February 8, 2008, will always remain a treasured day for Scolastique Nirere. It is the day when she started her long journey from extreme poverty that characterised her life since childhood until she got married. Nirere, 55, hails from Mataba Sector, Gakenke District. The mother of five remembers the old days when her family wallowed in poverty in rural Gakenke. “We were very poor to the point that we begged for salt to prepare our meals,” she recalls. “I could not even dare attend community functions with others; I was always dirty and could hardly afford clothes. As a consequence, I was always upset.” Even when she got married decades ago, her life never changed much until 2008, when she received support from the government. “We wallowed in poverty for many years and our family endured that dreadful experience. I always thought our family was cursed,” she says. However, mother luck knocked on their door when Nirere’s household was selected among ten most vulnerable in the sector and got support from Ubudehe programme. Each family received Rwf50,000. The Ubudehe programme was launched in 2002 and is still ongoing. Growing Nirere says she used the money she received to improve agriculture, which has improved her family’s livelihood significantly. The money came as a miracle. “It was my first time in my life to have that amount of money. We did not sleep that night because of joy,” she says. “I agreed with my husband that we should invest it in farming and we decided to start growing pineapples on our small land. The first harvest was promising,” she says. Nirere says when they started producing for the market, they expanded their farming activities. Since their land was too small, the family also hired more farmland. “After three years of consistent farming, we started earning good money since we harvested every month,” she says, adding that they earned between Rwf50,0000 and Rwf70,000 per month. Supporting other women After successfully working her way out of poverty, Nirere decided to help other rural women to boost their livelihoods. This was after she toured various parts of the country. The tours, she admits, have exposed her to modern farming practices and artisan works. “I have founded a women’s co-operative which weaves baskets for the local and external market,” she says. The cooperative, named ‘Duhaguruke Mataba’, is comprised of 30 women. Achievements Nirere says she has achieved a lot since she received the money from Ubudehe and committed to working harder to transform her community. “Our lives have changed for good and our family is happy. We bought three hectares of land and built a modern house. We can now feed and educate our children with ease,” she says. Nirere also started a retail shop where she sells food items and other domestic products to her neighbours. From her enterprises, Nirere says, she now saves between Rwf100,000 and Rwf150,000 per month. What others say about her Nirere’s neighbors describe her as a someone who rose from ‘ashes’ to become self-reliant. Olive Mujawayezu, a mother of two who was trained by Nirere how to grow pineapples, says: “Nirere was poor but worked hard to change her life. She is humble and never boasts about her achievements and instead supports us.” Deo Nzamwita, Gakenke District mayor, is full of praises for Nirere and the other women who have demonstrated their ability to lift themselves and their families from poverty. According to Ladislas Ngendahimana, the head of communication at the Ministry of Local Government and Social Affairs, thousands of people have been supported through the Ubudehe programme although there are no official statistics. Ngendahimana noted that the ministry is currently working on a system that will see people who get support from local government will sign performance contracts to ensure that their achievements are traced and replicated elsewhere.
