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  • Local Pastor Launches Book

    A local pastor Jimmy Muyango from Rwanda For Jesus Church, Kicukiro District has published his debut book titled“The Path To Your Destiny
    Pastor Jimmy Muyango and his wife as a co-author cutting a cake that signfies a launched book
    Written in English for four years, the pastor tells the aspiring readers to stay focused no matter the challenges they have to meet in life.
    Pastor Jimmy Muyango addresses the audience during the launch
    At a colourful launching ceremony arranged with a mixture of music from one of the celebrated gospel artist Simon Kabera, Passy, worship team from Rwanda for Jesus, and upcoming cultural gospel troupe, pastor Muyango signed autographs including the one to someone only identified as Aimable who bought one copy at over Rwf 600,000.

    “Many of the successful people in the world were more focused than others, it does not mean they did not meet challenges.Probably they meet more challenges than any of us but they never gave up,” Pastor Muyango said.

    “In this book, I am reminding everyone that there are barriers to your destiny or achieve your goal no matter how hardworking or wise you might be any yet no one makes a choice which barrier and when to meet,” Muyango added.

    “Nobody made a choice to be born an African, or a Rwandan, to be born a man or a woman, to be born on a certain day neither would you make a choice whether to meet barriers or hindrances while you are driving to your goal, therefore I talk about principles that you should have if you need to stay on track,”
    Pastor Jimmy Muyango addresses the audience during the launch
    Muyango said that writing a book was also a contribution to promote a reading culture in Rwanda which would help in finding the hidden wisdom in many books.

    “You cannot read if you can write, reading culture in Rwanda cannot grow if there are no writers or if there is no reading writing culture, am glad that I have become among a few people that are contributing to this knowledge development course,” Muyango emphasized.

    A reading culture can be defined as a learned practice of seeking knowledge, information or entertainment through the written words.

    An estimation of over 500 copies sold in just four hours of launch while earning him close to Rwf 2million on-launch sales.
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    Pastor Charles Mugisha of New Life Bible Church, Kicukiro District who presided over the function reminded the invited guests and the Rwandans at large that the wisdom or knowledge one may need is found in a book.

    “One person said, that if you want to hide wisdom or knowledge from an African, put it in the book, because they discovered that Africans don’t have a reading culture but the trend has changed now, Africans have started reading and writing and so is Rwanda where we have come to celebrate some of our first fruits of authors in the country,” Mugisha said.
    Pastor Jimmy Muyango congratulates Pastor Charles Mugisha as his first buyer of the book(Courtesy Photos)

    Promoting Reading Culture

    The culture of reading is not part of Rwandan tradition. It has been necessary that NGOs like edition BAKAME coming up with Rwandan story telling books for children accompanied with reading competitions.

    However, the mission of the Ministry of Education is to transform Rwandan citizens into skilled human capital for socio- economic development of the country by ensuring equitable access to quality education focusing on combating illiteracy, critical thinking and positive values among others.

    None of those above is expected to be achieved with no reading or writing culture of which the government has embarked on.

    The ministry believes that achieving that mission is surely contributing to the overall goal of the Government to reduce poverty and improving the well-being of the Rwandan population.

    ENDS

  • Women Urged to Respect Husbands

    The co-founder of the umbrella of all women associations in Rwanda Suzanne Ruboneka has urged women to respect their husbands despite the needed gender equality in Rwanda.

    Ruboneka was speaking at the Rwanda Television and Radio joint show dubbed Kubaza Bitera Kumenya(asking is knowing) at Telecom House, Kacyiru on Sunday.

    She said that some women have used gender equality as an escape route to exercise their wickedness yet it does not take away the values of an African woman or a house wife.

    “Gender equality means that a woman is no longer kept inside doors, or pushed into limitations of having freedom as human being and not allowed to access the culturally denounced culture like working or public speaking but that does not give her a right to disrespect her husband, a man will always be the head of the family,” Ruboneka said in a show hosted in preparation of the international women’s day to take place March 8, 2012.

    The radio show was attended by women leaders from National Women Council, Avega-Agahozo,Parliament and from the ministry of Gender and Family promotion.

