BetPawa Rwanda has reinforced its commitment to support victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi through initiatives to renovate homes for families and a donation to the Kigali Genocide Memorial.
The company kicked off the 29th commemoration of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi with a team visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial on Friday April 28, where more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide rest.
The visit began with a tour around the memorial exhibits to learn more about the history of the genocide and the staff laid wreaths to pay their tributes in honour of the victims. During the visit, the betPawa team also donated RWF 1.5 million to support different activities at this memorial.
As a responsible corporate citizen and in line with government guidelines, the company also halted betting on its platform during commemoration week.
BetPawa donated Rwf 13.5 million to ‘Our Past Initiative’ - a local youth-led NGO which the company has partnered with to renovate homes for families who are genocide survivors in four different cells of Shyorongi sector in Rulindo District. Additionally, these families will be supported with capital to start small businesses to assist them in becoming self-sufficient.
Fiona Munyana, the country manager, said: "The Kigali Genocide Memorial is an important place of remembrance and learning especially for our young team which mostly comprises of people born after 1994 who have limited knowledge of the history of genocide against the Tutsi.”
"Providing educational opportunities that allow our staff to learn about the history of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi will help in combating any form of discrimination, misinformation and any genocide denial.”
Ms Munyana further noted that as a company, betPawa remains committed to rebuilding communities by supporting genocide survivors to improve their overall welfare.
Christian Intwari, founder and director of Our Past Initiative said: "It is very important to support vulnerable genocide survivors especially during this time when all the memories of what they went through in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi are back. To do that we need the support of everyone, especially the youth to use this opportunity to learn about the history and also be part of the rebuilding process of our country Rwanda.”
He added: "We are very grateful for betPawa’s support in helping us kick start this Kwibuka project where we are going to work with them in the renovations of four houses in Rulindo district.”
BetPawa, a sports betting brand, has also been engaging in various community and social support programmes across the continent as part of its Africa-first approach. These include a wide array of projects from water and irrigation provision projects to education, sports development and health care support through different initiatives in the 11 countries where it operates.