I've raised £900 to provide emergency food relief for Batwa communities in Rwanda during the COVID19 crisis
Organised by Bennett Collins
Story
Hi! My name is Bennett Collins, I’m the executive director of the Third Generation Project , a Scottish think tank that prioritises communities most impacted by climate change at the heart of determining the global climate justice agenda. In the midst of the COVID19 crisis, we are partnering with AIMPO (check them out here ) to provide emergency food relief to Batwa communities, former forest dwelling hunter-gatherers, in Rwanda. Since 2014, we have had first-hand experience witnessing and supporting the incredible programming of AIMPO and their focus on sustainable development in Batwa communities.
Together, we are asking for £12 or $15 donations to support a Rwandan Batwa individual for 10 days, and an additional pound, euro, or dollar to help the AIMPO staff with this distribution and to assist their own families (none of this money goes toward the Third Generation Project). To find out more and hear from the director of AIMPO, read on!
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(Photos above: AIMPO has already begun shifting its programming from education and sustainable development to emergency food relief)
Rwanda is a densely populated small country in East Africa with a population of 12 million people. Among its citizens are a tiny group comprising 1% of the population called the Batwa - a former hunter gatherer people who resided in the forests of Equatorial Africa until conservation and agricultural projects evicted them out of their ancestral lands. Since these evictions ended in the early 90s, this community has faced disproportionately high levels of landlessness, illiteracy, unemployment, starvation, HIV rates, and incarceration.
Today, AIMPO - a completely Rwandan-led organisation who has been working with multiple international partners to address these issues, is now under immense pressure to now address the high amounts of starvation that face the Batwa as they are forced inside their homes without a stimulus package or check to help them survive. Here is a word from AIMPO’s director:
(Photo above: Richard conducting a focus group with a beneficiary Batwa community in Musanze District, Rwanda)
“My name is Richard Ntakirutimana and I am the executive director of AIMPO. I’m a Rwandan and but I’m also a member of Batwa community here. We are former hunter gatherers who were forced off our lands so that agriculturalists and conservationists could work. But this left us with nowhere to go. I’ve been leading projects in Batwa communities for the past decade, trying to counter the many challenges that face us as a forcefully evicted community. COVID19 is already decimating much of the progress we’ve been building as a Rwandan organisation and many members of my community are being faced with starvation, as most of them rely on day-labour jobs to put food on the table. Luckily, we’ve managed to convince a couple of our donors to allow us to redirect 3,500 British pounds (4,400 USD) grant money meant for educational programming to emergency development assistance. However, we’ve identified 1,900 members among the many Batwa communities with whom we work who are in desperate need, and the reapportioned grant money is not sufficient to help get them through this isolation.
I am asking if you could donate to AIMPO’s emergency COVID19 relief fund.
We are asking for 12 GBP or 15 dollar donations as this is enough to feed a single member of the Batwa community for 10 days. This can buy 10kg (22lbs) of maize and 3kg (7lbs) of beans per person. We would also ask if you could add 1 pound, euro, or dollar to help AIMPO staff distribute supplies and cover their own needs as they risk their health to distribute food supplies across communities. Any additional money donated will go to providing Batwa communities with soap and face masks.
Thank you for your consideration.
- Richard”