    A lot of questions that were asked by the audience in a call-in session and the participants at the show reflected the equality between girls and boys and violence between men and women.

    They highlighted that even boys have been denied or have faced barriers in life making it hard for them access their basic rights or deny them their basic needs.

    Similarly, men were also said to have faced enormous domestic violence, where they panel jointly agreed and said there is a lot being done to fight such violence.

    The panel also tackled on mistreatment of girls who conceive unwanted, planed and premature pregnancies from their respective homes or by their said spouses.

    Rwanda will celebrate International Women’s Day with the rest of the world on March 8th 2012. This year, International Women’s Day will also be the beginning of Rwanda Women and Girls’ Month.

    This year’s International Theme is ‘Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures’ while the national theme has been adopted as ‘Empower Women and Girls to Sustain Families’
    Rwanda Women and Girls’ Month will be focusing on the activities across the country fighting Malnutrition with ‘Eat Healthy, Live Healthy slogan.

    Other include promoting Economic Empowerment of Women, promoting Girls’ Education and women and Good Governance.

    As mothers, home makers and care takers, women play a vital part and are well placed to end malnutrition if properly educated and equipped with resources, knowledge and the skills they need to prepare nutritious meals for their families and ensure that the children under their care are well fed and healthy.

    The Ministry of Health (MINISANTE) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) will lead activities on this focus.

    MINISANTE will engage in creating public awareness of the health sector services available in this initiative in collaboration with various stakeholders and community members.

    Activities at the community level will include but are not limited to agricultural demonstrations on how to establish a good kitchen garden, what composes and how to plan and prepare nutritious meals.

    Gender equality has been a government policy in Rwanda for many years now and the positive political will and various strategies have gone a long way in achieving a status for women that is above many other countries.

    ENDS

  • It’s Demeaning to live on Generosity of Others–Kagame

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    President Paul Kagame has vowed to take Rwanda to another level of progress by fighting poverty and securing extra independence of the citizens.

    “It’s not correct to live on generosity of others. It is demeaning. Our struggle is to improve the lives of Rwandans, get rid of poverty, to be more independent. And we want it fast,” Kagame told the 9th leadership Retreat.

    Kagame explained that Leaders are supposed to guide citizens out of poverty and dependence, “Fighting poverty starts in the mind. It is even more pathetic when this attitude is prevalent among the intellectual class that feels they have arrived”.

    “Donors want Africans to imitate them and stay in poverty. Good debates that change people’s lives must be emphasized. Debates are important but endless debates about development are useless,” he said.

    “We know exactly what our challenges are. They are malnutrition, insufficient electricity etc. No more seminars are required,” Kagame noted.

    He added Rwandans need electricity and not stories and seminars about electricity. They need electricity now, not in 30 years.”

    “What lessons do you still have to learn from others that we haven’t learned from losing one million people?”

    He added that fighting poverty is a real fight, not of weapons, but of ideas and changing minds to improve lives. It’s not about how many seminars we attend but using our knowledge and resources efficiently, “I am going to do whatever it takes to make this happen.”

    Hinting on Aid dependence, President Kagame said, “We shouldn’t be living off other taxpayers but pay our own taxes. We cannot have endless debates about our predicament -that is why Africa is where it is. We need tangible results,” he said.

    The president noted, “Africa’s political class is selfish. They are de-touched from the people they lead.”
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  • Explosions in Congo Brazzaville Kill 200

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    A reliable source from Congo Brazzaville has revealed that atleast 200 people are reported to have been killed. Hospital sources say the death toll is likely to rise.

    “We count at least 150 dead in the military hospitals and around 1,500 injured, some of them seriously.”

    An official in the president’s office quoted by foreign press put the death toll at about 200, citing hospital sources.

    The four strong explosions were also heard several kilometers away across into neighbouring Kinshasa the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Residents of east Brazzaville fled when the blasts began.

    The cause of the explosions has not yet been established but sources say it has been an accident at a munitions dump.

    A diplomatic source in Brazzaville said the blasts came from a munitions depot in the east of the city.

