UNCT JOINT FIELD VISIT: SEEING INTERVENTIONS IN ACTION, MEETING BENEFICIARIES, MAKING LASTING INTERACTIONS.

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Rwanda decided in July 2022 to host at least two UNCT monthly meetings in the field each year. This will allow the UNCT to gain valuable insights into how the UN-supported interventions are impacting people's lives, and how the team can further support their efforts.

The first of such meetings took place in October 2022, organized together with the Ministry of Youth and Culture, in Huye, in the Southern province.

For two days, joined by the Mayor of Huye district Mr. Ange Sebutege, the UNCT visited GreenCare Rwanda Limited, a company that recycles waste materials into fertilizer and paving bricks; the Huye Employment Service Center (HESC) that provides employment services to the youth by providing labor market information and Integrated Polytechnic Regional College (IPRC); a vocational training center that provides a wide range of technical skills to youth - around 1,800 students every intake.

They also visited a YouthConnect Awardee, Jean Paul Mukunzi, owner of a brewery in Sovu cell for production of Made in Rwanda alcoholic Banana wine; as well as a coffee growing cooperative, with a value chain for export market and an interlocutor for facilitating knowledge exchange with partners abroad.

As beneficiaries shared about their work, its impact on their community, and how it has improved their livelihoods, it showed evidence of the successful partnership UN has with grassroots entities.

“Thanks to the support we received from the UN and the continuous support we get from the government; we have built a business that not only earns us some income but helps us solve some issues in our community. We recycle waste to produce fertilizers and pavement bricks. Today, we employ over 20 young people, and we only hope to keep growing and expand our activities to other districts.” Said Noel Nizeyimana, CEO of Green Care Ltd.

The field visit was climaxed with a dinner meeting with local government and key partners, which provided an opportunity for joint reflections on the collaborative development work in the district. Participants discussed about the opportunities and issues that can further inform the UN’s continued partnership with the government in building inclusive and sustainable communities.

The UN aims to ensure that the support to the Government and the people of Rwanda is as coordinated and effective as possible, which is key to addressing the challenges Rwanda is facing now and, in the years, to come.