One Dollar complex to be complete in January

A complex constructed through the One Dollar Campaign in Kagugu, Gasabo District in Kigali city, set to accommodate over 150 orphans of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is scheduled for completion in January next year. It is an initiative of the Diaspora under their umbrella organisation, Rwanda Diaspora Global Network (RDGN). “The first phase of the campaign raised Rwf 1 billion and it will end in January; thereafter, we will launch the second phase to fundraise money for empowerment projects,” the vice president of RDGN, Leonie Rutanga, disclosed to The New Times yesterday. According to her, the aim is to eventually put up a hostel to accommodate at least 500 children. Meanwhile, another Diaspora initiative, “Bye Bye Nyakatsi” which aimed at eradicating grass-thatched houses, ended successfully with a model village for poor families in Bugesera District, Eastern Province. “The Diaspora is working with the district’s leadership to construct a ‘Diaspora village’ in Bugesera District where poor people will stay with their families,” Rutanga said. “We are also banking on a pledge from the Diaspora of US$15,000, which we expect to receive at the forthcoming Diaspora Leaders’ Retreat, to be sunk into the model village so that we can help as many families as possible.” The retreat, which is slated for December 22, will convene at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, bringing together national and regional committee members from various countries. Rutanga said that Rwandans abroad also sought to collectively invest in Rwanda through the Diaspora Mutual Fund, which was developed in 2008 to pool funds, but according to her, the fund is yet to become operational. “The fund is not yet functional because the people who were part of the initial team live in different countries making it difficult to coordinate. However, this will be top on the agenda during the retreat and we are optimistic it will run successfully as we plan,” she said. RDGN was set up as an umbrella body for Rwandans abroad with the aim of mainstreaming their efforts towards the social, cultural and economic development of the country. ivan.mugisha@newtimes.co.rw

National

One Dollar complex to be complete in January