Friday, November 1, marked the celebration of Trócaire’s 25 years in Rwanda. The event took place in Kigali and was attended by stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries of the organisation’s initiatives. Amb. William Carlos, the Irish envoy to Uganda and Rwanda, was the guest of honour.

Trócaire started its operations in Rwanda in July 1994, just after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, initially focusing on humanitarian work.

The organisation currently operates through local partners in seven districts across the country; Nyaruguru, Nyamagabe, Nyagatare, Gakenke, Rulindo, Nyanza and Kirehe. The focus is to transform the lives of those who do not have secure access to food or basic needs, and victims of discrimination, the marginalised, and vulnerable to exploitation.

Mukamudodo Cansilda, a resident of Tumba Sector, Huye District, speaks about the financial support she got from Duterimbere.

Established in 1973, the official overseas development agency of Catholic Church in Ireland, is currently present in more than 17 countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

"The celebration and reflection of Trócaire’s 25 years in Rwanda is significant as it aligns to 25 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi. We set up an office in Rwanda in July 1994 and at that time it was a challenging period. But we were compelled by compassion and our humanitarian mandate to respond quickly,” Caoimhe de Barra, the chief executive of Trócaire, said.

She added: "We were also instrumental in those days to the establishment of ARCT-Ruhuka, a counselling and peace building organisation in Rwanda, a testament of commitment to rebuilding lives and deepening social cohesion in Rwanda.”

Caoimhe de Barra, the chief executive of Trócaire, delivers her remarks at the event to mark Trocaire’s 25th anniversary in Rwanda.

ARCT-Ruhuka, an organisation of professional trauma counsellors, was formed in 1998 and officially registered as non-governmental organisation in 2004.

An exemplary partner

"Trócaire has played a role in our current development as Rwanda. It has been with us for the past 25 years, even in hard times when other NGOs had fled back home,” said Justus Kangwagye, the Head of political parties and CSOs department at Rwanda Governance Board (RGB).

Kangwagye added: "Trócaire should stick on its commitment”, emphasizing that "other NGOs should also learn from them.”

The rehabilitation phase of Trócaire in 1997-2000 saw 150 houses constructed for genocide survivors. 700,000 people also benefited from Trócaire programmes between 2006 and 2018.

 "Over the years, the work of Trócaire in Rwanda has been possible because of our partners who work on the ground with programme participants, as well as government stakeholders and the church that work closely with us.”

Beneficiaries praise Trócaire

Mukamudodo Cansilda is a resident of Tumba Sector, Huye District. She is a mother of three. She says that before joining Duterimbere in 2006, she was "living in darkness”. She explained that this was because she couldn’t feed or get shelter for her family, as she was working for only Rwf400, from fetching water for people.

"Duterimbere lent me money more than once, which helped me buy large quantities sorghum, and I sold sorghum flour afterwards. I got enough money to pay back the loan and develop myself.

I have come out of poverty, and so far, I have built four houses, among which there are those I rent, and get additional money to help me and my family. I am now able to pay for health insurance and other needs, which I couldn’t manage before joining Duterimbere,” Mukamudodo noted.

Duterimbere IMF benefited from the financial support of Trócaire between 2000-2015 and today Trócaire continues to partner with Duterimbere ONG.

Still committed

"Trócaire remains committed to partnering with the Church, government and partners to ensure that there is accelerated poverty reduction and transformation of communities in Rwanda,” Caoimhe reiterated.

"We are very happy to see the role played by Trócaire towards the progress of Rwanda in the past 25 years, and we will continue supporting them,” Cormac Shine, Second Secretary, Political and trade in the Embassy of Ireland told the media.

Dony Mazingaizo, Country Director of Trócaire in Rwanda, also noted: "we are continuously talking to our supporters to mobilize more resources. We are also looking at redesigning our program framework in 2020 so as to reach as many people as possible.”

The average current annual project budget for Trócaire Rwanda is three million Euros.

Since 2000 to 2015, the country programme in Rwanda was focused on reducing poverty, value chain development, increasing agriculture productivity, microfinance development, promoting peace and reconciliation, and accountable governance.

In addition to this, Trócaire Rwanda’s key focus from 2016 has to support resilient and sustainable livelihoods, humanitarian preparedness and response, and women’s empowerment in line with the current country strategic plan of Trócaire and informed by Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

editor@newtimesrwanda.com