The world’s weather patterns seem to have gone bananas. Hurricane Florence has unleashed her anger off the Eastern Coast of the United States but it is still too early to assess the extent of the damage. But early images show the eastern part of the US is under water which will likely be the case for the next few days.

In the Far East, the skies are also cooking up some mischief with super typhoon Mangkhut expected to make landfall in southern China any time soon with wind speeds in excess of 200Kmh.

Rwanda, which prides itself on having heavenly weather year-round, is also experiencing some level of disruptions; unexpected rains alternating with heat waves have seen flush floods in the western parts of Kigali and strong winds uprooting trees in the city. Mercifully, no lives were lost.

The three incidents have one common denominator; global warming caused mostly by the accumulation of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere. Both China and the US are major polluters because of the major industries, most of which contribute to the greenhouse gases, rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns.

As of July this year, 195 countries had already signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as the Paris Agreement. The aim was to keep the increase of global warming to well below 2 degrees annually. Incidentally, Donald Trump’s first major decision when he was elected president was his intention to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement.

Today many other people are still living in denial but global warming is a reality. As some parts of the world have not taken global warming seriously, France has announced that it intends to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. Rwanda’s modest contribution was banning plastic bags and instituting strict vehicles exhaust emissions control.

In 2016, 197 countries signed the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on climate change in order to gradually reduce global production and consumption of HFCs, beginning with developed countries. But that will be a difficult road to travel if major polluters continue to treat pollution and global warming with disdain.src:TNT

Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari , Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Gov. Ben Ayade and Gov. Aminu Masari have been nominated among those to be bestowed with the 2018 Transparency Africa Awards, organised by African Chronicle magazine.

Aisha Buhari Timothy Okojie, the Editor-in-chief African Chronicle, speaking on the awards, said:“The awards are only conferred after a thorough evaluation of each candidate’s service to humanity, guaranteeing that the recipient is worthy of such honour. “Readers were asked to send SMS for their choice .At the end of the e-voting , the Nigerian First Lady came tops as well as President Paul Kagame topping the African President of the year. ” Mrs. Buhari’s zeal to see that women are empowered from the grassroots to the top accounted for the massive votes she garnered from voters who participated in the e-voting. Also Paul Kagame is a President that has defended democracy, rule of law, fairness and his affirmative action on women participation in politics with over 70 percent of women in government. Rwanda is today the best country in the ease of doing business index in Africa.” Winners in other categories include, Prof. T.B Joshua, CP. Edgal Imohimi, Gov. Ben Ayade, Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina state, Elder Famous Enearu, Babtunde Wilkey, Jim Ovia, Hon. Kehinde Oloruntola, Ebere C. Obiano, Hakeem Ali, Hadiza Balla Usman, Julie Donli Okah, Taiwo Afolabi, Segun Agbaje, Cocacola, BUA, GLO, UPS, UBA among others The award will be presented to winners on October 26, 2018 at Lagos Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Ikeja, Lagos while Liberia’s President George Weah will be a special guest of honour.

President Paul Kagame has on Friday wholly commuted the prison sentences of musician Kizito Mihigo who had been sentenced to 10 years and Ingabire Victoire who had been sentenced to 15 years.

According to a government statement released by the Ministry of Justice, both Kizito Mihigo and Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza’s remaining period sentences were commuted by Presidential prerogative following their most recent applications for clemency in June this year.

“Pursuant to the powers conferred upon him, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Rwanda informed the Cabinet Meeting that he granted mercy to the following persons: Mr. KIZITO Mihigo, who was serving a ten (10) year sentence by the High Court in case N0 RP 0014/14/HC/kig is wholly commuted; Ms. INGABIRE Victoire Umuhoza who was serving a fifteen (15) years sentence by the Supreme Court in case N0 RPA 0255/12/CS is wholly commuted,” the statement read in part

Mihigo was in February 2015 convicted to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to crimes including conspiracy to murder President Paul Kagame and other top leaders of the country.

On her part, Ingabire had in 2013 had her conviction upheld on appeal by Supreme Court, which saw her lower court eight-year sentence increased to 15 years in prison.

Arrested in 2010, Ingabire was convicted for inciting the masses to revolt against the government, forming armed groups to destabilise the country, and minimising the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Ingabire was convicted on evidence, including some furnished to Rwandan judicial authorities by the Dutch government, attesting to the fact that she was fundraising for FDLR, a terror group linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

She had for many years lived in The Netherlands, where she had been naturalised a citizen.

In total, the beneficiaries to the president clemency are 2,140 convicts from different parts of the country, majority of whom from Huye District, where 484 got early release.

23 others are from Bugesera district, 447 in Nyarugenge, Musanze 149, Gicumbi 65, Nyanza 63, Rubavu 158, Rwamagana 455, Nyagatare 24, Muhanga 207, Ngoma 35, Rusizi 7 and 23 from Nyamagabe district in Southern Rwanda.

