Many young people are struggling with poverty, limited opportunities, unemployment, domestic violence and so forth, and Fred Mfuranzima, a published author, understands this well. He has sailed through all the hardships in his life on his own, whilst trying to cope with mental and emotional strain. Eventually, he found comfort in writing and reciting poems. Before he started writing, the 24-year-old found it hard to open up about his own encounters. Now, he hopes to reach out to young people still struggling in life. He started “Imfura Heritage Rwanda Limited” in 2018, a social enterprise that uses skills to inspire a culture of peace and hope. Creative arts, he says, shape the future, build bonds and nurture awareness, develop empathy, and aid in making friends and expressing feelings openly. “Through arts, we are able to build self-confidence, learn the power of flexibility, be open-minded, and embrace to dissimilar ideas. We also learn to listen to the views of others and most importantly, work collaboratively. These are all aspects that can promote peace,” he says. The author’s initiative boosts talent through writing, music, poetry, painting, and designing, especially for the youth, to build a society of socially responsible people and peace activists. He uses social media platforms, art-based dialogue events, blogs, books, magazines, and the company also deals in book publishing, food service activities, cultural education, library services, among other recreational activities. The initiative now has branches in Kanombe, Kiyovu and Huye. Being a published writer, he is now working to help other young writers who are still struggling to share their work out. His team consists of editors and writers who brand, print, and market local books. According to the writer and activist, most authors spend one to four million Rwandan francs to get their books published — this includes editing, cover design, formatting, legal forms including (International Standard Book Number -ISBN and copyrights) and marketing services. This, he says, sometimes makes it hard to get a return on investment. Although it was hard for him to get his books published, with time, he figured his biggest contribution to the industry would be to open a publishing house. He pays 75 per cent of the publishing costs and the authors pay 25 per cent. His writing journey He started writing in primary school as he concealed his feelings, but his first book, “A letter from Tutsi hill”, was published in 2017. It depicted the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He has written other books such as, “The Broken”, “Child, Rwanda is Poetry”, “A Sister’s Left Shoe”, and “A speech Demanding Future.” He believes that when he writes about history, it will help young people understand past conflicts and resolutions so that they will be able to evade any violence in the future. “To study history is to do history. The only way we can do history is to examine the available records from the past and then write about them. My worry is that history can repeat itself if nothing is done,” he says. His writing was also inspired by reading different authors’ books, like Tharicis Gatwa, Scholastique Mukasonga, Yolanda Mukagasana, from Rwanda, and others, for instance, Oduor Jagero, Kate Tampest and Shakespeare. Life has inspired him to keep writing. When he wishes for change, he jots down his feelings on paper. While in high school, he wrote poems and stories that fascinated his classmates and they looked forward to new episodes. However, before writing, Mfuranzima was a devoted soccer player. He lost interest in the sport when he got an injury. With time, his love for soccer dropped and he focused on writing. He has written pomes like, “My Shame”, “Never Again”, “Endless Music”, “In low Voice”, “Confession”, “Three Patriots”, “Umwiza”, “Full of Respect”, “African Dreamer”, and others. Mfuranzima has attended several writing courses, workshops, digital media systems, creative arts and performances, and publishing courses that turned him into a tutor. He tutors in different places like American Corner Kigali and Kigali Public Library.
