Following a decision by the Cabinet to launch a major campaign on the significance and role of family in nation building, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Aloisea Inyumba, has reached out to the media to help spread the word.

The minister, on Tuesday, met with media owners and managers to rally their support for the ‘Family Campaign’, which kicks off on September 24 –during the monthly Umuganda exercise.

"Family is the soul of a nation. Strong families lead to a strong society; that’s why we cannot sit back, but do everything to ensure that our families are living up to today’s challenges,” said the minister.

She called upon the media to own the month-long campaign – the first in the country – and help restore and foster family values amongst nationals.

"It’s not just a campaign that comes and goes. It’s a life that we believe Rwandans deserve; we need to take good care of our children; feed them well and cater for their hygienic needs. The same applies to adults, whether in the rural or urban settings,” explained the minister.

Inyumba, the only minister to serve a second stint in cabinet since 1994, noted that majority of the children in the country’s 34 orphanages, had at least one parent, blaming the situation on parents who abandon their children under the pretext of poverty.

She observed that street children were partly a result of loosening family bonds and values.

At the consultative meeting, participants proposed mechanisms and tools that could be used to make a difference.

"This campaign should be everyone`s responsibility, including religious leaders, grassroots leaders and health counselors,” observed Willy Rukundo, the Acting Director General of Orinfor, the public media agency.

Several media personalities volunteered to join a steering committee that will best define how the ministry would work closely with the media during the campaign.

Nationally, the campaign will be launched from Gakenke District in the Northern Province.  

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