Dutch youth impressed by Iwawa Rehab Centre

Members of the Netherlands-based youth group, ‘Unity is Strength Foundation’, were impressed by the way youth are getting vocational skills at Iwawa Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Centre. The Dutch youth have been in the country for a week on a fact finding mission on unity and reconciliation and to also deliver the ‘Unity is Strength Diversity Award’. Iwawa vocational centre is based at Iwawa Island in Rutsiro District in the Western Province and the centre where former young street children are taught various professional skills like commercial farming, construction, carpentry, tailoring, among others. “We toured Iwawa centre and we were stunned by the way the youth are getting resourceful professional skills and this is a great step for the country’s development,” said Sergio Belfor, the Founding Executive Director of the group, while addressing the media yesterday. He added that they interacted with the youth and they told them, they are doing well and living happily compared to when they were on thestreets. “Rwanda is termed as a country of a thousand opportunities, Iwawa is one of the a thousand opportunities,” he remarked. He hailed Rwanda for such good initiative adding that it should be a good example to other African countries that do not consider removing young people from the streets by enrolling them into vocational training centres. “In Iwawa, they are getting training, food and drinks but on the streets, the young people resort to drugs and when they don’t have money to buy those drugs, they get involved in criminal activities. I am very grateful for this country to come up with such a great idea,” he stressed. “They were surprised because they have never seen that kind of initiative in any other country in Africa, where the government removes the young people from the streets and takes them to a vocational centre,” Edward Kalisa, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth. said. The Dutch youth promised to be ambassadors of Rwanda in other countries in the world because they have seen a great country with a good culture. The delegation also visited Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Camp, ULK Rubavu Campus and other government institutions. Ends