A few years back, persons with disabilities from Kicukiro district, Ayabaraya cell, Masaka sector were living in destitution.

Today, the women gathered in ‘Abunzubumwe Cooperative which loosely translated as ‘those who joined efforts’ are making a fortune by producing different products from banana fibre.

The products they make include curtains used in bars’ doors, chairs, mats, flat baskets, bags and others.

Historically marginalised people gathering are making products such as curtains, mats from banana fibres

Aphonsine Nakure, one of cooperative leaders in Ayabaraya sector, Kicukiro District said that they started as a savings group comprising 33 women, each saving Rwf500 every week.

She said that the savings would loan to members and pay back at lowest interest rate.

"The savings would help us to address financial issues including paying health insurance and school fees for the children. I used the money from the savings group to invest in the business of buying and retailing bananas,” She said.

Nakure said that when investing Rwf10, 000 in selling ripe bananas she would recoup over Rwf20,000 profit after selling  in one week.

From the savings group, the women created two cooperatives two years ago, one dealing with producing different materials from banana fibres and bamboo trees while the other rears small livestock including goats and chickens.

She said although the business was affected by Covid-19 pandemic, they continue the activities as they seek the market.

The women have recently bought a land plot worth Rwf2.7Million.

"Each member gets a goat worth Rwf35,000 from the savings and they give back a kid to the cooperative after delivering,” she said.

Francoise Uwamariya Masaka, another previously marginalized woman with disability says that her daily earning is from small-scale farming where she leases arable land in Masaka sector.

Although she dropped out of school in senior four, she has managed to gather fellow women with disabilities to start income generating activities that developed into cooperatives.

She is currently working in a project dubbed "First Peoples’ Disability Organization” (FPDO) created under the support from  African Initiative for Mankind Progress Organization (AIMPO) , a community - centered, grassroots organization in Rwanda that seeks to protect and promote the rights, welfare and development of the historically marginalized people,.

"We are 24 members. We have also supported 50 children with disabilities to access healthcare services and support their communities,” she said.

The women were telling their progress stories as they celebrated the international day of people with disabilities.

According to official figures, before 1994, there were 45,000 people in this category across the country.

The number has since fallen to between 34,000 and 38,000 by 2019.

According to the Ministry of Local Government, this translates into two marginalized persons per 1000 inhabitants.

Richard Ntakirutimana, the Executive Director of African Initiative for Mankind Progress Organization: "We conducted research in ten districts and found 338 historically marginalized people  with disabilities. Children with disabilities make a big part of these people.

"We are particularly supporting women so they are able to start income generating small businesses,” she said.

She said that they are mulling smaller income generating projects that could help the historically marginalized groups with disabilities to become self-reliant and be financially included.

Financial inclusion for people with disabilities

Persons with disabilities have expressed their concerns and challenges that limit them to accessing financial services like loans, effective customer care and information on financial products among others.

These issues were highlighted in a FinScope 2020 thematic report on persons with disabilities, which was published by Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) in partnership with the National Union of Disability Organizations of Rwanda (NUDOR).

According to the report 9 percent of persons with disabilities do not have access to any financial services, 49 per cent of them have mobile money accounts but only 46 per cent actively use it.

For savings, only 15 per cent of people  with disabilities have savings in banks, 4 per cent save with family and friends and 19 per cent do not have savings, according to the report.

The report further shows that when it comes to borrowing and credit only 15 per cent of people with disabilities have access to formal credit, and 15 per cent of them have insurance and risk mitigation.

Rwanda celebrates a number of achievements in terms of promoting the rights and wellbeing of Persons with Disabilities including the establishment of law, policies as well as the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities since 2011.

However, activists say people with disabilities continue to face challenges in accessing services and enjoying their rights in different sectors, including limited contribution to public processes and accessing services and programmes aimed at alleviating poverty and empowering citizens.

Many factors like stigma, lack of awareness, poverty, low income, illiteracy and unemployment continue to restrict the full enjoyment of disability rights, they say.

"As an inclusive government, we recognize that development cannot be achieved when some of us are left behind, we wish to express our commitment to support persons with disabilities, to ensure they participate in leadership and decision making processes for the achievement of the disability related SDGs and national policies,” said  Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, Minister of Local Government.