    Dark thick smoke was seen rising from Kinshasa, which lies over the river from Brazzaville. The first explosion was heard around 8:00 am, a second one about 20 minutes later, followed by two others around 8:45 am.

    Several other detonations, much weaker, have been heard since.

  • Acquaintance is Possible for All, Not love

    Relationship is a mystery. And because it exists between two persons, it depends on both. Whenever two persons meet, a new world is created. Just by their meeting, a new phenomenon comes into existence -which was not before, which never existed before.

    Through that new phenomenon, both persons are changed and transformed. Unrelated, you are one thing; related, immediately you become something else. A new thing has happened. A woman when she becomes a lover is no longer the same woman.

    A man, when he becomes a father is no longer the same man. A child is born, but we miss one point completely; the moment the child is born, the mother is also born. This never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother never. And a mother is something absolutely new.

    Relationship is created by you, but then, in its turn, relationship creates you. Two persons meet, that means two worlds meet. It is not a simple thing but very complex, the most complex.

    Each person is a world unto himself or herself, a complex mystery with a long past and an eternal future. In the beginning only peripheries meet. But if the relationship grows intimate, becomes closer, becomes deeper, then by and by centers start meeting. When centers meet, it is called love.

    When peripheries meet, it is acquaintance. You touch the person from the without, just from the boundary, then it is acquaintance. Many times you start calling your acquaintance your love. Then you are in a fallacy. Acquaintance is not love.

    Love is very rare. To meet a person at his center is to pass through a revolution yourself, because if you want to meet a person at his center, you will have to allow that person to reach to your center also. You will have to become vulnerable, absolutely vulnerable, open. It is risky.

    To allow somebody to reach your center is risky, dangerous, because you never know what that person will do to you. And once all your secrets are known, once your hiddenness has become unhidden, once you are exposed completely, what that other person will do, you never know. The fear is there. That’s why we never open.

    Just acquaintance, and we think that love has happened. Peripheries meet, and we think we have met. You are not your periphery. Really, the periphery is the boundary where you end, just the fencing around you. It is not you! The periphery is the place where you end and the world begins.

    Even husbands and wives who may have lived together for many years may be just acquaintances. They may not have known each other. And the more you live with someone, the more you forget completely that the centers have remained unknown.

    So the first thing to be understood is: don’t take acquaintance as love. You may be making love, you may be sexually related, but sex is also peripheral. Unless centers meet, sex is just a meeting of two bodies. And a meeting of two bodies is not your meeting. Sex also remains acquaintance –physical, bodily, but still acquaintance. You can allow somebody to enter to your center only when you are not afraid, when you are not fearful. So I say to you that there are two types of living. One: fear-oriented; one: love-oriented.

    Fear-oriented living can never lead you into deep relationship. You remain afraid, and the other cannot be allowed, cannot be allowed to penetrate you to your very core. To an extent you allow the other and then the wall comes and everything stops. The love-oriented person is the religious person.

    The love-oriented person means one who is not afraid of the future, one who is not afraid of the result and the consequence, who lives here and now. Don’t be bothered about the result. That is the fear-oriented mind. Don’t think about what will happen out of it.

    Just be here, and act totally. Don’t calculate. A fear-oriented man is always calculating, planning, arranging, safeguarding. His whole life is lost in this way.

    I have heard about an old Zen monk. He was on his deathbed. The last day had come, and he declared that that evening he would be no more. So followers, disciples, friends started coming. He had many lovers. They all started coming. From far and wide people gathered. One of his old disciples, when he heard that the master was going to die, ran to the market.

    Somebody asked: The master is dying in his hut, why are you going to the market?

    The old disciple said: I know that my master loves a particular type of cake, so Iam going to purchase the cake.

    It was difficult to find the cake, because now it had gone out of fashion, but by the evening somehow he managed. He came running with the cake. And everybody was worried — it was as if the master was waiting for someone. He would open his eyes and look, and close his eyes again.

    And when this disciple came, he said: Okay, so you have come. Where is the cake? The disciple produced the cake — and he was very happy that the master asked about the cake. Dying, the master took the cake in his hand, but his hand was not trembling. He was very old, but his hand was not trembling. So somebody asked: You are so old and just on the verge of dying. The last breath is soon to leave you, but your hand is not trembling.