Articles 245 and 246 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provide for the release on parole of a convict who has served at least one-third of a sentence of less than 5 years, or two-thirds of a sentence greater than 5 years (or at least 20 years in the case of a life sentence), provided at least one of the different conditions stipulated under the law are met.

The foster care concept has its roots from the ancient Rwandan tradition where ‘orphanhood’ was unheard of due to social value system of care for vulnerable children especially children without parental care.

Whenever a child was deprived of parental care due to death of parents or any other reason, relatives, neighbours or family friends would immediately inherit the responsibility of caring for such a child by welcoming the child to their family and providing all the needs of the child. “Not only some parents from Rubavu clearly understand this concept but also they have made it their own” said Mr Moise Munyamariza, a district project officer from Hope and Homes for Children in charge of Rubavu, Karongi and Rusizi districts. Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) is an international Charity organisation working to ensure all children are living in families not in orphanages
3 years ago, Kayirangwa Sarah was living in Orphelinat Noel de Nyundo[ONN] in Rubavu district North Western part of Rwanda. She is now living in a foster care family. Her foster family loves her so much that she can sometimes get the opportunity to visit her former friends from ONN now reintegrated in Rutsiro District just to make her happier. It is a journey of 3 hours by road and then 2 hours by the wooden boat in Lake Kivu. The foster father had named this trip a ‘’twinning‘’ of foster parents between Rubavu and Rutsiro Districts.
Before joining ONN Kayirangwa Sarah was abandoned near the market place of Mahoko, a neighboring community of Rugerero where ONN is located. After closure, ONN now became Centre Scolaire Noel de Nyundo (CSNN).This child is believed to have born in November 2011. When the De-Institutionalisation work started in Rubavu District, a team of HHC and the National Commission for Children (NCC) was committed to help this child get a family. After discussing with with caregivers, they began their investigations and family tracing in August 2013 but the team did not get any real trace of the biological nor extended family to this child.
A case management meeting was done to look for family alternative. After the meeting the decision was to choose among trained foster carers one family that can serve the best interest of the child. The family of Niyoyita Simon and Mukase Domina living in Rubavu District at about 10 km from the orphanage was selected. This family was committed to helping people, especially children (locally referred to as Malaika Mulinzi). When the child met this family during preparation process she did not hesitate to join them as they were compassionate to her. She loved them as much as they loved her. After two weeks, the parents were invited in a group session before taking the child home. “This is a session in which parents are shared about children rights and especially the right to be in a family as well as parenting skills” Said Mr Munyamariza.

Kayirangwa Sarah was placed in a foster care family on 31 October 2014. At that time she was almost 3 years old and about to start nursery school. Ever since she was welcomed at her new home, she has grown well physically and performed well at school.
What is amazing is that the family gave the opportunity to the child to visit former residents of ONN of the same age. They got contact of other parents during group session and they planned to pay them a visit every year. The child is very happy to walk by boat in the lake which is not common in their village. One of her foster parent said: “Children were happy to meet again after many years and enjoyed travelling especially by boat on the Lake Kivu”

The family of Mwemera and Mukamana that was visited in Rutsiro also paid a visit to visit Simon’s family in Rubavu. They gain real friends in this process of placing children in families. This foster family has received and adopted a child named Kaveyo. These children recognized each other and are happy to meet whenever their foster parents organized visits.

This family headed by Mr Simon who welcomed this child, have also played a great role to identify and interest other potential foster carers in their community. He told them how it iwas good to observe the development of a child saved from hopeless life of the orphanage. Mr Simon told us: “I remember how this child was accused of developmental delay by her teacher but now she is at the same level of ability and performance at school with others”

The Mozambican and Rwandan governments have signed, in Kigali, a memorandum of understanding in the areas of science and technology, and higher and professional education.

According to the release from the Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology, the agreement was signed by the Mozambican Minister, Jorge Nhambiu, and the Rwandan Minister for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa.

The memorandum follows the visit to Rwanda by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in July, and the main goal is to define specific actions to implement the agreements reached then.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nhambiu said that, with the memorandum, it is intended to establish an exchange of knowledge and of experts in Electronic Governance, to develop a programme in the area of cyber-security, and to incubate ICT start-ups.

The two countries also hope to cooperate in internationalising their higher education institutions, in exchanging students and teaching staff, in joint calls for research work, and in the transfer of community technologies through a partnership between the relevant Mozambican and Rwandan research centres.
The Cooperation Plan of Action, said Nhambiu, puts the desires expressed in the Memorandum of Understanding into specific initiatives that can be implemented in the short and medium term.

The Mozambican government, he added, believes that science, technology and higher and professional education play an important role in the growth of the economy and improving citizens’ quality of life.

We think that, as countries of the same continent, and to some extent facing the same challenges, we should continually and substantially improve the coordination of our actions and share experiences of success so that we speed up the development of our states », stressed Nhambiu.