Rwanda was still reeling in shock. It was only one year and the fusty aftermath of the world’s most horrible Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed a million lives and left several children without parents. 

From Switzerland where she had found sanctuary during this dark period, Agnes Gyr-Ukunda was disturbed.

Several questions needled her mind.

What could be done with those innocent children who were unfortunate to suffer the fate of losing their parents, of living in tempestuous times, in that mad phase of unbridled violence that tore the country’s fabric? Who was going to tell them stories that would mollify and soothe their wounded souls? How would they deal with their wicked trauma? Who would comfort them once again with the stories of their culture, the stories of love and compassion?

Solution

An idea struck her mind, and she immediately put it into action. This idea led to the birth of Bakame Editions in 1995. Bakame Editions is a non-profit publishing house that’s exclusively dedicated to producing children’s books in Kinyarwanda.

Talking to Gyr-Ukunda in her office in Remera where Bakame Editions is located, you sense a woman who has passionately dedicated her life not only to provide literacy materials to the young minds but also use books as a conduit of preserving the country’s rich cultural heritage through written form.

"Children love reading and we ensure we avail them enough necessary reading materials. Our books reinforce what the teachers are doing at schools. Bakame has been at the forefront of promoting literacy among children since its inception 20 years ago,” she says.

With the help of international sponsors, Bakame Editions has produced over a million copies of 155 different books and booklets. The publishing house has also been active in promoting the reading culture in Rwanda and has received several awards for its efforts, including BOP Bologna Prize in 2013 (for best publisher of children’s books in Africa) and International Board of Books for Young people (IBBY) among others.

Gyr-Ukunda also sits in a jury that selects best children’s picture books each year in Slovakia.

The power of reading

She talks of why she established Bakame. "I wanted the children to laugh once again after experiencing the worst trauma in their lives, and not to think so much about what happened. They needed that tender loving care that only interesting story books could provide.”

She adds that books have therapeutic power of healing wounded souls and this is the reason why her mind raced to the idea of providing children books through a language they could identify with.

She says: "In our culture, stories make children laugh. Rwanda has a rich repertoire of oral literature that shouldn’t be lost because of modern western form of learning. Our folktales are not only didactic but also entertaining. It teaches and amuses simultaneously and this is a rich form that has to be preserved at all costs.”

She adds that stories for children are very important because at the young age, children learn through them.

"A baby starts listening to words when in the mother’s womb. The mother will sing it a song and it will kick with happiness. Also, in African culture, the fireside was an important place that children learned positive values. It was the version of modern day classroom,” she explains.

Gyr-Ukunda observes that before Bakame was born, there was no form of written literature for children, especially in local language, saying that the publishing firm prides itself as the pioneers in this area. "When we teach our children exclusively in foreign languages, we unwittingly lose our cultural identity. There are some words that can only express their richness through our mother tongue.”

She further adds that Bakame books are unique because they tell stories through beautifully illustrated pictures since it’s easy for children to relate what they have seen to the story they are reading.

"The picture books act as strong stimulant that attract and enrich the mind of a child. A child is able to interpret the meaning of the text through seeing the picture first. It provokes curiosity, making the child have deep interest in that particular book,” says Gyr-Ukunda.

Books and culture

The Bakame books, she remarks, are entrenched in three pillars: to help the children preserve their own identity, to teach them how to express themselves and to provide them with the pride to read and appreciate both oral and written literature.

"Our attractively illustrative books are designed so because we feel the learner should be at the center of learning process. Young children love our picture books because they provide interesting pictures that simplify learning.”

She says that Bakame provides Rwanda learners with good books which make them learn and write Kinyarwanda well. The publishing house has designed lessons with texts and stories based on Rwanda culture and daily life. In the books, the learner’s book is integral part of the teacher’s book. The former is provided in colors while the latter is in black and white.

She adds that to encourage reading in primary schools, Bakame Editions "has produced readers adapted to each grade level,” adding that reading should be a fun activity that brings new knowledge of their mother tongue while at the same time help them to discover the wealth of other languages.”

However, Bakame Editions stories are not only about Rwanda traditional stories. For example, "Umutekano mu Muhanda”, illustrated by Felix Seminega is a 40-page road safety booklet that teaches children about road regulations and use of traffic codes. The book also contains essential information on how to deal with First Aid in case of an accident.

Reading culture

Gyr-Ukunda says that contrary to popular belief that reading culture in Rwanda is wanting, the truth is that children only lack materials that they can read, saying it’s incumbent upon parents to provide them.

"Parents should purchase books, magazines and newspapers for their children as one way of inculcating zeal for reading in their children. It’s not that they don’t have fervor for reading. The cold truth is that parents don’t have solid background with written materials they can pass on to their children,” says Gyr-Ukunda.

She laments that reading culture in Rwanda is perceived to be lacking because of the historical background of some of the African societies in general and not because there’s lackadaisical approach to reading in it in particular.

"We came from a society where our forefathers lacked people to train them how to read. Our background is of oral literature nature and transition to written literature was supposed to be a gradual process before everybody came to embrace it.”

Bakame’s satisfaction

She clarifies that Bakame is a non-profit publishing house that depends on donations from different organizations to help in printing and publishing of the books.

"The money realised from sales of books is used in paying for workers and daily running of the organization. Our profit is that we’re happy when children get materials to read.” She adds

Gyr-Ukunda says with the support they receive, they have been able to publish high books that are bought at cheap prices, saying this is one way through which reading materials are made readily available to as many children as possible.

"That’s our mission as those who’ve seen there’s lack of reading materials in Rwanda. We’ve to ensure that children have access to these materials by making buying them affordable to parents, particularly to parents and caretakers who must be suffering from hard economic times because of what happened in the past.”

Looking back 20 years down the road, Gyr-Ukunda says that despite some challenges inherent in publishing industry all over the world, her pride is that she can now walk with her head held high and say with satisfaction in her heart that, as a woman and a mother, she has contributed her part in ensuring her original mission of ensuring the children have something that salve their souls has been fulfilled.

"It’s a fruitful commitment that will have no end until majority of the children of Rwanda, the present and the future, are fully literate. These stories have to come out for the benefit of posterity. The story of our pristine culture, where love and compassion was the anchor of the society, must be passed over to the children who will pass the baton to the next generation,” she concludes.