Raise up Ruganwa
Often here at Blood:Water Mission we talk about grassroots action. About doing small things that add up to be something big. About changing your community - through action, through bonding together, through growing and making better. It really is something we believe in, and we are blessed to find partners on both sides of the ocean who believe in it too. So, today, this is not a story about work that Blood:Water supports, but instead about a the leader of one of our partner organizations. We share this story because it is about how he believes in grassroots action in his own community, and we were incredibly inspired by it. We hope that this inspires you too.
"Zamuka Ruganwa"
Michel is the Executive Director of MOUCECORE, one of Blood:Water Mission's partners in Rwanda. During the day, he runs an extremely active organization, and at night he returns home to a community much like the communities in which he works - where there are people with homes and jobs and people without homes and jobs. Often he sees people begging to gather the mandatory fee for the national health insurance that everyone must buy into every year (1,000 francs - less than $2). So Michel did in his own community - Ruganwa, a part of Kigali - what he does in others: he gathered people who wanted to see positive development in their own neighborhood. Together, they started an association named Zamuka Ruganwa, which means, "Raise up Ruganwa."
So far, Zamuka Ruganwa has 55 members and is still growing. Each month, people give money to the association - different amounts depending upon individual income. This money goes into a bank account that grows over time for use by the community and for loans. Now the members of Zamuka Ruganwa who used to beg for the health insurance fee can get a loan from the association and gradually pay it back. As Michel said, "This is much more sustainable than begging."
Zamuka Ruganwa also uses the funds for community development. Sometimes the city water shuts off, so they built a water tank to sustain the community. Association members have also taken out loans to start small businesses. Three members - Beata, Evgenie, and Egidie - took out a loan to start a small business of buying and selling shoes. Business is good enough that soon they will take out another loan to expand their merchandise.
The association does not discriminate against those who are HIV+. Theresa (HIV+) borrowed money to buy baby rabbits, which she grows and then sells for eating. She was able to repay her first loan and now has seven rabbits. When she joined the association, she weighed only 40 kg, and now she weighs 50 kg because she has food to eat. "We are poor here," Theresa said, "and we are in solidarity with people who are not vulnerable. We are in solidarity with them, and together we come up."
"Zamuka Ruganwa"
Michel is the Executive Director of MOUCECORE, one of Blood:Water Mission's partners in Rwanda. During the day, he runs an extremely active organization, and at night he returns home to a community much like the communities in which he works - where there are people with homes and jobs and people without homes and jobs. Often he sees people begging to gather the mandatory fee for the national health insurance that everyone must buy into every year (1,000 francs - less than $2). So Michel did in his own community - Ruganwa, a part of Kigali - what he does in others: he gathered people who wanted to see positive development in their own neighborhood. Together, they started an association named Zamuka Ruganwa, which means, "Raise up Ruganwa."
So far, Zamuka Ruganwa has 55 members and is still growing. Each month, people give money to the association - different amounts depending upon individual income. This money goes into a bank account that grows over time for use by the community and for loans. Now the members of Zamuka Ruganwa who used to beg for the health insurance fee can get a loan from the association and gradually pay it back. As Michel said, "This is much more sustainable than begging."
Zamuka Ruganwa also uses the funds for community development. Sometimes the city water shuts off, so they built a water tank to sustain the community. Association members have also taken out loans to start small businesses. Three members - Beata, Evgenie, and Egidie - took out a loan to start a small business of buying and selling shoes. Business is good enough that soon they will take out another loan to expand their merchandise.
The association does not discriminate against those who are HIV+. Theresa (HIV+) borrowed money to buy baby rabbits, which she grows and then sells for eating. She was able to repay her first loan and now has seven rabbits. When she joined the association, she weighed only 40 kg, and now she weighs 50 kg because she has food to eat. "We are poor here," Theresa said, "and we are in solidarity with people who are not vulnerable. We are in solidarity with them, and together we come up."
Follow Michel's lead and find ways that you can Be The Movement for places like Ruganwa in your own community.
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