Rwandan youth launch campaign for Somalia

A group of youth, under the umbrella, Rwanda Youth Campaign for Somalia, have launched an appeal to raise funds to help famine victims in the Horn of Africa. The group, which started the campaign four weeks ago on the social media, Facebook, now boosts over 2,000 members. According to the Senior Advisor of the campaign, Abdul Aziz Mwiseneza, the group has held a number of meetings to discuss means to raise funds for Somalia. “We have convened meetings and brainstormed ideas of how we can help with the situation in Somalia. The response from the public is good so far,” he said. Mwiseneza added that they have met the Minister of Youth and officials from Rwanda National Youth Council who have endorsed the idea and have come on board as stakeholders. He urged Rwandans to be part of this noble cause, come together and help Somalia to make a huge difference. “We, as Rwandans, have gone through a lot and we know what it means to suffer. We should, therefore, join hands to help our brothers since we have been there before,” Mwiseneza adds. He added that they have already opened a bank account with Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR), adding that people have started contributing to the cause. He however hastened to add that it was a bit early to release the amount that has been raised so far. Mwiseneza mentioned that Rwandans in the Diaspora have also pledged their support. The youth campaign comprises of 15 group leaders with a mobilising, coordinating and advisory team among others. “We have set up a coordination and mobilisation team. We are almost done with our website and concept paper for people to understand the idea and objective of this whole campaign,” Mwiseneza said. He said they would soon conduct a fundraising involving VIPs, besides approaching. churches and various organisations. He noted that there are lots of Rwandans on board, including famous musicians and other stakeholders such as Rwanda Diaspora Global Network and Nopa Charity Organisation. Ends