SINGER MARIE GRACE ABAYIZERA, best known by her stage name Young Grace, has joined hands with actress Nadege Uwamwezi, alias Nana, in a charity effort that seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable children. The drive also includes a one Loris Munderere. As a result, the trio recently organised a luncheon at Galaxy Hotel in Kigali for 30 children from poor families. The group says they have already spent some Rwf2 million on the cause. The New Times’ JEANNETTE KAWERA spoke with all three about the project. Excerpts: Why did you zero in on children? Nana: We thought of changing the lives of disadvantaged children because we all love children. Children are the future of our country and lending a hand to them is contributing to the future of Rwanda as well. We are grateful to local leaders because they helped us to identify those in dire need. So how did you come to decide that the three of you would be part of this effort? Nana: We are all friends and are always concerned for the welfare of children. We thought of something that spoke to our mutual interests and agreed on this form of charity work. That is when we started ‘The Future Is For Us’. We started with 30 children with whom we shared lunch and on that day we found out that 21 of them were school dropouts, and then decided to take them back to school. We intend to carry on and also pay for them and others, too, health insurance. How are you planning to raise funds for this noble cause? Loris: As of now, the three of us are financially stable and so we are not asking for any funds from anyone, instead we are encouraging everyone to help some people in need out there. Both Nana and Young Grace are single mothers, how important was this factor in deciding on this project? Young Grace: We did it because we simply love and care about children. But, on the other hand, being mothers gave us some insights into what children really face and what it means to raise a child. So, maybe there might be some connection between the two, because we are single mothers and know how hard it is to raise a child. However, we are not looking at children of poor single mothers only, rather we are talking of vulnerable children regardless of whether they have or stay with both parents or not. We are doing it with the help of local leaders. For you Loris Munderere, what inspired you to join this effort? Loris Munderere: Well, I am an orphan and I had a very difficult life growing up with some bitter experience. I know what it means to grow up in a state of luck, so it was easy for me to join with my friends to serve people that are so close to our hearts.
