Until the first week of May 2020 over Rwf1.4 billion was distributed among more than 494,500 members belonging to 1,078 cooperatives during the COVID-19 lockdown, data from the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) indicate.
In an effort to avoid the spread of coronavirus, the Government ordered a lockdown on March 21 before easing it on May 3.
The money given to cooperative members came from savings and profits. RCA said that the number of people grouped in cooperatives keeps increasing.
The COVID-19 outbreak brought about severe economic challenges for many people, including causing job losses.
This prompted the Government to intervene and help the most vulnerable, especially by proving food.
RCA says that it is in this context that it asked the cooperatives to come to the rescue of their members.
Corneille Ndahayo, 40, a father to four is a member of a motorcycle taxi cooperative in Gasabo District. The resident of Ruhango District told The New Times that he had been a motor taxi operator in Kigali for over five years until the COVID-19 lockdown disrupted their business.
"It was a desperate, unexpected situation; it was like a disaster, but life is more valuable than money,” Ndahayo said of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restriction imposed to check its spread.
Ndahayo said the COVID-19 impact on public transport came as a surprise to many.
"It was a challenge to undergo [motorcycle taxi] job suspension, yet that job was the source of our livelihoods,” he said.
Fortunately, he said, he got some relief from the cooperative.
"I got Rwf10,000 from the cooperative. I used it to respond to my family’s food needs,” he said.
"At face value, the Rwf10,000 seem to be little, but it was helpful,” he said.
Patrice Nizeyimana, 42, another motorcycle taxi rider from Gasabo District, in Kigali said that he got Rwf16,500 from his cooperative.
Nizeyimana is a member of a different motorcycle cooperative in Gasobo District.
He is also a father to four children.
"The money helped me to provide for my family during that tough time,” he said.
Though Rwanda eased the lockdown measures starting on May 4, some economic activities such as motorcycle taxis are still not operational.
Lesson drawn from the pandemic
Ndahayo said that the pandemic has proven that it is through uniting their efforts that people can get solutions and overcome major issues.
"We draw a lesson to save for a rainy day, and to effectively work together to achieve better results,” he said.