Rwanda Revisited

I found an article on how the Rwandan government was going to improve the nations' struggle with poverty through growing coffee a few days ago, but I've seemed to have lost the article now. The government set realistic goals, hoping to decrease poverty to 25% by a specified date. They also hoped to improve the average per capita income to $900 from roughly $200 in the same period of time. Rwandan farmers are able to make a significant profit through fair trade. But much of the nation is poor. War has ravaged these proud people. For those that died in the genocide of 1994, their pain is now over. But for those still living, it never stopped. The mass murder impacted emotions, the economy, and the future of Hutus and Tutsis. The movie Hotel Rwanda was a moving depiction of those tragic events. Since the genocide, Rwanda has invaded its larger unstable neighbor twice. AIDS is a very real threat. Hope for peace and stability have been fleeting. Below are facts and articles about Rwanda today.


Map of Rwanda, located in eastern central Africa

Some facts about Rwanda:

-Population: About 8 million
-Location: Central Africa bordered by Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Uganda
-Size: 10,169 square miles, slightly smaller than Maryland
-Government: Republic. Multi-party system
-Capital: Kigali
-Economy: The 1994 genocide severely impoverished the population, particularly women. About 90 percent of the population works in agriculture. About 60 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Source: CIA World Fact Book/Associated Press files

Links to more articles about Rwanda:

Rwanda's Tormentors Emerge From the Forest to Haunt Congo
Hutu Guerrillas Find New Victims

"A decade after the genocide in Rwanda, as many as 15,000 Hutu guerrillas are still hiding in the forests of eastern Congo, according to U.N. peacekeepers."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12141-2005Feb9.html


Rwanda Dismisses UN Report on Congo Arms Violation

"Rwanda Tuesday dismissed a United Nations report accusing it of violating an arms embargo in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which it has twice invaded in the past decade."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7421805


Rwanda Estimates 1 Million Face Genocide Charges

"An estimated 1 million Rwandans -- an eighth of the population -- are expected to be tried in traditional "gacaca" village courts for alleged participation in the 1994 genocide."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7328011

Highlights from another article about Rwanda and coffee:

Coffee, Michigan State program perk up farming in Rwanda
By Tim Martin, Associated Press Writer

"Michigan State is part of a project aimed at helping Rwandan farmers - many of them widows whose husbands were among the genocide's 800,000 victims - grow and sell gourmet coffee beans. The project has helped raise the standard of living for thousands of Rwandans as they emerge from the devastation wrought by years of civil war.

About 90 percent of the Rwandan labor force is connected to agriculture. Many of the nation's 8 million people live in poverty, so higher coffee prices and bigger markets have been a boost to the economy.

The project trained 17 Rwandans in agricultural science at U.S. universities. Those trainees then returned to their homeland, taking their knowledge to small towns and villages.

The farming often is done on steep terrain with little or no machinery. Farmers are taught to pool their resources in cooperatives. Washing stations are set up to care for the beans after harvest, and the best are separated from the rest. Taste-testers are taught to monitor quality control.

Although most Rwandans drink tea rather than coffee, marketing help has connected Rwandan farmers with gourmet coffee companies in Europe and the United States, allowing them to tap a growing customer base. Michigan State will begin selling a Rwandan coffee blend arriving on campus in the next few weeks.

[Dan] Clay [director of Michigan State's Institute of International Agriculture] can't forget the faces of despairing Rwandans along the side of the highway as he and his family rode in a convoy to safety."

It haunts me to this day," he said. "Now you see some of the same faces, and there is great hope. It's enough to make anybody be glad to come back."
Michigan State University's Rwandan coffee page: http://www.rwandacoffee.msu.edu
Michigan State University's online shop: http://shop.msu.edu