NYANZA - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, Dennis Weller, has reaffirmed USAID’s commitment to continue collaborating with the Rwandan government in promoting grassroots initiatives.

Weller was addressing 20 couples in Busoro sector, Nyanza district that had completed a two- month training on faithfulness and domestic violence recently.

The training was offered by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through the USAID-funded Abstinence and Be Faithful (AB) project.

"Rwanda is a special country with strong leadership. USAID feels motivated to collaborate with a country that has set its 2020 visions and working determinedly to achieve them,” Weller said.

"The effective partnership of faith-based organisations, NGOs and the government’s local leaders in the implementation of the USAID grassroots funded activities was another reason why the American people are motivated to continue the cooperation.”

He praised CRS for educating residents on faithfulness as one of the major ways of preventing the spread of HIV pandemic among married couples.

Bernadette Bimenyimana, the Abstinence and Be Faithful (AB) Project Manager, explained that through the AB project, CRS mobilises in and out of school youth, teachers, couples, and religious leaders on HIV prevention. 
 "We organised this training after realising through information from our local partners and volunteers that there were still cases of gender-based violence and infidelity in Busoro sector,” Bimenyimana said.

Busoro sector official, Francois Mugabo, remarked that the training would boost other initiatives of preventing the spread of HIV and gender-based violence in the sector. 

"We have put in place committees at cell and village levels to address gender-based violence,” Mugabo said.

"I call upon all of you who have received training to encourage other couples to always report any kind of gender-based violence to the committees so that we intervene.”

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