Working for Genocide Survivors through social entrepreneurship

On entering the Discover Rwanda youth hostel gate, a lot of things are revealed. I went there at around 11am to find out what the hostel is all about but the scent of the food being prepared there lingered on my nostrils that I almost ordered for lunch. I instantly concluded that it was a restaurant yet there was more to learn about the place. Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel is located in Kacyiru below Bank of Kigali, Kacyiru branch. In an Interview with The Sunday Times, 23-year-old Egidia Uwera, the person in charge of managing the hostel, said that Discover Rwanda Youth hostel is a social enterprise of Aegis Trust, whose headquarters are located in the United Kingdom.“Aegis Trust is a non government organization that manages the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre among other companies which generate income to support Genocide survivors and orphans. The organization also works to prevent crimes against humanity mainly discouraging the genocide ideology,” Uwera explains. According to Uwera, the hostel opened its doors in July 2010 with an Aegis Trust programme called Discover Rwanda, whereby students from different parts of the World would come to learn about Rwanda and its history. “We started accommodating the students and later it was broadened and we welcome everyone. That’s how it attained the name Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel,” Uwera discloses. She further says that most of their clients are tourists and foreign students doing internships in Rwanda. “We provide accommodation facilities, shared rooms and Private rooms and our rates are pocket friendly. For instance the rooms range from USD10-25per night including breakfast. We also have a camping site and many other services,” she explains. The hostel is also a member of Hostel World.com from where people can book in advance but even people who just walk in without booking are offered services. With a relaxing environment from the bar terrace, private rooms, dormitories, camping, hot showers and catering services, there is a notice board with information about places in Rwanda with maps where people get information about what to do and see.“The only challenge we have is when we get walk in clients who are usually Rwandans, it’s hard to convince them about the rooms. When they see the double-decked beds they associate them to a school environment. Therefore convincing them to stay and experience the good services offered is challenging because they are already biased about the place,” Uwera explains. According to Huang Wenxue, a Chinese Businessman dealing in Furniture, Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel services surpassed his expectations.“There are good people who offer good services here. I was supposed to spend just two days and look for another place but I liked the place and prolonged my stay for more ten days and the prices are very low (while showing the receipt for the services paid for the ten days),” Wenxue excitedly explains. Its Wenxue‘s first time in Rwanda but he has been to other African countries including Uganda, Nigeria and Tanzania during his business trips.