Bahoneza – Kinyarwanda, Rwanda Welfare, Social Welfare, Rwanda People, Nutrition and Diet, Rwanda Habitat, Living in Kigali

The management of Bambino Super City Hotel is preparing children competitions through different games basing on children with no means and with disabilities.

This is after it was found out that street children are increasing in number and which is mainly caused by lack of parental advice and Bambino wants to play a part in transforming the lives of these children.

Sylvie Mukamusoni the director of Bambino Super City Hotel said that they plan to work with usual centers that work with street children and parents with disabled children to be brought to Bambino Super City Hotel for different games.

In these games, rewards will be given to the children that will be participating and this will help in uncovering different talents children have and promote it as in many African countries, carriers are chosen for most children without their participation when a child is supposed to select what he/she wants to do and then be supported.

Mukamusoni said that promoting the children’s welfare was one of the objectives Bambino Super City Hotel had before it started. “Bambino is an Italian name that means a child, we started this hotel with the idea that people should come, eat and drink but bring children with them to play and to learn a lot from here.”

Bambino Super City Hotel has been holding different games during children holidays but now they will be emphasizing this idea so that children learn a lot and develop their talents when they are still young. These games will start on 26^th.Aug.2012 and many awards are prepared for those who will win in this event.

Six (6) months old child is supposed to have other foods to supplement breast milk and keep breast feeding up until 2 years of age and this is of much importance to health of a child, leading it to good growth and development.

Baby foods and breast milk makes a child have all body nutrients to grow well an d for a good strategy, a parent must think of what kind of foods that are good for the baby, how many times they are given in a day, how the baby is fed, how much the baby consumed, the baby’s courage to be fed and most importantly, the hygiene and overall sanitation.

Baby food should have all dietary nutrients like body building food which includes beans, peas, ground nuts, soya, milk, fish, eggs, meat, and many others. There should also be food that gives strength to the child like rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, yams, and many others. A child also should be given vegetables and fruits of all kinds.

As the ministry of health states, every child since birth to 5 years of age should be followed closely by measuring monthly weight and be followed by an experienced doctor to see if the child is growing well and a parent should seek for medical advice if the baby weight is not increasing.

About 30 street children in Nyamagabe District streets will be taken back to their families and those without families are expected to be adopted.

This was said in the International African Child celebrations in Uwinkingi sector in Nyamagabe District June.2012.

As all children have rights to live, to have names, families, nationality, a right to speech and medical services, street children don’t have any right to the above like other children.

Apart from putting these children in families, the Nyamagabe district administrative council is going to make sensitization calling upon parents to avoid family conflicts since they are the major causes that push children to the streets.

Emile Byiringiro the vice mayor of Nyamagabe district for social affairs said that this sensitization will also call upon parents to practice family planning. In this celebration, awards and certificates of appreciation were given to parents that adopted children into their families.

The vice mayor for social affairs in Burera district has urged parents to take good care of their children and give special attention to those with disabilities and love them love them.

This was said by Florence Uwambajemariya On the Monday the 11^th.June.2012 in Burera district during the opening of African child week.

“Parents should help and support all children especially those with disabilities and take them as normal children because they have same rights as others like education, medical and others.” she said.

In this function that was held in Kinoni sector in Burera district, it was found out that some parents hide their disabled children and abuse their rights.

Uwambajemariya explained that people were created in the image of God and they are the most knowledgeable of all creatures and that’s why they should use their knowledge in helping others who need help and support each other.

She asked children to be well disciplined and have dignity and Rwandan values in their families and pay attention at school so as to pass. They should help each other and especially those with disabilities.

People with disabilities on any part of their body are capable of using other body parts and develop themselves and the worst disability is mental.

The African child week was started on the 11^th.June.2012 and will end on the 16^th.June.2012 during the actual celebrations of African child’s day. The day’s theme will be “let’s protect, respect and promote disabled children’s rights and stop children labour.”

African child day was put there by the African Union in 1990 in a way of protecting children’s rights that were being abu8sed everywhere in Africa.

Human bodies need Milk as a drink and food because one can survive and stay healthy on it alone, according to health experts.

This was revealed by Mrs. Ancilla Kaneza, worker in Proxivet, while talking to Kabuga primary school pupils during the event to celebrate world milk day.

Mrs. Ancilla Kaneza talking to the pupils

After children song that said: “A child who drinks milk is identified by his fatness and a healthy body,” Mrs. Kaneza asked children the importance of milk which they said is a healthy drink and fights malnutrition.

Mrs. Kaneza asserts that milk contains protein, sugar and fat that build the body and vitamins that protect the body from diseases.

Also, calcium and vitamin D found in milk give the body energy. Studies show that taking three glasses of milk a day prevents breast cancer.

As a way of encouraging children to like milk, Mrs. Kaneza said: “A child who drinks milk rarely gets sick, performs better academically and will become rich in future.”

“If your parents do not have cows, tell them to buy you milk instead of alcohol or porridge after selling rabbits. But if your parents have cows, tell them to give you milk and sell the remaining milk,” Mrs. Kaneza tells children.

In order to stop Violation of children’s rights, ADEPE (Action Pour le Development du Peuple) has organized a meeting with education concerned authorities recently to discuss the matter.

The meeting saw the turn up of different sector education officials, teachers, lawyer in charge of women and children violence, religious leaders and others.

