Dignity and Self-reliance in Rwandan Society
Senior 1 · History and Citizenship
Dignity and Self-reliance in Rwandan Society
Lesson 3 of 4
24 min
How can anyone tell whether a home-grown solution works? One way is to measure it. After each umuganda, local leaders estimate what the work would have cost if it had been paid for. The Rwanda Governance Board collected these estimates, reported by the Ministry of Local Government, in an impact assessment published in 2017. Figure 4 shows them.
Worked example: reading a bar chart critically
Definition
Impact assessment: a study that measures what a programme has achieved, often by comparing numbers over time. Example: the Rwanda Governance Board's impact assessment of umuganda (2017).
Definition
Malnutrition: poor health caused by not eating enough of the right foods; in children it can cause stunting (being too short for one's age). Milk from Girinka cows helps prevent it.
Definition
Pass-on principle: the Girinka rule, in Kinyarwanda kwitura or kuziturirana, that a family that receives a cow gives its first female calf to another family in need.
Why it began. In Rwandan culture, giving a cow has long been a sign of respect, friendship and gratitude. But cattle had also been used to divide people, and according to UNICEF, as cited by Rwandapedia, about 90% of the country's cattle were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Many poor families had no cow at all, and child malnutrition was high.
What was decided. In 2006 the Government launched Girinka, "may you have a cow". The poorest households receive a heifer, training in how to care for it, and support from vets.
Results. By June 2020, more than 380,000 families had received a cow under Girinka, according to Rwandapedia, benefiting over 1.2 million Rwandans. Milk improves children's nutrition; manure raises harvests; selling milk brings income for school fees and health insurance.
Dignity and self-reliance together. A family that owns a cow feeds itself and earns its own income: self-reliance. When it passes on the first calf, it becomes a giver, not only a receiver: dignity. The gift also rebuilds trust between neighbours.
Umuganda's value can be measured in francs, and Girinka's in cows and litres of milk. What important results of these programmes cannot be measured in numbers? How could a researcher find evidence of them?
Important
Tip
Exam technique: when you use a statistic, give the number, the year and the source: "According to Rwandapedia, more than 380,000 families had received a cow by June 2020." A number without a source is weak evidence.
Rwandapedia: "One cow per poor family transforms lives in Rwanda" (October 2010). Watch for the changes that families describe after receiving a cow, and sort them into self-reliance and dignity.
Practice
Sources and credits
