“Religions ought to change mentality on population”

EASTERN PROVINCE: RWAMAGANA—Following an excessive population increase that does not match with available resources, religious groups in Rwanda have been urged to change their mentality on population issues. The call was repeatedly made by different stakeholders during a three-day training of pastors on family-planning held at the AVEGA centre in Rwamagana last week. Faustin Minani, an expert from Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) told pastors that Rwanda’s population was growing at higher rates compared to the country’s rate of economic development. “Rwanda’s population is growing at a higher rate compared to the country’s rate of economic development. You should match your thinking with modern world development,” Minani told the pastors. Marie Grace Mukabarisa from the Intrahealth organisation urged pastors on the need for family planning. “As pastors leading many flocks of people, it is your responsibility to enlighten your followers on the need to practice family planning. It is time for families to produce kids they can only manage to properly raise,” she urged pastors. Pastor Bien Venue Musabyimana said that quite often Christians had “misinterpreted biblical teachings,” relating to finding partners and procreating and populating the earth. Those word, he said, were written a long time ago. Though many principles from the Bible could still be used much was ‘out of date.’“This was Abraham’s world, the first human being with a lot of resources available around him,” he said.Musabyimana reasoned that every human being in his own capacity could produce kids according to his or her own world. “One’s own world is the resource he or she owns like the case was for Abraham,” he said. “The verse means that people should produce only children they look after.”“In Rwandan culture children were regarded as a source of riches and security; a culture that instigated Rwandans to produce as many kids as possible,” he said, urging Christians in particular to drop such culture.One trainee Pastor Faustin Kayizari from the Methodist Church of Rwanda in Nyagasambu acknowledged that many churches had been reluctant on preaching followers about family planning.The training was organized by Centre de Formation et de Documentation (CFD), run by the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda. About 28 attended the conference. Ends