Dear Rotarians and friends,
Last week I was in Rwanda for work and my flight was unexpectedly delayed by a day.I considered using the day to catch up on over 500 emails in my inbox in the quiet of my hotel room but then decided to spend it exploring Akagera National Park with a colleague from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Kim. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
I have wanted to see how animals like elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, lions, and primates live in their natural habitat in Africa for as long as I can remember, and I finally had the chance. What ended up being far more impactful though, were the trips up and back in the off-road vehicle. On the way to the park, Kim and I spent three hours asking the guide, Bosco, about life in Rwanda. The country seemed to be extremely well organized, clean, safe, and vibrant. I was sure the country must have made it into the upper middle-income category, but when I checked my favorite Gapminder graph, I found that it was still considered to be low-income.
I asked Bosco about that and he said you can’t see everything from the graph. There is universal healthcare for everyone, education is free and there are wells, electricity, and internet available wherever there are roads, which are widely distributed throughout the country. There are centralized food storage areas in every district that holds food purchased by the government to be distributed to anyone who needs it at the discretion of each village council, which works to make sure people have their basic needs met and can find work if it is needed. Those who are elderly or unable to work can get help if they need it. Each family is expected to grow food in their yards and the government distributes enough seeds to support a balanced diet for everyone.
There is a lot of focus on the environment and not contributing to climate change by cutting down trees. If anyone cuts down one tree, two must be planted. The country shuts down on the last Saturday of every month for mandatory community service to clean up villages, towns and cities and build new infrastructure, where it is needed. There is no litter or graffiti, and public areas are well-maintained.
The country shuts down for 2-3 hours two Saturdays a month for community fitness runs to improve the health of the citizens. People’s houses are modest, but they work hard and prioritize time with families and friends. Children walk with siblings and friends to area schools each day and play freely in the community when school is over.
I have never seen anything like it and kept asking questions to better understand.
Bosco shared that his parents were killed in the genocide in Rwanda when he was two weeks old. He was raised by an aunt in a refugee camp in Uganda until he entered college at 14 and had the chance to return to Rwanda. About 10-14% of the population was killed in the genocide, so every family lost someone. Bosco believes that living through that tragedy is what motivates people to work so hard for a better society now. The government operated according to a strategic plan called “Vision 2020”, which has now been updated to “Vision 2050”.
Earlier this year, Rick Kowey led several members of the STRC Board of Directors, along with our Assistant Governor, Liz Herman, to develop a strategic plan for our Club. It was a great exercise to go through together, and with the entire Board of Directors to help us consolidate ideas about what members value in our Club and what they would like to see in the future. CLICK HERE for the Strategic Plan. We then used the strategic plan to create a budget for the year, with input from all of the committee heads. The budget follows what was outlined in the plan. CLICK HERE for the Budget.
I am sharing this information with you now so you know what is documented regarding our club priorities and to invite you to talk to me or any of our Board members or committee heads about the details in our strategic plan or budget if you have any questions.
In Rotary
Kate