October 27th, 2008 at 11:42 am | posted by Chris.Scott
After abolishing and modernizing various patriarchal laws in their country, the Washington Post reports that women have become a driving force in Rwanda’s economy and government. Rwandan women have greatly progressed from once not even being able to inherit land to now holding a third of all cabinet positions and making up 56% of Rwanda’s parliament—a near perfect reflection of Rwanda’s demographics.
One lawmaker said the committee has compiled “a stack” of laws to modify or toss out altogether — including one that requires a woman to get her husband’s signature on a bank loan.
“The fact that we are so many has made it possible for men to listen to our views,” said lawmaker Espérance Mwiza. “Now that we’re a majority, we can do even more.”
The unusually high percentage of women in Rwandan government is in part a reflection of popular will in a country of 10 million that is 55 percent female.
“This was a broken society after the genocide,” said Aloisea Inyumba, Kagame’s former gender and social affairs minister, who was also a prominent official in his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front when it was still a rebel group fighting the country’s genocidal government. “We made a decision that if Rwanda is going to survive, we have to have a change of heart as a society. Equality and reconciliation are the only options.”
September 5th, 2008 at 1:45 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
The short video right before Cindy McCain’s big speech tonight showed an image of Cindy in a ONE shirt and ONE hat!
The photo was taken while Cindy was on ONE’s recent bipartisan trip to Rwanda in July. It includes Senators Frist & Daschle and Democratic strategist John Podesta and was taken while the group was touring the Masaka clinic outside of Kigali, where they talked with doctors, nurses, health officials, and patients about HIV/AIDS treatment in Rwanda.
I was hoping to grab a screen shot of the image straight from the video, but the video doesn’t seem to be online yet. I’ll place the image here when it’s available.
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
In between today’s 2 ONE panels at the RNCC, Gov. Huckabee spoke about his experience with ONE on the campaign trail and his time traveling on a bipartisan delegation to Rwanda with ONE earlier this summer.
(As I said previously, I didn’t have a tripod of any kind, so if shaky camera movement gives you a headache, you may just want to listen to the footage for now until we have the professional video done and up in the next few days.)
First, Gov. Huckabee talks about ONE:
Next, Gov. Huckabee introduces this clip, a video made especially for the RNCC about Senator Frist, Michael Gerson and Gov. Huckabee in Rwanda:
August 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm | posted by David.Lane
All of us here at ONE are about to escape DC’s infamous August heat and take a much-needed week of vacation. But before we go, I wanted to share a few concluding thoughts about our visit to Rwanda.
I think our delegation returned from Rwanda inspired by what can be achieved and encouraged by America’s role in supporting that country’s groundbreaking efforts. We were fortunate to have such a diverse and distinguished group together for such a concentrated period of time - a rare thing these days. The group chemistry was great and we generated a number of valuable discussions.
Here are a few of the important ideas I think our delegation took away from their experience in Rwanda:
First and foremost, we were able to witness firsthand the remarkable resilience of the African spirit and the unwavering commitment to creating a better future. Here in the U.S., we are accustomed to reading about African failures-famine, conflict and, yes, genocide. But Rwanda is a clear example of how African countries are rebuilding and moving forward aggressively and progressively. We saw how central women have been to this rebuilding process, from governing and reviving the economy to reconciling and healing the nation. This leadership and commitment is translating into dramatic progress in the fight against poverty and disease.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:01 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Another video and post from ONE’s Tom Gavin from last week’s trip to Rwanda.
Monday, July 21:
The U.S. launched PEPFAR – the American global AIDS strategy – at the Masaka Clinic in 2004, so it made for a good place for the ONE delegation to visit and assess how things are going. Our delegation met with doctors, nurses, local officials, and patients seeking treatment and counsel from the clinic’s staff. We heard, time and again, the difference that America’s partnership in health care was making in Rwanda and throughout Africa.
The DATA Report, which ONE released earlier this year, shows the progress being made. It points out that, across Africa, nearly 2.12 million people were on antiretroviral therapy by last December, a huge jump from the 50,000 people on treatment in 2002. That means 30 percent of Africans in need of treatment are receiving it. But there remains a major challenge ahead. An additional 1.7 million Africans became infected with the HIV virus in 2007.
After touring the Masaka Clinic, some of the ONE delegation discussed the site visit and the overall trip with reporters.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Tom Gavin just passed along another video clip from last week’s Rwanda trip.
This one is of our CEO David Lane talking to journalists about the ONE Campaign and why it’s so important that we listens to Africans so that we can become more effective advocates.
