First Lady hails Avega

THE First Lady, Jeanette Kagame ,yesterday expressed her gratitude to women under the Avega, an association of widows of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, for the good work they are doing.This was during a visit to Avega, together with the Gabonese first lady, Sylvia Bongo, where they met several women.The association started with 50 women in 1995 but currently has about 20,000 members.Mrs. Kagame stated that it was a pleasure to see today the women in the association looking happy and living decent lives despite their experiences as widows.“Looking back at where you have come from, it is delightful to see how far you have come and it encourages us to work even harder to empower women. This shows that there is hope for tomorrow,” she said.She promised to keep bringing the association more friends like the First Lady of Gabon to visit and talk to them. Mrs. Kagame added that the association doesn’t only need people to donate money to them, but they also need moral support.Sylvia Bongo said she visited Genocide memorial sites and learnt what happened in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis.She added that it was wonderful to see how the women at Avega live happily and have recovered from the trauma of losing their relatives during the Genocide.She said that Gabon too has an association of widows that is helping 1,300 women and added that the two associations share the same vision.Avega undertakes projects in four main areas, including psychological and medical care, justice and advocacy, social operations and institutional capacity building.The President of Avega, Chantal Kabasinga, said that it was an honor to host both First Ladies and an encouragement for them to continue with their good cause.The two First Ladies also visited Lycee Notre Dame school where they chatted with the students.