“WE REQUIRE a rapid shift in the mindset of our young people towards agriculture as a career choice. With the knowledge and technology available, there has never been a better time for young Africans to get involved in agriculture and agribusiness, and create wealth and well-being, for society as a whole,” President Paul Kagame said at the Green Revolution Forum, 2018.
According to the population census of 2020, about 71% of the total Rwanda’s population is below 30 years. According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda’s (NISR), the annual labour force survey report for 2019 shows that 35.3% of youth are engaged in market-oriented activities, and 57.6% are involved in subsistence agriculture as the next generation of farmer. There are currently 487,416 youth volunteers who have been trained, empowered, and measured to lead youth volunteerism.
Historically, the critical role of the youth is strongly embedded in Rwanda’s culture and tradition; for example, through self-help mutual aid activities, caring for the weak and rendering community services in nation-building, especially through youth platforms like Itorero. Itorero was a youth platform which helped the country achieve its socio-economic goals. This situation was altered by colonialism.
Post-colonial governments mismanaged young people and denied them space and opportunity to create a better Rwanda. Instead, they misled youth into a genocide ideology, which culminated in 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. Post-colonial governments splintered the youth along ethnic lines. They created divisive ideologies that saw the Tutsi youth totally marginalised, the Hutu youth being negatively indoctrinated, and those of the Twa generation not even knowing their fate. All national programmes were badly managed by the Gregoire Kayibanda/Juvenal Habyalimana governments. The Genocide against Tutsi was carried out by the Jean Kambanda/Theodore Sindikubwabo Regime. The youth who were not involved in the Genocide were also part of it.
The Rwanda Patriotic Front’s (RPF-led liberation struggle was designed to end the divisive ideology and restore the country to its true foundations of national unity, which are a prerequisite for national development. The RPF youth actively participated at all levels of Rwanda’s liberation struggle which was characterised by high levels of sacrifice and love of country. This background of correct thinking is what prompted the RPF youth to join the fight from all corners of the globe, despite being young, to liberate their country.
The liberation struggle was designed to save Rwandans in the sufferings of poverty, bondage of refugees, divisions, and abuse of human right’s. RPF’s strong liberation leadership and guidance were key determinants of the liberation process and a major ingredient of success. RPF has been consistent in instilling ideology clarity in the youth through active participation in all spheres of Rwandan society. The youth have been taught values such as discipline, diligence, patriotism and sacrifice, as well as how to use limited resources to achieve their goals. This understanding has helped Rwanda transform from a failed country in 1994 to a proud and prosperous country today.
Today, the Rwandan government, through the collective national choices of “thinking big”, “staying united” and “being accountable”, has equipped the youth with skills and right mindset to take charge of the present and future of their country. The youth are able to take on the intergenerational responsibilities entrusted to them by current leaders and are well-trained. The government encourages youth to take responsibility and be accountable for the transformational journey set forth in the National Strategy for Transformation and Vision 2050.
Rwanda’s youth have many platforms and structures for information sharing, exchanging ideas, innovation, representation, and partnership in solving problems and leveraging opportunities. There are national youth councils that run from the village to the national level. Youth leaders are elected to take part in the decision making process at the local government level. There are also two youth representatives in the National Parliament and one youth representative in East Africa Legislative Assembly. A national youth council secretariat is available to coordinate youth activities. There is also a ministry at policy level that has the mandate of ensuring youth aspirations are fully integrated in all government programmes and policies.
Access to finance
Besides the above, there are many other youth platforms like ‘Youth Meet the President’, ‘YouthConnekt’, ‘Youth Hubs’ and ‘Intergenerational Youth Dialogue’, used to share wisdom, experiences, and innovations to agree on actions and solutions to their aspirations. These platforms and structures have helped to mainstream youth policy and the legal framework to support youth aspirations. One of the major policy achievements is that the national vision, policies and strategies to socio-economic transformation have included youth aspirations.
For example, the Government of Rwanda created homegrown solutions for youth employment. These include: Business Development Fund (BDF), designed to increase youth entrepreneurship. BDF provides youth collateral guarantees at 75% of total loans and helps them to access sub-subsidized loans. Youth employment mainstreaming projects are available across all sectors. For example, the road maintenance program. The programme offers road maintenance contracts to youth to maintain unpaved feeder roads throughout the country. The programme is being implemented in 153 youth-run enterprises in their respective districts. 7760 youth have been able to work as casual workers on routine maintenance of unpaved roads. Meanwhile, 467 youths are employed in permanent positions as engineers, technicians, or accountants.
BDF has transferred Rwf153million to BDF and paid the participating companies. This is in addition to the working capital provided by the Ministry of Youth and Culture through BDF. 101/153 companies also received micro-leasing equipment under the national skills promotion strategy, which is part of the national employment program framework. small compactors and wheelbarrows.
Youth interventions
In addition, there are youth ecological brigades – which are a brand of youth cooperatives working for environmental ecosystem protection, one of the government initiatives seeking preserve environment as well as creating green job opportunities for youth. The program currently employs approximately 10,000 youths from Karongi, Muhanga, and Ngororero. It includes planting trees and terraces.
These government efforts toward youth empowerment have been supported by local and international partners. One UN, Digital Opportunity Trust–Rwanda (Majority), MasterCard Foundation, World Vision, VSO, and Imbuto Foundation are just a few of the international partners.
Rwandan youth volunteers in community policing, RYVCP, constructed, maintained, and rehabilitated 2061 kilometres unpaved roads throughout the country. This was worth Rwf7 billion. For Rwf655 millions, there are 28 youth companies in Northern Province with 1000 members that maintain 332.54 km of roads.
A report by Rwandan youth volunteers in community policing was released on July 16, 2021. It stated that the activities of RYVCP during FY 2020/21 was valued at Rwf2.944 trillion. These activities included the construction and renovation of 1,175 housing units, 788 houses for the homeless, construction of 4,558 sanitary stations, 7,947 hand-washing station installations, rehabilitation of 20,850m3 of terraces and planting 92,960 fruit tree.
A report on RYVCP kitchen gardens released on June 9, 2022 shows that youth volunteers built 223,944 kitchen garden gardens in 2022. The City of Kigali has 18,052, Northern Province 44,305, Southern Province 54,596 and Western Province 54,266. Eastern Province 52,725. Youth volunteers in Northern Province have performance contracts that require them to deliver FY2022. These include soil erosion control on 89 ha, 89 new kitchen gardens, and rehabilitation of 178 homes for the vulnerable. They also need to construct 1,242 new toilets, 4140 old toilets for the elderly and to create 8229 home-based early child development centers to promote good nutrition. RYVCP are also playing an instrumental role in community mobilisation and sensitisation in the fight against malnutrition, stunting, Covid-19, drug abuse, family planning promotion campaigns, early childhood pregnancies, delinquency and dropouts’ control campaigns.
These successes are a testament to the power of youth mobilized under visionary leadership.
The writer is the Northern Province Executive Secretary.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com
Source: rnewtimes
