Diaspora gears up for 2nd retreat

The Diaspora General Directorate (DGD) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will commence consultative planning this week in preparation for December’s 2nd Diaspora Retreat, an official has said. According to Robert Masozera, the DGD Director General, beginning this week, they intend to meet all stakeholders to set dates and identify venues. “December is a month for the Diaspora and apart from the National Dialogue (Umushyikirano) and the Diaspora retreat, we are also going to organize a very big party, on the eve of the year’s end – December 31,” Masozera said. “It will be a dance party for the young Diaspora. This will be jointly organized by a group known as Happy People who are experienced in organizing parties, here in Kigali.” Masozera says the proceeds from the party will be sunk into the current campaign against grass thatched dwellings commonly known as ‘Nyakatsi.’ Last year, the Rwanda Diaspora Global Network (RDGN) was allocated land in Bugesera District to build over 500 houses for the district’s poor under this campaign dubbed ‘Bye Bye Nyakatsi’. Liziyeri Village in Bugesera district is now known as the “Rwanda Diaspora Village in Bugesera” and plans are underway for the construction of low, moderate to high-end houses. Rwanda is increasingly attaching importance to its Diaspora as an instrumental network to mobilize financial resources, skills, knowledge transfer, image building and promoting the Rwandan culture. Last year’s convention held under the theme: “Integrating the Rwandan Diaspora into national development strategies for the benefit of all,” focused, among other things, on mobilizing savings in the Diaspora for investment in Rwanda. It is during that event that the Rwandan Diaspora Mutual Fund (RDMF) was launched. Ends