Last week on Tuesday, management and staff members of Hotel des Mille Collines held a Corporate Social Responsibility activing that saw them visit Genocide survivors in Mageragere Sector, Nyarugenge District.

The activity was in line with the commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The hotel management and staff in an effort to empower survivors of the Genocide, reached out to three families of survivors to whom they donated cows as a way of empowering them.

The three heifers donated to the survivors – selected from three villages in the sector with the support of the district – are all expectant.

The three beneficiaries choosing randomly their cow numbering. / Simon Peter Kaliisa

Claire Kangwage, General Manager of Hotel des Mille Collines, speaking to some of the residents of Mageragere residents. / Simon Peter Kaliisa

Claire Kangwage, the General Manager of Hotel des Mille Collines, said the reason they decided to go for cows it’s because of the value it carries culturally and also their ability to transform lives in many ways.

"We wanted to give out something that the families will not only feel attached to but also will have a shared impact on those who have received the gift but also to the surrounding community,” she said.

Speaking at the event Jean Uwimana Shumbusho, Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nyarugenge District, thanked the hotel administration, saying that, already the district has a plan of giving out 150 cows to different families of survivors so that they can transform their lives and the three cows were a welcome contribution.

The three survivors from extreme left Josee Mukabaranga, Theogene Kanani and Laurence Musabyemariya. / Simon Peter Kaliisa

Theogene Kanani, a father of five children, one of the recipients, was moved with the good act of the hotel and said that apart from getting milk, he hopes that this farm production will increase because of the manure he will get from the cow.

Hotel des Mille Collines, which is among the oldest hotels in country, is part of the Genocide history as this is where at least 2000 people were able to survive with the protection of the United Nations.

The hotel was founded in 1973 and since then it has been a beacon in the hospitality sector and it continues to aspire as an icon in giving world-class services by offering its guests a test to both international cuisine and local signature dishes.