a “witness” to the handover of the project to the said cooperative, leaving a feeling of encouragement.
“I am sure that with the synergy of all the stakeholders, be it the FMV, the technicians, the agronomists, the veterinary engineers and the local administration, the project will prosper. You will make a good investment plan and you will benefit greatly from it. It is true that this is a new business but I encourage you to move forward, do not waste the dividends rather muse on the financial stability and the expansion of the business”, she hammered after having followed a signing ceremony of the remittance agreement between the FMV and the cooperative “Urunani”.
Successful bet…
“The FMV will monitor the project for one year from the date of the transfer. During this period, URUNANI does not have the right to sell livestock for the purpose of sharing interests. The only sales authorized during this period are those dictated by the maintenance needs of the breeding, “he underlines, citing article 3 of the discount agreement.
For the project director, the farm will couple with agriculture very soon.
“The project is in the right direction with the fight against poverty in refugee families through agriculture and animal husbandry. We are preparing to use manure from the farm to fertilize the agricultural fields,” said Mr Jean De Dieu Niyongabo, head of this project.
He is delighted that in mid-August, the farm will have around twenty pigs.