Insights: Gatera, the generous Rasta

Emmanuel Gatera Rudasingwa is one of the few local businessmen praised for their charity activities in the Rwandan community. He is also a prominent Rastafarian. A father of six, Gatera says that he was inspired by his Rastafarian belief to get involved in works of charity. Together with his Japanese wife, Mummy Rudasigwa, Gatera founded the non-profit Mulindi Japan One Love Project in 1992, while he was still doing arts business in Japan. The project hails its forename Mulindi from the Mulindi - Byumba area in the Northern part of Rwanda, where the Rastaman presented the project to the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) during the liberation struggle. It was implemented starting 1995, after the infamous 1994 genocide. It would basically manufacture artificial limbs for the lame. Most of the beneficiaries were the casualties of the genocide, plus polio victims and those disabled by snake bite accidents. For the project’s expected contribution to the society, ‘One Love’ received material support from the Rwandan government and several Non-profit entities. Since 1996, Mulindi Japan One Love Project has fixed the rather expensive limbs to close to 7000 disabled citizens in Rwanda and over 3800 Burundians through its Bujumbura workshop. Gatera repeatedly thanks both governments for their support for his project. “Both the Rwandan government and our Burundian counterparts contribute 60 percent each to One Love,” says Gatera. The treated people are taught how to make the limbs, and some of them sponsored for tours to Japan to upgrade their newly acquired skills. Thousands more have been taught other vocational skills to earn their living. Apart from supporting the disabled, the non-profit project has supported many disadvantage people, like street kids and women, plus the needy. It provides them with casual employment at its ‘One Love’ premises, secures bursaries for others to complete their study courses. The present month of 2011, ‘One Love’ has also organized a series of charity events, all slated for May, to support the Japanese escapees of the recent Tsunami disaster. On 22nd April, the project laid flowers at its premises to commemorate the victims, and concluded the day with a charity dinner. On 11th May, it organized the ‘Bob Marley concert’, which was aimed at realising possible funds to support the tsunami survivors. One Love has had an intact relationship with the Asian country, since early 1990’s. Despite the challenges Gatera, and his One Love Project meet, he is destined to support many more disadvantaged people. His move is in no way a search for recognition but a generous heart, courtesy to his Rastafarian Love custom. Ends

Lifestyle

Insights: Gatera, the generous Rasta