A new Rotary Club of Kivu Lake –Rwanda launched on Sunday, November 31, 2021 has committed to work together with Rubavu District to solve the ongoing human security issues that are hindering the well-being of communities.
During the ceremony of chartering the Rotary Club of Kivu Lake -Rwanda (KLRC), Fellow Augustin Habimana Tabaro, the Charter President of KLRC said that they had been working for some time to serve the community and that some of the issues they were looking at were centered on improving the well-being of people in different communities in Rubavu District particularly in the Sectors of Gisenyi, Rubavu, Rugerero, Nyundo and Kanzenze.
Fellow Habimana said that in all those sectors they have already supported poor families to build toilets, which was one of the biggest challenges they were facing.
He added that being touched by poor conditions of some communities, from 2020 – 2021 a period exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, together with his friends they started to do something to improve the situation, kicking off with building 45 toilets for different families.
From last year, Habimana started engaging different individuals by encouraging on how they can think of charity actions to vulnerable and unprivileged families, but the process was hard in recruiting new members after conceiving the idea of a rotary club.
The task was a hard to do, some new members were joining the club thinking that they were entering NGO or a Company that will distribute money to them but he told them that ROTARY is simply a service. He told them that they will use their time and means to benefit unprivileged communities.
“Our Aim is to increase the membership gradually and in the near future create a rotaract so that we may be able to serve more communities,” Habimana notes.
Mukankusi Pelagie, one of the beneficiaries whose toilet was built in Rubavu sector said, “I was relieved when they built a toilet for my family because I used to live poorly, it required me to go to neighbors and sometimes to bushes which was quite embarrassing.”
She observes there are still some of her neighbors who lack basics like a toilet as they can’t afford to build one.
DG Edgar Cyr K. Tougouma of District 9150 of Rotary International who was present at the ceremony underlined that, Rotary Clubs are being started in the spirit of changing lives of people in different countries around the world.
He said that members of the Rotary Club of Kivu Lake –Rwanda need to carry out projects that will meet the needs of the communities, projects that really need to change citizens’ lives and can easily secure funding.
He advised members of the new rotary club to reach out to the community by identifying their problems and try to provide solutions.
Hubert Ntabera Niyibizi, the Division Manager in Rubavu District thanked Rotary International and members of KLRC for the good work they are doing to strengthen the communities. He promised for local administrative authorities to work closely with KLRC.
“What is mostly needed is to improve the well-being of people by trying to improve nutrition and provide decent housing, because there are many poor families that still basic necessities in life.
The Rotary Club of Kivu Lake-Rwanda is based in Rubavu District in the western province, it has 29 members from different walks of life including civil servants, public and private health official, civil society members, local leaders and the business community among others.
