History
Launch of Msaada
The official launch of Msaada took place on Monday 18th July at North Dorset Rugby Club, Gillingham, Dorset in the presence of our Patron Fergal Keane - BBC Correspondent. Between 60-70 people from various backgrounds, and representing different Organisations, Faiths and Schools heard about the Mission that Msaada has set itself, and the people it is already supporting. Approximately £520 was raised from donations on the evening.
Msaada history
The Msaada development agency was established in early 2005 by a group of concerned people in the Dorset/Wiltshire area, under the patronage of BBC journalist Fergal Keane, to help the victims of the Rwandan genocide to rebuild their lives through self-sustainable development projects.
At Fergal’s request, Msaada’s efforts are being directed towards the community in Kibungo Province, where he reported on the appalling Rwandan genocide in 1994.
After the genocide there was a huge international effort to assist the widows and orphans in Rwanda. Today, with natural and man-made disasters occurring repeatedly throughout the world, the focus of international aid has been diverted away from the impoverished and traumatised people in Rwanda.
Fergal has retained close contact with these people and he recognises that their needs are as great as ever. At his suggestion, Msaada (a Swahili word meaning ‘help’) is assisting the people of Kibungo through education at primary, secondary and vocational level; through livestock development, and providing infrastructural support and capacity building.
Msaada’s assistance is delivered mainly through Avega, a widows and orphans group that supports some 3,850 widows and 11,500 orphans, and the Survivors Fund.
Msaada first project in Rwanda was to fund the Subiruseke Vocational Training Centre in Kibungo which is training young boys and girls to become carpenters, builders and tailors. The centre had run out of funding for salaries and would have had to close without Msaada’s support.
Msaada has since expanded it activities into the areas outlined above.
