One Acre Fund-TUBURA has joined the government of Rwanda in the fight against COVID-19 by distributing bars of soap worth Rwf1.6 billion to over 2 million families across Rwanda. The distribution of the soap will also be accompanied by health training on how to keep safe and not contact COVID-19. Distribution of soaps means enhancing hygiene as a major way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Founded in 2007 in Rwanda, One Acre Fund-TUBURA is an agricultural development organisation serving 465,000 farm families from 27 districts. It provides farmers with the services they need to increase their yield and improve their quality of life including quality farm inputs for voluntary purchase to farmers. The organisation trains farmers on the latest agricultural practices, and how to sell harvest surplus and also offers other products on credit, like solar lights, which improves quality of life. One Acre Fund-TUBURA provides the support as it lauds the excellent measures that have been implemented by the government of Rwanda to curb the spread of the disease, which has resulted in slowing the rate of transmission. “It is time for all of us as a nation to come together and support the efforts by the government in fighting the spread of the virus,” says Eric Pohlman, One Acre Fund-TUBURA Country Director. The soaps will be delivered to cell offices. In cells where One Acre Fund-TUBURA has a core program field officer stationed, the soaps will be delivered to the field officer. The field officers can distribute the soaps to One Acre Fund-TUBURA clients throughout the day on regular field visits in farmers’ fields. For the cells where One Acre Fund-TUBURA does not have a core program field officer, all soaps will be delivered to the government sector executive to distribute while abiding by the safety guidelines provided by the government of Rwanda. In addition to the soaps it will be giving to Rwandan families from 1987 cells of 27 rural districts, One Acre Fund-TUBURA will continue to support farmers with providing accurate information and training about COVID-19 and the preventative measures farmers must take home and in their communities. Providing food stuff for vulnerable families In response to the call by His Excellency, President Paul Kagame, for all Rwandans to rally together during these challenging times, One Acre Fund-TUBURA staff have been making cash contributions to a charity kitty in support of fellow Rwandans without food. In total, the staff contributed Rwf15 million, an amount that has been matched by One Acre Fund-TUBURA, making a total of Rwf30 million which will be used to purchase food directly from farmers to be distributed to vulnerable families. The Government of Rwanda designated agriculture as essential and has allowed a lot of critical farm services to continue under new health and safety protocols. As an organisation, One Acre Fund-TUBURA says it has a responsibility to the country to ensure that Rwanda’s hardworking farmers are able to continue producing the food that feeds the nation. “We are compelled to act for the common interest of the country and do everything we can to slow the transmission of the virus. We need to stay focused on the need to ensure that farmers have a good harvest and healthy families,” says the management. Without farmers, One Acre Fund-Tubura recognizes, all of the other front-line activities to safeguard the health of the nation could not be done. “At One Acre Fund, we are thankful for the government’s swift and effective response to COVID- 19. Personally, I think Rwanda is the safest place in the world to be right now. We’ve also been inspired by the collective compassion of so many companies and organizations who have made generous donations to the shared fight against coronavirus. At One Acre Fund, we believe farmers are the most important members of our communities because they grow the food that all of us eat. Thus, in collaboration with MINAGRI and MINALOC we are working hard to make sure all farmers in Rwanda have the information and soap they need to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Safe Farmers = Food Security, says Eric Pohlman, One Acre Fund-TUBURA Country Director.
