The “land of a thousand hills,” a direct translation from the French “Pays des Mille Collines,” is an apt description for the verdant country of Rwanda.
From the volcanoes, to the jungles housing a third of the world’s remaining gorillas, to the largest rain forest in Africa, Rwanda has a history of environmental conservation.
The tiny, landlocked country ripples with steep, terraced hillsides. Rwandese people proudly say, “God roams the world but comes to rest in Rwanda”. And true to these words, when one sees the beauty of Rwanda, then they’ll get to understand why they say so.
A first time visitor is greeted a typical African setting — a riot of iron sheet roof structures, abundant greenery and endless banana plants.
Visitors often remark on Kigali’s impeccably clean streets, high-tech efficiency and the ease of doing business.
The streets of Rwanda’s capital Kigali are neat, clean and orderly, with very little traffic, and the grass neatly manicured all the way from the airport. This is a clean and well-planned city.
Modern human settlement of what is now Rwanda dates from, at the latest, the last glacial period, either in the Neolithic period around 8000 BC, or in the long humid period which followed, up to around 3000 BC. Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of sparse settlement by hunter gatherers in the late stone age, followed by a larger population of early Iron Age settlers, who produced dimpled pottery and iron tools. These early inhabitants were the ancestors of the Twa, aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who remain in Rwanda today.
Rwanda and Burundi were located at the juncture of three empires and became the object of a diplomatic fight for possession. The Belgians and Leopold II, the Germans, and the British wanted possession of the territory. However, by 1910, and agreement handed control of Rwanda and Burundi to the Germans.
Rwanda’s former colonial power, Germany, lost possession of the country during the First World War and the territory was then placed under Belgian administration.
In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighbouring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990.
The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in a state-orchestrated genocide, in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population.
The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, and established an RPF-led government of national unity.
Rwanda’s economy suffered heavily during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, but more than 20 years later, the country has strengthened. The economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture.
Under the rule of current president Paul Kagame, the country is improving its infrastructure, healthcare and education. The World Bank has praised Rwanda’s recent “remarkable development successes”, which it says have helped reduce poverty and inequality.
There, among the volcanoes, lives Rwanda’s main tourist attraction: the mountain gorilla, protected in Parc National des Volcans (also known as Parc des Birugna). For sheer diversity of animal life, however, no other region can match the resources of the Akagera National Park.
This picturesque park contains significant populations of buffalo, zebra, impala, and other range animals, as well as baboons, warthogs, lions, and hippopotamuses. Rare species, such as the giant pangolin (an anteater), are also part of Akagera’s diverse fauna.
Most trading centres in Rwandan villages have electricity. Most roads are also well lit. The drive in Rwandan roads is all forms of pleasant!
Rwanda today is a remarkable story of renewal and rapid economic development.
The east-central African nation is often praised for its success on key health indicators. Deaths of under-fives have fallen from 230 per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 55 in 2012. Infant mortality has also plummeted – from 120 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1998 to fewer than 40 in 2012.
Rwanda also tops the global league tables for the percentage of female parliamentarians. Fewer than 22% of MPs worldwide are women; in Rwanda, almost 64% are. Laws have been introduced that have given women a host of rights: they are now free to own their own property, keep an equal inheritance upon divorce and easily access contraception.
Rwanda had meet most of the MDGs by the end of 2015.
Strong economic growth was accompanied by substantial improvements in living standards and the attainment of near-universal primary school enrollment.
The poverty rate dropped from 59% in 2001 to 45% in 2011 while inequality measured by the Gini coefficient reduced from 0.52 in 2006 to 0.49 in 2011.
Despite its tragic history, Rwanda is a beautiful, calm country! The ever-changing face for better of the country’s capital Kigali will continue to help put Rwanda on the global map.
