Editor,

I’m a Rwandan-Canadian living in Ottawa and involved in trying to raise money for the One Dollar Campaign that was launched in early April.

I wish to register my disappointment in the people running this program, specifically the Diaspora General Directorate (DGD) at MINAFFET.

It’s now been more than two (2) months that the 3-month campaign has been going on and yet the option of donating online is still  reads "Starting Soon.”

This fact hinders our efforts to raise money from friends and colleagues given the reluctance of people here to actually get up, fight the heavy traffic to drive to the bank, line up at the bank, go through the procedure at the teller, drive back through the same traffic, etc.

That is so especially if one plans to donate small amounts repeatedly. They would much rather make a few clicks and type a few keyboard strokes and donate. It’s much much easier, and can be done as frequently as possible.

This is what they are used to; this is what’s easy to tell them to do. As such the DGD’s negligence in this matter has cost the project thousands of dollars if not more, in my humble opinion.

What’s more, I’ve tried to bring this to the attention of the DGD. I first used the ‘contact us’ email address -only to find the address is out of service - and then through their head of ICT - only to find the man is out of the country doing his Masters.

One wonders why then these email addresses are still listed!! My efforts to get a response from the DGD Director have also been futile since he’s not responding to the emails either!

I find all the above short comings (lack of online donating option, non -functioning listed emails, gramatical error) to be unprofessional and it gives a bad image to our country, especially at a time when we trying to position ourselves as the IT specialists in the region.

Incorporating the service through, say, PayPal would take at most 6 hours for an experienced webmaster, much less than that for an expert. I can hardly find a justification for a delay that has cost the project more than two thirds of its lifespan.

I’m sure I speak for many both abroad and at home. I humbly ask the DGD to solve this issue as soon as possible or else it will be too late. This is not only for the sake of theOne Dollar Campaign team, but especially for the  beneficiaries.

I hope this letter will get a better response than the emails I sent to the DGD. If not, I hope at least one Member of Parliament reads it and gets interested in the matter.
 
With thanks,
Names withheld on request