Mikayla+Rwanda+4A

__** R w a n d a **__



**Did you know?**


 * Music plays a large part in Rwandan daily life. Children learn songs and dances at school and in church. Traditional instruments include drums, harps, the flute, and the zither. Rwandans enjoy storytelling and folk arts such as wood carving, basket-making, and pottery.


 * Most Rwandans walk or ride a bicycle for short-distance transportation. To keep in touch, Rwandans often write letters, but in rural areas people rely on hand delivery through friends to receive mail.


 * Rural Rwandans that don't have access to Kigali's hospitals trust healers over modern medicine, making malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhea, malnutrition, and respiratory infections common.


 * Beans are a norm in most parts of Rwanda. Only wealthy people eat meat, so rural Rwandans consider meat a luxury for special events.


 * Soccer is the primary sport in Rwanda; children even make soccer balls out of plastic bags and twine. Out of scrap metal, hey also make miniature cars and airplanes. Girls often play jump rope or craft baskets and wall hangings. Igisoro, a strategy game where small seeds are placed in a wooden board, is a favorite among adults.


 * Called the “land of a thousand hills,” Rwanda is dominated by mountain ranges and highland plateaus. The highest point is Karisimbi peak at 14,790 feet in the Virunga mountain range. Although it is located near the equator, Rwanda's high altitude creates for a moderate climate than its position suggests. The average temperature of 66°F hardly changes between rainy and dry seasons.
 * Rwandans strive to be neat and well dressed, so Western-style dress is common.


 * Eight days after a baby is born, family, friends, and neighbors attend a ceremony at which the father declares the child's name.


 * 80 percent of Rwandans lives in rural areas in houses made of wood or mud bricks. These houses consist of a main room and one or two bedrooms. Most rural families own their homes, while many urban residents rent.


 * Gestures are very important in Rwanda . Meaning, emphasis, or respect are shown through body language, gestures, and facial expressions. Eye contact with an elder is considered improper. Holding hands with friends of the same gender is common, but is considered inappropriate between friends of the opposite gender.


 * Children usually eat separately from adults. It is impolite to leave before everyone has finished eating.

** Flag: **

Blue symbolizes happiness and peace, yellow symbolizes economic development, and green symbolizes prosperity. The golden sun symbolizes knowledge that will guide all people.

** Political Map: **

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Physical Map: **



<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Language: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">Kinyarwanda is the primary language in Rwanda, but French and English are also widely spoken.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Monetary Unit: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">Rwandan Franc <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">1 US Dollar = 598 Rwandan Francs

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Comparisons: **


 * = **Country** ||= **Size of Country (square miles)** ||= **Infant Mortality Rate** ||= **Life expectancy (Male)** ||= **Life expectancy (female)** ||
 * = US ||= 3794100 ||= 6/1000 births ||= 77 ||= 81 ||
 * = Rwanda ||= 10169 ||= 82/1000 births ||= 48 ||= 51 ||

// When you compare Rwanda with the United States, you see how different they are, and not just in size or location. Look at the differences in the infant mortality rate and birth rate. Rwanda has more births, but also more infant deaths. Another example is the GDP per capita, which refers to the average yearly income per person. We make much, much more than the average Rwandan. I wonder if this is because the values of everything in Rwanda are lower than the ones in the USA; we could not survive on $866 per year per person in the United States. Also look at the life expectancy. We live around 30 years longer than the average Rwandan. //
 * = **Country** ||= **Population density** ||= **Birth rate** ||= **Literacy Rate** ||= **GDP per capita** ||
 * = US ||= 81.77 people/square mile ||= 13.83 births/1000 population ||= 99.00% ||= $45,592.00 ||
 * = Rwanda ||= 1087 people/square mile ||= 37.26 births/1,000 population ||= 66.00% ||= $866.00 ||