    The master said: I never tremble, because there is no fear. My body has become old, but I am still young, and I will remain young even when the body is gone. Then he took a bite, started munching the cake. And then somebody asked: What is your last message, Master? You will be leaving us soon. What do you want us to remember?

    The master smiled and said: Ah, this cake is delicious.

    This is a man who lives in the here and now: This cake is delicious. Even death is irrelevant. The next moment is meaningless. THIS moment this cake is delicious. If you can be in this moment, this present moment, this presentness, the plenitude, then only can you love.

    Love is a rare flowering. It happens only sometimes. Millions and millions of people live in the false attitude that they are lovers. They believe that they love, but that is their belief only. Love is a rare flowering. Sometimes it happens. It is rare because it can happen only when there is no fear, never before. That means love can happen only to a very deeply spiritual, religious person. Sex is possible for all.

    Acquaintance is possible for all. Not love. When you are not afraid, then there is nothing to hide, then you can be open, then you can withdraw all boundaries. And then you can invite the other to penetrate you to the very core.

    And remember, if you allow somebody to penetrate you deeply, the other will allow you to penetrate into himself or herself, because when you allow somebody to penetrate you, trust is created. When you are not afraid, the other becomes fearless. In your love, fear is always there.

    The husband is afraid of the wife, the wife is afraid of the husband. Lovers are always afraid. Then it is not love. Then it is just an arrangement of two fearful persons depending on each other, fighting, exploiting, manipulating, controlling, dominating, possessing — but it is not love.

    If you can allow love to happen, there is no need for prayer, there is no need for meditation, there is no need for any church, any temple. You can completely forget God if you can love — because through love, everything will have happened to you: meditation, prayer, God.

    EVERYTHING will have happened to you. That’s what Jesus means when he says: Love is God. But love is difficult. Fear has to be dropped. And this is the strange thing, that you are so afraid and you have nothing to lose.

  • Opposition Politician Set Free From Jail

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    Charles Ntakirutinka 62, an opposition policitian has vowed to remain critical of government after he was released from jail at the end of a 10-year prison sentence.

    He was arrested in April 2002 shortly after forming the Democratic Party for Renewal party. Ntakirutinka was a former minister in the defunct Habyarimana regime.

    He was charged with inciting civil disobedience and association with criminal elements.

    “We thought it was time for Rwanda to have some political opposition so we formed a political party. But they said our party was based on ‘divisionism,’ which was not true. They just didn’t want any opposition,” said Ntakirutinka.

    However, when asked if he would remain critical, Ntakirutinka was defiant. “I have to speak the truth. If that means I’ll go back to prison, then I’m ready. Just take me back”.

    Ntakirutinka helped launch a new political party, the Democratic Party for Renewal (PDR-Ubuyanja), Parti Démocratique de Renouveau in May 2001 with the former President Pasteur Bizimungu and six others.

  • World Bank Promises Rwanda to Reduce Electricity Problem

    Johannes Zutt the World Bank representative in Rwanda, Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia announced that the Global financial institution is willing to continue supporting Rwanda’s Energy Policy and completely tame the country’s Energy challenges.

    Mr. Zutt was meeting Rwanda’s Prime minister to whom he presented a report on the recommendations of the 29th February Meeting that involved the World Bank, EWSA, RDB and Infrastructure Ministry.

    The meeting was aimed at encouraging Investors to consider investing in the country’s energy sector.

    The Minister of Infrastructure Hon. Nsengiyumva Albert told IGIHE.com that the lack of enough electricity in the country deeply affects the level of Investment in the country.

    Zutt pledged support from World Bank to help Rwanda increase the electricity generation from the current 100 Mega Watts to a higher output that would be required and also to tap more from the Methane gas project at lake Kivu both of which would increase Energy output to propel investment in the country.

    Earlier Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi told participants at a 29th February meeting that Rwanda’s investment policy is conducive to entrepreneurs.

    He said investment in the energy sector would curtail scarcity and high cost of electricity facing the local industries.

  • EAC Invites Packaging Industry Experts

    The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has invited to the region experts in Processing, Packaging and Material Handling Industry.

