Ubudehe – Defeating poverty made simple

Anyone who was at the Amahoro Petit Stade last Thursday could not have helped but be energised after listening to Zainabu “Mukabudehe” Mukacyinani talk about how dramatically her life has changed. Ms Mukacyinani brought laughter and some tears to the packed indoor stadium when she spoke about her transformation from a desperately poor beggar shuffling around Matimba town in borrowed ill-fitting shoes, to a bewildered community-selected recipient of Ubudehe funds, and finally a confident articulate businesswoman with a busy restaurant, newly renovated house, a thriving vegetable garden and with children happily in school. One could almost feel a collective sigh of relief at the thought that overcoming the dreaded big “P” for worldwide poverty is actually within Rwanda’s grasp. These days no one can escape the endless talk about poverty and the misery of millions living deplorable lives around the world, especially in the least developed countries. But there is a dearth of information of what countries, particularly in Africa, are doing successfully to improve the lives of their poor citizens. Ubudehe is a traditional practice based on strong understanding by Rwandan communities on the effectiveness of working together to solve problems. Like other historical Rwandan community management methods such as Umuganda, Imihigo and Gacaca, Ubudehe has been given a 21st century makeover and put to work in order to tackle uniquely Rwanda’s problems, drive change and contribute to the country’s growth and development agenda. The modern Ubudehe program was launched country wide in 2006 after a pilot project carried out five years earlier in what was then Butare Province, and is demonstrating what we already knew - that Africans already have within their cultures and traditions tools that can be used to solve modern-day challenges. Perhaps nothing illustrates this better than the UN Public Service Award that the program won last month for its direct contribution in bringing Rwandans in different parts of the country out of poverty into economic self reliance and improved social wellbeing. The award rewards “creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions to development” internationally and is presented on 23 June which has been designated as UN Public Service Day. Solidarity schemes are not a totally new concept and various approaches have been practiced by communities around the world. What is unique about the practice of Ubudehe in Rwanda is the program’s linkages with national planning and budgeting system and its interconnection with financial and political decentralisation as well as unity and reconciliation. An unexpected bonus of this particular initiative, as witnessed at the celebrations last week, is that every one of the successful recipients of Ubudehe support was enthusiastic to give back and mentor another poor person out of poverty, ensuring that the benefits of the program spread even more rapidly within the community – how better to learn than from one who knows first hand the economics of poverty? The UN Public Service Award was won on the basis of the poverty reduction program’s adherence to the principles of participation, accountability and transparency in its implementation. However beyond Ubudehe, these three qualities also reflect the new way post-genocide Rwanda has chosen to govern itself. Starting from Rwanda’s constitution to other major policy and governance decisions in the last 14 years, the country’s leaders have chosen this particular style of management to rebuild the social fabric, bring politics closer to the people and get the population on board for the pursuit of national socioeconomic transformation. In other words, these programs are working at a time when Rwanda needs them to work, and at a time when generic, externally designed programs have proven to be ineffective, and in some cases destructive, not only in Rwanda but in the whole of Africa, in the years following the continent’s “independence” from colonial rule. In what now appears to be a shift in the approach of the aid community, Rwanda is reaping the fruit of relentless efforts to educate and convince development partners and donor governments that their taxpayers’ money allocated to support poor countries can best be utilised by investing with Rwandans in programs that have been developed locally, with recipient formulated policies and priorities implemented in a transparent framework that is for the first time delivering. This is a real turnaround from the days when donor funds would disappear into a bottomless pit with nothing to show for it. Rwanda’s civil servants, particularly those running local government institutions like the Community Development Fund (CDF) have no doubt been boosted by this recognition of their service to the population. Zainabu “Mukabudehe” is a living, wonderful example of how public servants can literally change the world – starting with Rwanda. Ends