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Government: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">Rwanda is a republic, so all citizens 18 or older can vote for a president, the National Assembly (with 80 seats, 24 required to have women), and the Senate (with 26 seats). Rwanda has a president, prime minister, and a parliament. The president appoints a group called the Council of Ministers. A president serves a seven-year term but can be voted back into office for a second term. The current president is Paul Kagame and the prime minister is Bernard Makuza. To prevent one ethnic group from getting too much power, the president and the prime minister must belong to different political parties, and the Council of Ministers cannot have one party holding more than half the seats. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">//Rwanda's government is quite different from the United States', although there are some similarities: the voting age is 18, there is a president, and there are two groups (the National Assembly and Senate in Rwanda; the House of Representatives and Senate in the USA) that are voted into office by the people and speak on behalf of the people. However, the president serves seven-year terms instead of four-year ones, and there is a group that are selected by the president. Also, there are laws ensuring that no gender or ethnicity has too much political power.//

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Religion: **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">More than two-thirds of all Rwandans belong to Christian churches.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">65 percent are Catholic.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">9 percent are Protestant.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">One percent is Muslim.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">25 percent practices indigenous beliefs exclusively.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">** Economy: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">Rwanda's economy is dominated by agriculture. Most people are subsistence farmers, meaning that they only grow enough for themselves. Growth in farming is limited by the amount of fertile soil, which is not very much. The main exports from Rwanda are coffee and tea. The government is committed to economic reform, bringing international aid that fuels growth in transportation, services, and other basics. Rwanda's economy is challenged in the financial system, healthcare facilities, rehabilitation, and manufacturing plants.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;">**History:** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> Rwanda consists of several ethnic groups: Twa, Hutu, and Tutsi. Twa were the original inhabitants of present-day Rwanda, but Hutu farmers settled in by the 10th century and Tutsi arrived after the 14th century. The Tutsi formed a monarchy by the 16th century and called the land Rwanda, meaning “an extended or large country”. Race and ethnicity were never much of an issue before the 20th century, though class and clan affiliations did create divisions. A common culture and language were shared by most Rwandans. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> Germany took control of Rwanda in 1899, placing it into the existing monarchy system. In 1916, Belgium took control. The Belgians gave Rwanda some freedom of government but remained in indirect rule while replacing the system with a way that increased social and economic divisions between the ethnic groups. Tutsi were openly favored over Hutu and Twa. In the 1950s, Hutu pressed for political reform, and limited election privileges were given to the Hutu and Twa in 1952. Still, Hutu leaders protested against the Tutsi monarchy and tensions began. Those tensions became violence in 1959 when Hutu began killing Tutsi after a Tutsi attack. Many Tutsi died or fled, afraid of the rapidly spreading violence. Belgian troops intervened and installed a Hutu-led administration. The monarchy was destroyed in 1961 and Rwanda gained full independence from Belgium in 1962. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> Tutsi exiles attacked government forces throughout the 1960s, unchanged by independence. The First Republic, ended with an action orchestrated by the Hutu Minister of Defense, Juvenal Habyarimana. Tutsi rebels which had fled to neighboring countries, formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front and invaded Rwanda in 1990. A peace treaty and power-sharing agreement ended the conflict, but peace was soon shattered. Experts estimate that around one million lives were lost. Two million refugees fled to Zaire (modern day Democratic Republic of the Congo), Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. Led by Tutsi General Paul Kagame, the Rwandan Patriotic Front fought back and took over the capital on July 4, 1994. Within two weeks, Kagame established a Government of National Unity and named Pasteur Bizimungu, a moderate Hutu, as president. Kagame took the role of vice president. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> Hutu soldiers and others involved in the genocide fled the Rwandan Patriotic Front advance, forcing a large part of the Hutu population to flee into Zaire. Disease spread rapidly in the unsanitary camps, killing thousands. After violence between Hutu and Tutsi spread there in 1996, Hutu soldiers responded by attacking Tutsi. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> The Rwandan military allied with Laurent Kabila, a Zairean rebel. In 1997, these forces toppled Zaire and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, when Kabila failed to expel Hutu militias in eastern Congo, Rwanda switched to trying to overthrow Kabila. In 2002, a peace agreement was reached, but by that time the Congolese war involved six foreign countries and resulted in the deaths of three million people. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: 15pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-top: 0.02in;"> President Bizimungu resigned in 2000, and parliament elected Kagame as Rwanda's first Tutsi president. In 2003, Rwandans voted on a new constitution that would ensure ethnic balance in their government. Still recovering, Rwanda's people are trying to rebuild their broken families that were torn apart by the genocide.

My Rwanda Wordle: []

My Google Earth Tour of Rwanda:

References and Bibliography: [] [] [] [] []