Transforming lives in Gakingiro

It is 6:30,am and indeed few people are already at their work place including carpenters at the renown Gakingiro furniture outlet in Nyarugenge district.Walking around the place, at least a handful of them are in their respective positions, preparing and organizing to take on their daily activities.“He who gets to work early catches up with early morning customers. I believe this will be a good day for me to get a customer at this time,” said Bertin Twizeyimana, before he realized I was a journalist.Twizeyimana is among the furniture dealers including carpenters operating at Gakingiro. He said that he has been operating in the area for the last 15 years.“When I came here, it was just like it was a try and error, but it turned out to be a reality and my life has changed positively,” said Twizeyimana.“I started as a casual worker who could just help timber dealers or link them to customers but with time, I made friends and started getting skills in making beds, chairs, cupboards among other products,” he said.He explained that before, he could earn Rwf3000 on a good day, but when he started making furniture, he could work for over Rwf15, 000 per day.“I continued that way and I got many other ways through which I can profit from my skills. To date, I make products ranging from Rwf6000 to Rwf600, 000,” he said.“I am now a responsible man wife a family and am able to send my children to school. I am really a happy man to have a family,” he said.He explained that his next move is to start his own business and that according to his plan he expects to do it before end of the year.Born in Muhanga district, Twizeyimana is the third born in a family of 7children. He drop out of school in primary three as his parents could not afford school fees. “I drop out of school, of course I was young to know what next would happen to me not until I made at least 15 year,” he said.He added that, “I automatically thought that there would be nothing good for me in life.”The 37 year narrated that he engaged in several works before getting to Gakingiro. Twizeyimana is just one of the many operating in the area and other similar areas within Kigali.“If I had a chance to go to school, am sure life would have been better than today, but I thank God that he made me to what I am,” he said.At Gachingiro, workers have managed to come together through their cooperative ADARWA (cooperative d`actions pour le developpement de i`artisanat au Rwanda) that has attracted 150 members is one of the members. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Head the cooperative, Justin Gashayijja, said that the cooperative has enabled many workers to advance in their activities and develop in their families.Gashayijja said that the beginning was so hard to make workers understand the need to work in cooperatives.“I started this cooperative far back in 1988, but it experienced a strong set back due to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi but I started reconstructing it after,” he said.Gashayijja explained that the idea to come up with this cooperative was to streamline activities of carpenters.“As people working together and dealing in same products, there was need to have our activities harmonized,” he said.He explained that among other developments, the cooperative has given its members a work plan through their monthly contribution.“There was always a problem of how traders would regulate or have uniform prices of a particular product. And by coming up with this cooperative, we collectively come up with mechanisms to handle our challenges.” he said. He explained that by this, the cooperative protects interests of its members, but also protecting the customers against overcharging.“This would automatically damage or spoil our business but at least although there might be some slight difference in prices depending on the suppliers cost, the system is transparent in terms of coordination,” he said.Gashayijja is a professional carpenter having gone to Nyanza Training Center in 1972. The business has helped many people through the cooperative not only to have homes, but also to educate their children.“I have been dealing in timber for over ten years. I have managed to build myself a house as well as educating my daughter. As we talk, she is a Makerere University in Uganda,” said Chantal Uwabagira.The 45 year old explained that, “I bought myself a machine that I use to add value to my products and even for my friends to which they pay me.” She called on single mothers to work hard and give their children an education urging that it is the key to everything.