Vision
Building Bridges With Rwanda
(BBR) is a sustainable development initiative designed to promote
mutual collaboration between Canadian and Rwandan partners. The bridge
between Rwanda and Canada is founded on four pillars: ecological stewardship,
economic development, social prosperity and cultural values.
Through collaborative efforts, Canadian and Rwandan partners will
travel the long road to help attain the Millennium Development
Goals, and Rwandan's Vision 2020 targets. This partnership
made up of a coalition of willing individuals and groups, will be
facilitated through participatory processes engaging academics, businesses,
and civil society stakeholders in search of durable solutions to help
eradicate poverty in Rwanda.
BBR will strive to provide Rwandan communities the means for people
themselves to transform their future from hopelessness to hope, by
promoting a robust economy, strengthening social relations, and enhancing
people's confidence to continue rebuilding their lives collectively.
Inch by inch, we will spread the winds of change from Rwanda to reach
other countries in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
Mission
BBR is a non-profit organization dedicated to foster community change in Rwanda. Our mission is to facilitate partnerships between public, private, academia, and civil society agents from Rwanda and Canada in ways that build capacity, mutual learning, understanding, and sustained action.
STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS
BBR is targeting the following four action areas to help strengthen the implementation of Rwanda's 2020 Vision, through a long-term development lens:
1. Building Alliances & Networks of Collaboration
One of BBR's core functions is to bring people, ideas and resources
together in ways that generate benefits at the local level. BBR collaborates
with several individuals, civil society organizations, businesses
and government agencies in Rwanda and Canada. We use a multi stakeholder
approach in ways that align skills and financial resources to meet
Rwanda's long-term development goals. Anticipated project activities
include:
• Building a multi-purpose center in Rwanda
that will serve as a guesthouse and a training centre for cultural
exchange. This center will be built using Canadian expertise in green
building design, appropriate technology and renewable energy;
• Facilitating the establishment for a planning institution
in Rwanda that will train future planners who will translate ideas
into action and rebuild Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region of Africa
.
• Promoting the concept of development tourism as an avenue
for cultural renewal and awareness, to gain a better understanding
of Rwandan history in both countries;
• Working with youth and women's groups to promote poverty alleviation
programs using lending circles, micro finance and other innovative
tools to stimulate employment creation and entrepreneurship;
• Implementing local economic development training workshops
in Kibungo, Rwanda in collaboration with RALGA (Rwandan Local Government
Authorities);
• Facilitating strategic planning processes to identify economic
development initiatives that will promote private sector development
and job creation in Rwanda;
• Promoting fair trade initiatives for Rwandan goods and services
in Canada;
2. Doing Community Development Initiatives
As trained community planners, our second core function is to be active
participants in facilitating planning services and activities with
groups of people. We value collaboration and team building to maximize
development gain for Rwandan communities. In general, BBR provides
project management services including the conceptual, planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation stages of projects. BBR offers skills and
capacity in-group facilitation and community engagement in the broad
areas of strategic planning and comprehensive community planning.
Through our networks, we are capable of leading projects in the areas
of community economic development (e.g. tourism, cultural arts, fisheries,
micro-credit, food production and retail), urban long term sustainability
planning, land use and mobility planning, physical development (water
infrastructure, waste management, housing and renewable resource energy
technologies), as well as capacity training development (teaching
community development, mentoring, coaching, hands-on-learning). Anticipated
project activities include:
• Building a multi-purpose center in Rwanda that can serve as
a guesthouse, training and centre for cultural exchange. This center
will be built using Canadian expertise in green building design, appropriate
technology and renewable energy;
• Facilitate the establishment for a planning in Rwanda that
will train future planners who will help to translate ideas into action
to rebuild Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
• Promoting the concept of development tourism as an avenue
for cultural renewal and awareness, to gain a better understanding
of Rwandan history in both countries;
• Working with youth and women's groups to promote poverty alleviation
programs using lending circles, micro finance and other innovative
tools to stimulate employment creation and entrepreneurship;
• Implementing local economic development training workshops
in Kibungo, Rwanda in collaboration with RALGA (Rwandan Local Government
Authorities);
• Facilitating strategic planning processes to identify economic
development initiatives that can promote private sector development
and job creation in Rwanda;
• Promoting fair trade initiatives for Rwanda goods and services
in Canada; and
• Demonstrating Rwandan models of development collaboration
between North-South partners at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver,
June 19-23, 2005.
3. Facilitating Learning, Education, Skills
& Governance Capacity
Our third core function is to promote mutual learning, education,
increased skills and good governance in everything we do. Incorporating
capacity development and training into all of our projects will help
enable local Rwandans to build confidence at directing better outcomes
for themselves. BBR is determined to foster learning environments
that promote durable change at the local level. Incorporating local
knowledge and customs into decision-making processes throughout project
cycles will contribute to meaningful change. Our aim is to strengthen
local capacity while promoting co-management relationships, knowledge
transfer, technologies and information systems exchange. Anticipated
project activities include:
• Assisting Rwandan community groups to launch
a community economic development program in order to improve the quality
of life in Rwanda;
• Facilitating the research, design and implementation of a
Rwandan School of Community Planning & Development;
• Training Canadian and Rwandan youth to develop leadership
skills and engage in development education to raise public awareness
and promote mutual understanding;
• Promoting learning exchanges between Rwandan and Canadian
stakeholders -youth, women, professionals, entrepreneurs, and academics-
through participatory action research; and
• Securing on-going funding to leverage BBR's public education
successes and promote efforts to facilitate Operation Rebuild Rwanda
initiatives.
4. Digital Storytelling Program — Linking Communties through stories
Our last core function is to document community planning experiences
and outcomes in Rwanda. Publishing these results is essential to share
and acknowledge the community of people who are involved in the rebuilding
efforts. Documenting lessons learned, personal accounts of change
and practice stories from the field provides an important tool towards
community empowerment. Anticipated project activities include:
• Publishing practice stories and lessons learned to promote
local sustainable development;
• Facilitating digital storytelling as a tool to strengthen
Canadian and Rwandan culture through community outreach process
• Sponsoring local film and photography projects to empower
local to tell their stories; and
• Promoting Rwandan music and multi media artists to enhance
public education of Rwanda in Canada
