By Robert Kayinamura, Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda.
Rwanda did not have to wait for favorable winds but rather generate her own winds to sail through the difficulty times, in order to change the course of her economic and social history. To reconstruct Rwanda and nurture a shared identity and responsibility, the Government of Rwanda drew on aspects of Rwandan culture and traditional practices and the result was a set of Home Grown Solutions based on culturally owned practices that could help shape sustainable development programs.
In the regard, in the last 20 years Rwanda Government came up with more than 10 innovations that built on values and systems of Rwandan Culture, from Gacaca, our community courts, which has brought restorative justice and reconciliation to a once divided nation; to Ubudehe, which supports rural communities to collectively solve problems related to poverty; to Imihigo, which enables citizens to keep their leaders accountable, to One Cow per Poor Family program also known as Girinka, to Umuganda and many others, have ensured that no one was left behind.
One of the Home Grown solutions that have helped transform people’s lives is Ubudehe. Ubudehe refers to the long-standing Rwandan practice and culture of collective action and mutual support to solve problems within a community. Ubudehe was reintroduced into Rwandan life in 2001 as way to better involve communities in their development by setting up participatory problem solving mechanisms. The program was seen as a way to strengthen democratic processes and good governance through greater community involvement in decision making.
Ubudehe creates opportunities for people at all levels of society, especially the village level, to interact with one another, share ideas, create institutions and make decisions for their collective development. Today Ubudehe is one of Rwanda’s best known Home Grown Solution because of its participatory development approach to poverty reduction. In 2008, the program won the United Nations Public Service Award for excellence in service delivery.
On the other hand, Girinka was initiated in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming. The program is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to poor households helps to improve their livelihood as a result of a more nutritious and balanced diet from milk, increased agricultural output through better soil fertility as well as greater incomes by commercializing dairy products.
Another Home Grown aspect is Imihigo. Imihigo is the plural Kinyarwanda word of Umuhigo, which means to vow to deliver. In the modern day Rwanda, Imihigo practice was adopted as a means of planning to accelerate the progress towards economic development and poverty reduction. Imihigo has had a strong focus on results which has made it an invaluable tool in the planning, accountability and monitoring and evaluation processes. In 2006, Imihigo (known also as performance contracts) was introduced to address this need. Since its introduction, Imihigo has been credited with improving accountability and quickening the pace of citizen centred development activities and programs. The practice of Imihigo has now been extended to ministries, embassies and public service staff.
Another home grown solution is a community service called Umuganda. The word Umuganda can be translated as ‘coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome. The day is called umunsi w’umuganda, meaning “contribution made by the community which is designed to be a day of contribution and building the country by citizens themselves. Modern day Umuganda can be described as community work. On the last Saturday of each month, communities come together to do a variety of public works. This often includes infrastructure development and environmental protection. Rwandans between 18 and 65 are obliged to participate in Umuganda. Expatriates living in Rwanda are encouraged to take part.
In justice, Rwanda reconsidered both Gacaca and Abunzi seen as a hybrid form of justice combining traditional with modern methods of conflict resolution. In 2002, Gacaca courts were revived as a way to process the millions of criminal cases that arose following the genocide. Contemporary Gacaca draws inspiration from the traditional model by replicating a local community-based justice system with the aim of restoring the social fabric of society.
In total, 1,958,634 genocide related cases were tried through Gacaca. The courts are credited with laying the foundation for peace, reconciliation and unity in Rwanda. The reintroduction of the Abunzi system in 2004 was motivated in part by the desire to reduce the backlog of court cases, as well as to decentralise justice and make it more affordable and accessible for citizens seeking to resolve conflict without the cost of going to court .
This conflict resolution mechanism rooted in Rwandan culture was perceived as more accessible, less threatening and therefore more intimate and human. Consequently, the Abunzi started receiving trainings on mediating domestic conflicts, as well as logistical support from both governmental and non-governmental organisations, to improve the quality of their mediation services.
On inclusiveness, in Umushyikirano the governed directly engage with their leaders, and in so doing, Rwandans feel part of the decision making that affects their lives. Umushyikirano also serves as a forum for Rwandans to hold their leaders and government to account. The main achievements of Umushyikirano are considered to be the participation of Rwandans in national decision making and the fast-tracking of government programs and citizen priorities based on the resolutions tabled each year.
The event is attended by members of the Cabinet and Parliament, representatives of the Rwandan community abroad, local government, media, the diplomatic community and others invited by the President. Those unable to attend in person at Rwanda’s parliament building can participate via telephone, SMS, Twitter and Facebook as well as follow the debate live on television and radio
Information: http://www.netherlands.embassy.gov.rw/
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