“We don’t pretend to speak for Africans. We can’t. It would be inappropriate for us to. Which is why listening to Africans is extremely important, and that’s the purpose of our visit this time…”
“Here’s the thing I want to say in Rwanda, just about this trip in particular. Much has been said about President Kagame. I met with him myself in November when I was here and he’s a very impressive man. What I think has our entire delegation dazzled is the quality of leadership at the working level. From the nurses at this hospital to the leaders of this hospital to the ministers and the mayors. It’s not an overstatement to say that we are dazzled by the quality of leadership.
And that’s one of our messages as well: it’s not appropriate to impose. We may think we have the answers in the United States, but an important part of our advocacy is to say that we want to support African leadership that’s working.”
July 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Cindy McCain penned an op-ed for today’s Wall Street Journal about her recent trip to Africa and the “women are at the forefront of the physical, emotional and spiritual healing that is moving Rwandan society forward.”
Some excerpts:
“It is a humbling experience to be in the presence of those who have such a capacity for forgiveness and care. It is also instructive. If wealthy nations want their assistance programs to be effective, they should look to the women who form the backbone of every society. With some education, training, basic rights and empowerment, women will transform a society — and the world.”
“Women today make up a disproportionate percentage of the Rwandan population. In the aftermath of the genocide, they had to head households bereft of fathers. They had to take over farms, and take jobs previously done by men. But there were opportunities, too: Today, 41% of Rwandan businesses are owned by women…Rwanda today has the world’s highest percentage of female legislators.”
“Perhaps it is fitting that a nation so wracked by death could give birth to a vibrant new age. I know that one thing is clear: Through their bold and courageous actions, these women should inspire not only their fellow Africans, but all individuals — men and women — across the globe.”
July 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Last week a crew of ONE staff and American leaders took a trip to Rwanda to see effective-U.S. aid at work. I just got in this clip of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Center for the American Progress President John Podesta talking about their visit to a specialty-coffee-washing station just outside of Kigali.
Senator Bill Frist, MD:
“We’re at a specialty-coffee-washing station in Rwanda, Kigali,- just outside of Kigali, Rwanda. Why is it important? It is because of economic development. In a country that is mainly plagued by poverty, what you see behind me, the employment of over 200 women, women who double their income by working at this specialty-coffee-washing station will now have that opportunity to put their kids in school, to put a roof over their head, to empower their family to earn an income in the future that indeed can capture their dreams and translate their hopes and dreams into a reality.”
John Podesta:
“Rwanda has a “Rwanda 2020 Plan” to try to really make sure that growth is widespread and that it affects everyone. And you saw a real spirit of entrepreneurship here today. We saw women sorting coffee earning about 50% more than they were earning in their livelihood. Before that we saw a young Rwanda entrepreneur who had built that coffee-washing station. The focus in on specialty coffee. Rwanda has always produced a lot of coffee, but now they’re producing for the high-end, and that’s a team effort, but just there’s just a lot of spirit and optimism about the capacity to get this country really moving again. And get the kids in school. Get the people working. And get some income into people’s pockets.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:51 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Our Comms Director Tom Gavin just sent back this final video from the ONE Rwanda trip.
“Our visit wrapped up with a long meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. He talked about his development plan, called Vision 2020, that would result in strong steps forward in education, health, and business growth. At the end, many of our delegation members talked with Rwandan journalists about their meeting and the trip overall. - Tom Gavin”
In the clip:
Democratic strategist John Podesta calls Rwanda’s progress “very, very impressive,” citing the number of people now on ARVs (AIDS treatments), their success in bringing Rwandan citizens into the healthcare system, and the country’s remarkable reduction in child mortality rates.
And Republican strategist Jack Oliver tells the journalist: “We’ve been extraordinarily impressed by the people of Rwanda…[We’re] just encouraged, excited and ready to be advocates on behalf of Rwanda.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:58 am | posted by Sen.Bill.Frist.M.D
Senator Frist is sending in daily posts from ONE’s recent trip to Rwanda. Below is the post he wrote about Sunday.
SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST-CATHEDRAL
The drive to Saint John the Baptist-Cathedral in Ruhengeri is about two hours. It is a windy, but beautiful, road. Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, and this journey explains why. The hills are green, and the trees are even a darker green, separated by roughly plowed hillsides; every inch of land is used. It’s lush. The worn, dusty brown walking paths switch back like big “Z’s” painted on the sides of steep, steep hills, climbing to the sky. Every mile seems more picturesque than the previous.
Bishop John gave the service. He recognized all of the visitors and preached about self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship, and service. (more…)
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