SMILES:Changing lives

NYARUGURU–Smiling, Margarita Nyiragwiza, a resident of Mutuga Cell in Kibeho Sector, could not hide her joy as she joined over 200 vulnerable people who received a donation of cows last Friday as part of celebrations to mark the Women’s Month.The donation of 232 cows to families in Nyaruguru District was made by Nyaruguru District authorities in conjunction with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), UN Women, AVEGA-Agahozo, and the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum (FFRP/RWPF) at a ceremony held at Rusenge Sector.It was a special day for Nyiragwiza."The day you will come back, you will find me very fresh and young-looking,” Nyiragwiza told the gathering."My hair has begun to turn grey but you will be surprised to see it return to its normal colour once again,” she mentioned in jest.Another beneficiary, Francois Xavier Nemeyimana, was equally delighted."Old and young, men and women, we are all happy,” he said. "These cows we are receiving today are the beginning of improved life conditions as we now hope to see our agricultural productivity increase as we shall begin obtaining manure”."Children will have milk to drink and their lives, like ours, will be better than today,” Nemeyimana added.Speaking during the ceremony, Nyaruguru District mayor, François Habitegeko, observed that the herd of cattle would help to eradicate malnutrition among the beneficiaries as well as improve their livelihoods."We hope the children who were undernourished will soon be healthier,” the mayor said, observing that about 206 children were malnourished across the district.Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Aloysea Inyumba, observed that the cows were donated in a bid to support rural women fight against poverty through economic empowerment as she called for home-grown solutions among families."We congratulated those who have made efforts to improve their social wellbeing and urge everyone here to keep working hard in order to develop themselves,” Inyumba said."Opportunities are available. We need only to seize them,” she observed, as she challenged women to take the lead in the fight against poverty.During the ceremony, 14 sector-based savings and credits cooperatives received computers as part of efforts to improve their activities.