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Rwanda – Country Profile
Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa. Its fertile and hilly terrain, gives it the title "Land of a Thousand Hills”, Rwanda supports one of the densest populations in continental Africa.
Capital City: Kigali
Population: 9,907,509
Life expectancy: 47 years (men), 50 years (women)
Population below national poverty line: 60%
GDP: $13.54 billion
GDP per capita: $1,600
Languages: Kinyarwanda, Universal Bantu vernacular, English, French.
Religion: Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)
Climate: temperate climate with two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); it is mild in the mountains where frost and snow are possible.
Rwanda is a rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. It has a low gross national product (GNP), and it has been identified as a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC). In 2005, its economic performance and governance achievements prompted International Funding Institutions to cancel nearly all its debts.
History:
Rwanda was originally a German colony but after World War One Rwanda was taken from Germany and passed into Belgian control.
The Belgians increased Tutsi administrative and military power over the large Hutu population. In the late 1950s, Hutus started demanding an improvement in their living conditions and an easing of their ethnic suppression. The response from a powerful Tutsi clan in 1959 was a mass murder of Hutu leadership, leading to a Hutu uprising in which an estimated 100,000 Tutsis were massacred.
In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king.
Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, increased ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Rwanda became the scene of the worst humanitarian crisis since world war two. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but around 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and The democratic republic of Congo.
In recent years, the situation in Rwanda has improved. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Tanzania, has begun bringing those directly responsible for the events of 1994 to trial.
Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its presidential elections in August the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated.
Bóthar in Rwanda:
Bóthar began working in Rwanda in 1997. In Rwanda Bóthar have dairy cow projects and bee projects. Bóthar airlifted 70 in calf dairy heifers to Rwanda in 1997 followed by a second airlift of 70 in calf dairy heifers in 1998. Bóthar recently began airlifting animals into Rwanda again in October 2006.
RWANDA
Location: The Nyarabuye District and surrounding areas of Eastern Rwanda
Total number of families to be assisted over the entire course of the project (original animals and supports only): 200 Families
Animals: Honeybees
Training: Quality and grading of honey, honey processing, harvesting honey, bucket care and keeping records
Brief synopsis of the project: Each family will receive one hive initially. They will sell honey to improve their standard of living and nutrition while also contributing to the education costs of their children
Pass-on obligations: The beneficiaries will contribute a percentage of their income to a central fund. This percentage will be decided by the participating groups but typically it will range from 5% to 15% depending on the income achieved. This fund will then be used to purchase additional hives for neighbouring families taking part in the project.
Expected benefits: It is anticipated that the number of active hives would double within the first 18 months. The beneficiaries will receive €1.45 per kilo. The honey sells in shops in Rwanda for €2.90 per kilo, so retailers will also benefit.
Co-financing partners: Msaada
Local partners: Avega EST, Survivors Fund (SURF)
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