Girls, let us seize the opportunities we have been given

Over the past few weeks, news outlets have been awash with stories about the growing concerns brought about by the increase in cases of human trafficking in our country and the need for Rwandan authorities and civilians to become more vigilant about this horrible crime. On September 7th, at the opening of the 2014-2015 Judicial Year, President Paul Kagame recommended that the justice system should continue their work in fighting cross border crimes, including human trafficking. A week later, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Stella Ford Mugabo was in Kayonza urging residents to help young people not to fall prey to unscrupulous people who come to their community falsely promising great job opportunities abroad. Needless to say, almost all the victims of human trafficking are young innocent girls, who are lured out of the country with promises of juicy jobs, only to find themselves turned into sex slaves and a host of other humiliating chores, once they have left the country. As a young woman, I am particularly concerned about similar stories I read every day in which girls end up in compromising situations because they feel they have no choice. This month, my colleagues and I distributed the latest issue of Ni Nyampinga magazine in which we explore the different opportunities that our great country has given to women and girls that did not exist 20 years ago. We talked to women who recalled that life in Rwanda 20 years ago was not full of the opportunities that young girls have today, such as the encouragement to go to school and to have careers outside of the home. During the production of this issue of the magazine we had the opportunity to connect with inspiring women and girls. We interviewed the young women who wake up early everyday and clean our streets thereby allowing Kigali to become known as one the cleanest cities in Africa. We also got a chance to speak with mothers in Rubavu District who banded together and started a day care for children so that their fellow mothers could go to work without worrying about their children. These are the everyday Rwandan women that are making our country a better place. My fellow girls, life doesn’t always offer us what we need to reach our goals and we are not all offered the same opportunities. But we live in a country and a time full of possibilities. Everyone has a dream but not everyone can realise it in a same way. You may not have the chance to go to school and you therefore may think that the easy way to make money is by selling your body. If you think really hard, though, you will find that you have another choice. For example, if your neighbour in the village has an uncultivated space, you can start a small agriculture business and you do not have to do it alone. You can ask some of your friends to join in and start a small cooperative and sell what you grow. We all have somewhere we want to reach and most of the time our goals in life are inspired by the people we encounter in our everyday life. All the stories we heard while producing this issue showed us that there are many women across the country that started with nothing and have managed to create successful lives for themselves. We see these stories as a sign that we too can do it. So girls, let’s take advantage of the country we live in and strive to create better lives for ourselves. The writer is a Ni Nyampinga Brand Representative and Radio Journalist on Ni Nyampinga Radio. She is also in her last year of Civil Engineering at the University of Rwanda

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Girls, let us seize the opportunities we have been given