Rwandans living in the USA as well as Rwandan-American people there are working to launch a think-tank that will, among others, help portray the right image of their homeland.
Gaetan Gatete, the former president of the Rwandan American Community of Midwest USA, on Wednesday, December 15, told The New Times that in line with that grand project, a website that is the brainchild of some members of the Rwandan-American community, in collaboration with the United States Rwandan Community Abroad (USRCA), will be launched end this week.
Dubbed "Rwandan American Friends,” the website, he said, will be a storehouse of writings and other materials that underscore Rwanda’s social and economic gains and its vision for the future.
Gaetan who was also the first USRCA President (2013-2016) said: "Given the ease with which misinformation about Rwanda is digitally propagated since the explosion social media platforms, the conception of the website could not be timelier.”
"All over the United States, there are people of Rwandan descent and friends of Rwanda who have valuable contributions to make to Rwanda’s development and whose stories about Rwanda reflect what is truly happening on the ground.”
The website https://www.rwandanamericanfriends.com/ will bring these contributions and stories together in an organized and user friendly design, Gaetan noted.
According to Prof Yohani Kayinamura, a chemistry professor who is the key person behind the idea, the platform brings together Americans of Rwandan descent and friends of Rwanda to highlight their contributions to the social and economic development of the United States and Rwanda.
Their mission is all about strengthening the relationship between Rwanda and the United States through "exchanges between our two peoples in various areas,” which include education, skills transfer, culture, and economics.
Fighting genocide denial
Kayinamura said: "We also share fact-based news about Rwanda, educate about the genocide against the Tutsi, and fight against genocide denial.”
Their guiding principles and ethics are, he said, dgnity (Agaciro), integrity, professionalism and unity.
"Our goals are to create and identify strategic partnerships between Rwanda and the United States; promote and facilitate intercultural exchanges between and among Rwandan-Americans and friends of Rwanda; support and empower our communities, individually or collectively, achieve their socio-economic initiatives; and share news and research-based information about Rwanda.”
They also want to organise and support educational programs on the genocide against the Tutsi in the United States; and fight denial of the genocide against the Tutsi, the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, and other genocides.
Bernadette Mukankuranga Denis, a nurse who resides in Washington DC, said: "We are the best to tell our story because we lived it and we are still living it than our visitors who go see and hear and come back and repeat what they were told without evidence.”
"Our children and grandchildren need to hear our story without distortions.”