Rwanda celebrates national harvest day

NYANZA, Rwanda, Aug. 28 — Rwanda on Sunday celebrated the
national harvest day commonly known as Umuganura with a focus on
encouraging Rwandans to work harder to eradicate poverty and hunger.

Umuganura is a traditional feast of first harvest that was widely observed
in ancient Rwanda. The harvest day is the first-fruit festival and one of
Rwanda’s ancient royal rituals. The festival served as a harvest thanks
giving ceremony to thank God, the King or Queen Mother as God’s minister
and the ancestors as guardians and protectors. The celebrations of
Umuganura were held in Nyanza District, Southern Province and attracted
hundreds of people including Rwandan government officials and the private
sector. This year’s event was observed under the theme: “Umuganura, a
foundation of unity and self-reliance.”

Speaking at the celebrations, Julienne Uwacu, Rwanda’s minister of sports
and culture, said the event has evolved to become a national festival to
celebrate the country’s achievements in social and economic development.
“This day gives Rwandans an opportunity to reflect on what has been
achieved and focus on what needs to be done to find lasting solution
towards addressing malnutrition, poverty and hunger in the country,” she
added. According to 2014 Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey
(EICV) conducted by the National Institute of Statistics, poverty in Rwanda
reduced from 60 per cent in 2000 to 39 per cent in 2014.Rwanda targets to
reduce poverty to 20 per cent and extreme poverty to zero per cent from the
current 16 per cent by 2020, according to the ministry of finance and
economic planning. –  XINHUA