    Amb. Sezibera extended the invitation while addressing the IPACK-IMA 2012 International Exhibition for Processing, Packaging and Material Handling Industry taking place at the Fiera Milano Exhibition Center in Italy.

    He noted that African economies have experienced acceleration in growth during the past ten years, with real GDP increasing by 4.9% annually between 2000 and 2008, compared with 2.4 % in the 1990s.

    The continent was again rightly being seen as a place of opportunity after decades of stagnation.

    “African economies have withstood the challenges of the recent global shocks, food and fuel prices rise; slowing down their traditional markets of Europe, Japan and the United States of America.”

    “The East African Community (EAC) GDP is poised to grow by over 5% in 2012. The magnitude of this growth, while broadly understood, is startling in its specifics and the opportunity it presents,” noted Amb. Sezibera.

    Amb. Sezibera commended the organisers of IPACK-IMA exhibitions but noted that food safety and food security go beyond increasing production, productivity, storage and processing and overall supply of food needs to be balanced with the quality of individual access.

    He urged IPACK-IMA exhibitions to also serve as platform where business or exporters from Africa can demonstrate the systems they have in place to respond to food safety requirements in Europe.

    He invited the President of IPACK-IMA, Paulo Barilla and the Chief Executive Officer, Guido Corbella to partner with EAC in organising similar events in East Africa as the region remains ready to work with partners to promote the packaging industry in the region.

  • Animal Attack Victims Compensated

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    Rwanda Development Board in partnership with an agency responsible for compensations will in the period of two weeks extend compensation to 133 families that were victims of attacks by wild animals from the national Park.

    The announcement was made when Ricca Rwigamba in charge of tourism at RDB presented to Bernardin Ndashimye the head of the compensation agency, documents containing those eligible for compensation.

    The 133 families to be compensated are from Rwimbogo Sector of Kayonza district. However, officials didn’t reveal how much in monetary term will be compensated to the 133 families affected.

    Last year Elephants invaded over hundred families of Kayonza district, Eastern province destroying more than 80 hectares of crops. Intervention of a noisy military helicopter scared the beasts away.

    Statistics indicate that of the 110 elephants, about half are outside the park roaming into the villages, raiding crops and sometimes injuring residents.

    Records indicate that the attacks started as far back as late 1990’s. In 2010 alone, sixteen people were reported seriously injured, mainly by buffalos and hippos while five people got killed.

    Vandalised agricultural fields and other property of citizens in affected areas is valued in billions.

  • Get Trendy in a Bomber Jacket

    Bomber jacket is way of looking good one of these wet and cold days. It’s been hot for the last three weeks and since its unpredictable now days; the weather should not be your reason for not looking good.

    Its inconviniencing during rainy season when one fails to decide on outfits for the day. However, the Bomber Jacket is the way to go. its trendy and keeps you warm.

    Bombers are a type of jackets made to fit and settle around the waist and this credits them to be so convenient with an element of fashion and style.

    In addition to those other things that should not miss in your handbag a bomber jacket is a must. These are made out of light material and you can carry – or hold it around your arm or across your bag and feel like you’re not carrying anything.

    They are not discriminative one can wear them to any place. You just need to know what fits where and how to wear it and you will stay warm and smart all day long.

    Ladies these days have taken on this trend; this is because of their comfort and classy look. They are switching their style to something better and cool. Sandra Ankunda a lawyer says in life she loves something that really expresses her style and bomber is something that is simultaneous to how she is meant to dress for work in the law firm.

    She says she cannot wear a suit like her workmates but bombers are similar to the colleagues’ dress code. She goes in for the long sleeved for work and spares the short sleeves for weekends.

    They are designed in various ways that gives them style and beauty- some have buttons, some zips, others have bling, pockets as a way of embellishing them. Rihannah a musician fancies them and wears them in almost her music videos, and she is into the crazy styles- ones with shape shoulder pads, stiff arms among others.

    You can make a combo of a bomber and a skirt, address and pants. For pants and skirts you are required to wear a vest inside to look more organized and for a dress that is strapped a bomber makes it official.