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

Muhanga town

Rwanda Housing Authority has asked districts and towns to classify village settlements so that they are used during the 4^th general population and housing census to start on July 16^th 2012.

Alexis Byiringiro, employee in Rwanda housing authority presented to Muhanga district Advisory committee the master plan of the this town, villages that should be in the town and settlements that should not be included in the town.

However, the master plan is not the final because the advisory committee of Muhanga has to study it and confirm if the village settlements are classified the way they should be.

This comes to life after Rwanda Housing Authority realized that some villages in districts are not yet defined to know if they belong to town part or in the village.

Byiringiro asserts that defining the villages is being done in connection with helping data collectors find the whole information during the census to base on while planning development for residents, towns and villages.

While studying the master plan of Muhanga town, the district advisory committee faced the problem of some villages that belong to the urban part when they qualify to be on the pre-urban part.

Muhanga district mayor, Yvonne Mutakwasuku confesses that some settlements are counted in town when they have no roads, electricity and water. She suggests that those villages should be put where the town will be expanded to.

Byiringiro explains that being in the urban part of the district does not mean residents are richer than those in pre-urban part of the area.

La carotte a de nombreuses vertus pour la santé.

En plus d’être un légume succulent, c’est également une source importante de bonne santé.

La carotte est une source intarissable de bons nutriments

La carotte est particulièrement riches en vitamines, elle est donc particulièrement bénéfique pour la santé, quelle que soit son mode de dégustation.

Crue ou cuite, la carotte est riche en vitamine A, qui hydrate la peau et améliore la vision.

Le jus de carotte est également très riche en vitamines B1, B2, B6, C et K qui ont des bienfaits variés sur la santé. Ils aident l’organisme à se protéger de certains troubles gastro-intestinaux divers, insuffisances digestives et intestinales, troubles de la mémoire, paralysie et atrophie musculaire des jambes. Le jus de carotte est également riche en phosphore, en potassium et en fer. Consommée crue, la carotte est riche en vitamine B3 et cuite, elle offre une grande quantité de vitamine E. En somme, c’est un légume qui a tout bon.

De plus en plus d’études suggèrent un rôle protecteur important pour la peau de certains micronutriments. L’efficacité de la supplémentation est encore sujette à controverse, mais des données récentes sur le bêta-carotène soutiennent son effet préventif contre le coup de soleil.

Le bêta-carotène, qui tire son nom de la carotte, est un caroténoïde précurseur de la vitamine A (rôle de provitamine A).

Des observations des chercheurs révèlent, d’une part, que la supplémentation en bêta-carotène protège efficacement contre les coups de soleil, et d’autre part que la durée la supplémentation a une influence particulièrement importante sur l’efficacité du traitement.

La carotte prévient l’apparition des maladies cardio-vasculaires si elle est consommée crue, en agissant sur le mauvais cholestérol et les radicaux libres. La carotte agit également pour lutter contre l’apparition de certains types de cancers comme le cancer du poumon et du sein. D’autre part, la carotte aide à maintenir une bonne vision et à réduire la prévalence aux diverses formes de cataractes. Des études ont également démontré que la consommation de carottes diminue les risques de fibrose kystique. Tous les bienfaits de la carotte n’ont pas encore été répertoriés, mais ce qui est sûr, c’est que la consommation de ce légume n’a pas d’effet néfaste sur la santé.

La consommation des carottes au Rwanda se limite principalement dans les grandes villes que dans les campagnes. L’une des principales raisons se résume à la mauvaise alimentation des ménages des campagnes. De ce fait, ces foyers ne consomment que rarement les légumes et fruits et cela se répercute sur l’épiderme qui n’est pas irrigué régulièrement.

An artistic impression of Kigali city in the coming years as part of a new development master plan

Has a city develop using initiatives that challenge our thinking? That is exactly what has happened to Kigali City. Its development agenda was featured at the Design Indaba 2012 Expo and conference in Cape Town, which took place from February 29-March 04, 2012.

Former mayor of Kigali city, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira (2006-2011), spoke on a panel at the Expo that also included former mayor of Bogota (Colombia), Enrique Peñalosa. Kacyira is now the UN under secretary for UN-HABITAT.

With a focus on international thought leadership, the Design Indaba Conference and Expo have become one of the world’s leading design events and hosts more than 40 speakers and 2 500 delegates. The world’s design minds converge in Cape Town annually for this event.

Kirabo spoke about how Kigali was transformed during her time as mayor. Under her leadership, Kigali became the first African city to win the UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award “in recognition of the high level of cleanliness, greenness, safety and the sustainable, affordable housing initiatives combined with pro-poor urban employment opportunities”. The award was in October 2008.

Her initiatives to improve Kigali were arguably as bold Bogota’s as they have defied reason, but eventually won over supporters and Kigalians. If you arrive there today, any plastic bags are confiscated at the airport before you can enter the city. The city is spotless.

The boulevards are lined by nicely trimmed trees and traffic flows smoothly, largely because of an army of motorcycle taxis and a thriving bus and taxi system. You are often within eyesight of an armed policeman which enhances citizen’s safety.

On every last Saturday mornings of every month, all citizens take part in Umuganda, a nationwide initiative in which neighbours come together to pick up litter, cut grass, trim trees, and even help build schools.

Through this, civic pride is instilled in the citizens of Kigali and the greatest benefit is that social barriers are crossed because all citizens take part, from taxi drivers to government officials; doctors to priests; and all the other diversifying aspects in the country.

President Paul Kagame has been the biggest backer of a perfect Kigali. The city now has a new master plan depicting how the city will be in 50 years. Contrary to the past decades when anybody chose where to build or live, the current development strategy requires that whatever is built is reflective of how that specific area will look like in several years to come.

In Kigali, real estate construction is the order of the day. After years of stagnation, some parts of the city look like a construction sites as magnificent skyscrapers continue to prop up the skyline.

The road network is another major develop. All roads have been either tarmac, stones or under construction.

Gicumbi survivors receiving cows

 Over 60 cows of were donated to the families of survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Gicumbi district, last week. The donation is part of the one cow per family programme locally know as ‘Girinka.’  

Deogaratias Mwanafunze the coordinator of one cow per family program in the northern district of Gicumbi said that the cows were donated to poor families through the fund for genocide survivors (FARG).

“We have given cows to selected survivor families who seem to be under privileged than others in a bid to boost their economic and social wellbeing,” said Mwanafunze adding that those who benefited were selected from the Sectors of  Mutete, Muko, Rutare, Ruvune, Bukure, Giti, Kajyeyo, Nyamiyaga and Rwamiko.

Mukandamutsa Daphrose who benefited from the program said that the cow given to her will help her and her neighbors to get milk and manure adding that her social wellbeing will improve as a result.

Those who were given cows were urged to take good care of them so that they can fully benefit from them.

Girinka program (One cow per poor Family) was inspired by the Rwandan culture and initiated by His Excellency the President of the Republic in 2006.