Among the topics discussed in the meeting after forming groups was about people who engage children in hard labour, which results into school dropout, physical harm and development problems.

The case in point was children who work in mines and tea plantations in Ngororero district. The groups discussed on the type of work, if cultural beliefs promote child labour, consequences on children life and the measures that can be taken to stop child labour.

However, education officials in Ngororero district say that dividing children into small groups so that the teacher helps them all, policing community, sensitizing residents on the importance of their children’s education and others have been done to reduce on the biggest number of children that had dropped out of schools.

Main speaker of the meeting, Eugene Rwandarwejo in charge of coordinating residents and Communication in ADEPE, explains that the aim of this project is to identify problems, provide advocacy on sponsors so that they are included in the budget.

Although some participants note that child labour is done in rural areas secretly, there are some children that are traced in towns working for business people when they should be at school.

Participants and concerned authorities in Ngororero said they will fight the problem before the end of June because international children rights also apply to Rwandan children.

Christine Niwemugeni, vice mayor for social affairs in Huye district

Rwandan Leaders have been asked to be the first in adopting children from orphanages so that they grow up in homes, Christine Niwemugeni; vice mayor for social affairs in Huye district has said.

Vice mayor said this during the meeting on transferring children from orphanages to some families. The meeting gathered the concerned authorities in southern province.

Explaining on the reason for asking leaders to adopt children, vice mayor Niwemugeni lamented: “Recently here in Huye, we had six children that we wanted to give to some families. Two got them but after hard work, three of them were sent to Nyundo orphanage and another one is at Kabutare hospital.”

I think if leaders show a good example the rest would follow and receive children from orphanages because these children need families to raise them, adds Niwemugeni.

Giving the reasons as to why adoption is not easy, one participant said: “Am never home due to my demanding work, why do I bring a child I will never get time for when he or she comes in need of parental care?”

Another parent added: “I have one child and would love to bring home his playmate, but if I take one home it will require me to enroll him or her in the same school as my child, yet it is expensive.”

Although orphans count to 3000, the problem would be solved if leaders took up the idea because they are many as well, says Niwemugeni.

Imbuto Foundation a warded Evelyne Nyiramaromba from Burera district as the best guardian angel termed as ‘Malayika Murinzi’ for raising two children who are not hers.

Evelyne Nyiramaromba picked and raised a boy who is now 7 year old and a girl who is also 13 years of age. She says to have picked the baby girl in the year of 2000 on the road that connects Ruhengeri to Kigali city.

She continues to explain that she picked the child from her mother who had died on the road side and immediately took the child to the hospital of CHUK in Kigali for check up.

The doctors found when the child was normal and only urged her to take good care of the child since her mother had died.

“ The doctors tested the child and found she was in good condition but only urged me to take good care of her since she had lost the mother to breast feed her”, Evelyne Nyiramaromba narrated.

She tried her level best to raise child whom she named Latifah Akimana until now when she is in primary three.

She picked the boy child when he was at 3 years of age and they have so far spent 4 year living together and she put him in school whereby he is now in primary one.

Imbuto Foundation rewarded Evelyne Nyiramaromba for her kind heart of raising children  for the nation with a cow, medal and a certificate.

Sylverie Nyirahabimana from Kinyababa sector in Burera district has revealed that she has a malnourished Child who has had the problem for about two years.

The 5 year old child now at Butaro hospital has a swollen body especially the cheeks and his physical appearance makes one think he is three years old.

Nyirahabimana claims that the cause of malnutrition is a unique case to her child because her two other children are healthy.

Dr Jéréon Claude Nigene Ntibabaza, Butaro Hospital doctor asserts that this child has no other problems apart from malnutrition. He confirmed that the child was not given much care by the mother before but he will recover after he is fed balanced foods.

Here at the hospital, the child is being given good milk and balanced diet that will help him recover very fast, explains Dr. Ntibabaza

The local leadership adds that some children suffer from malnutrition not because their parents have no food but because they do not know how to prepare balanced diet for their children.

That’s why in every part of Rwanda, Igikoni program will be started in every cell so that parents gather and learn how to prepare well balanced diet for their children.

Helping to raise the orphaned children does not require one to be rich, the governor of the southern province Alphonse Munyentwari has asserted.

The request was directed to all able people who could assist parents taking the responsibility of raising the orphaned children.

At the ceremony of awarding parents named “Malayika Murinzi” who gave a helping hand to raise the orphaned children, they confirmed that helping to raise the orphaned children does not require one to be wealthy but it is a matter of being kind hearted to love those children as their own.

Gaudence Uwamariya from Rongi sector in Muhanga district says to have picked up the child of 6 years of age in 1997 and raised him with her other five children. She picked up the child when she was not wealthy enough and the child is now in form six and she did it just out of kindness.

An old woman 81year old Regina Nyiramafurebo said that she picked up the child of 2 years in 1994 and raised her up and now the child is at the University almost finishing her academics.

Nyiramafurebo says that at that time she did not have anything to support her raise the child but she could not imagine living the child behind when she is also a parent. “I could not live the child of this nation to die at the road even though I never had enough to raise him”, she narrated.

The ‘Malayika Murinzi’s’ were awarded with a cow, medal and certificates from the president of Imbuto Foundation also the first lady of Rwanda Janet Kagame.