FEMALE ARTISTE Emerance Bwiza has embarked on a two-month environment conservation campaign dubbed ‘Igiti Mu Rugo’ that seeks to mobilize the community across the country to plant trees in their neighborhoods. The fast-rising artiste joined KIKAC music management after winning The Next Diva, a music contest that is only dedicated to promoting talented young women aspiring to become musicians. In her first-year, her two-year deal under the record label’s management has seen the singer record a series of songs which have gone on to become hits. After establishing herself among Rwanda’s top female artists so far, the singer has now turned her focus to an awareness campaign to encourage people to plant trees in their neighborhood as part of her efforts to contribute to the country’s environment conservation. The singer targets to see at least 200, 000 trees planted before the campaign concludes in November this year. Bwiza told The New Times that she wants to use her platform as an artist to raise awareness among Rwandans to contribute to the nation's efforts to not only protect the environment but also deal with consequences of climate change. “This is an idea I have had since I was a primary school student. Seeing teachers encouraging us to plant trees inspired me to feel like I owe something like this to the community and I think time is now to make it happen,” she said in an interview. To make sure that the campaign becomes a successful one, Bwiza shared the idea to the scouts’ family which she has been a member since 2013, in an attempt to support her in implementing it. Rwanda Scouts Association comprises over 43, 000 member scouts existing countrywide and, with their support, the singer hopes that her campaign will be a success. “I have been a member of the scouts’ family for quite some time and, as we are encouraged to leave the world look better than we found it and I believe their relentless commitment to mobilize the community to plant trees can make a big impact,” she said. “If one scout plants a tree, then they will have planted 43, 000 trees and that gives me courage that we can hit the 200, 000 trees to be planted throughout the entire campaign in the next two months,” she further explained. A number of artistes are expected to join and support Bwiza during the campaign as she mobilizes people to plant trees. “We need to see artistes not only joining this noble cause but also coming up with other initiatives that can positively impact the communities. I have a lineup of artistes who will help me during this campaign and more details about how the activity will go down will be shared soon,” she said. To get the community more involved, the singer has tabled prizes for artists with the best poem and the best song that reflect on environment conservation. She also has three songs in the studio that she will use to raise awareness on tree planting during the campaign. She will then headline a special performance for her guests in a gala night dedicated to celebrate the campaign.
