Imbamutima z’abanyamahanga bifuza gutura mu Rwanda barimo abavuye muri Amerika bahunze irondaruhu

IGIHE

Ibikorwa by’ivanguraruhu no kudahabwa agaciro byatumye bamwe mu birabura baba muri Leta Zunze Ubumwe za Amerika batangira gutekereza uko bashobora gusubira muri Afurika aho bakomoka, aho babona nk’ubutaka bazongera guhererwaho icyubahiro kandi ntihagire ubahora uko basa.  Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/IgiheTV?sub_confirmation=1 Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/igihe DailyMotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/igihetelevision Twitter: https://twitter.com/IGIHE Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igiheofficial Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/igihepictures/ Website: http://igihe.com/  #IGIHE #Rwanda

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:30 As the minister mentioned, that here we

00:34 don't have to walk with a sign or a shirt that

00:36 says Black Lives Matter, because he let us

00:39 know that we all matter here.

00:41 We don't have a box to check to say if you're black

00:46 or what nationality you are.

00:48 We know who we are here, and we're home.

00:51 Well, we were stolen people from Africa,

00:56 from all over different areas of Africa.

00:58 We never got a chance to really know who we are,

01:01 where we come from, to be amongst our own people.

01:07 There's a lot of miseducation in the diaspora,

01:10 in the US, for our children.

01:13 We're not taught black excellence.

01:15 We're taught white excellence.

01:17 So when we grow up, that's what we look up to.

01:19 That's what we look forward to, and we could never

01:21 fill those shoes or those positions,

01:23 because they're blocked by white people or people

01:26 that they're set aside for.

01:28 But here, we're open to be who we can be.

01:32 We have role models, like the minister, like Paul Kagame,

01:36 that our children could look up to.

01:40 Our president here is black.

01:42 The minister is black.

01:43 Everybody looks like my son.

01:45 My son is-- he's a very tall child.

01:49 He's going to be very tall and with stature.

01:52 And in the US, that's a threat.

01:54 Here, he won't be a black man.

01:58 He's just a man.

02:00 Here, I'm a woman.

02:01 I'm not a black woman.

02:02 I'm just a woman.

02:03 And like I said, all of my children's role models

02:09 look like them.

02:10 So it's easier to attain when you

02:13 know someone that looks like you, someone that

02:16 has the same complexion, the same build as you,

02:22 is in those positions.

02:24 You're more empowered to understand and believe

02:26 that you can be in those positions as well.

02:28 The people here can't really understand or relate

02:34 to what we went through.

02:36 I know this country went through some things as well,

02:39 but the diasporans went through a lot.

02:41 Like the young lady said, we need healing as well.

02:46 And here, it's a healing environment.

02:49 Amazing the way this country has healed and come back together.

02:52 And we need that coming from the US,

02:54 from being told that we're someone else,

02:58 being told that we're not valued or we're not good enough.

03:04 Here, like I said, sky's the limit.

03:07 Everything is open for us.

03:09 We're not blocked out of any type of business.

03:11 We're not blocked out of any type of opportunities.

03:14 And just a feeling that welcome home is just enough, a lot

03:20 to us.

03:20 It means a lot.

03:21 And it's healing.

03:23 And we have a lot more healing to do.

03:25 A lot of us that come here, we have a chip on our shoulder.

03:29 And we're angry.

03:31 But when I touch down and you reach Rwanda,

03:35 that anger melts away.

03:38 You find your heart softening.

03:41 And just healing, just healing starts is when we land.

03:44 So just looking forward to more healing and more understanding

03:47 and our children understanding their selves better.

03:50 Well, I did a lot of research.

03:53 I had a checklist on things that I want in a country,

03:57 things that I want in a leader.

03:59 Paul Kagame, hands down, everything

04:02 I wanted in a leader, it was checked off for him.

04:05 Everything I wanted in a country, even the weather,

04:08 was checked off for Rwanda.

04:10 And I did research on other--

04:12 I looked at Ghana.

04:13 I looked at Nigeria.

04:14 I looked at the Gambia.

04:17 And it just didn't fit and go in line

04:19 with what I was looking for.

04:20 Rwanda lined up with everything I was looking for.

04:22 So we've been here for about three, going on four months.

04:26 And the experience has been wonderful.

04:28 It's a wonderful place.

04:29 It's so clean, so organized.

04:30 The people are so nice and welcoming.

04:32 It's awesome, really.

04:34 Yes, I made a lot of friends, actually.

04:36 And a lot of people from the diaspora are coming over.

04:38 So I continue to make friends from the diaspora as well.

04:42 But I've made friends from Rwanda.

04:44 Favorite place?

04:46 Oh, maybe Nami Rambo.

04:49 Nami Rambo for shopping?

04:50 Oh my gosh.

04:51 [LAUGHTER]

04:53 OK.

04:55 Oh, OK.

04:55 Well, first, the energy here is so calm.

04:58 And it's like you just--

05:00 once you step foot out of the airport,

05:02 it's just something hits you.

05:03 And you're just like, whoa, wait a minute.

05:05 This is nice.

05:07 So it's just-- and then the cleanliness,

05:09 that is a serious big plus here.

05:12 The cleanliness is so clean.

05:14 So it's just like, wow.

05:16 OK, so I'm an artist.

05:17 I do drawings and paintings here.

05:20 And the scenery here is like--

05:22 you can easily just have an inspiration of things to draw.

05:26 And we also know Timothy Akmanzi and the brothers

05:30 of the Indahma Art Center.

05:32 And they also give me inspiration

05:33 to do what I want to do, to do art and things.

05:37 And it's a lot easier.

05:39 Because here, there's so many opportunities,

05:41 especially for artists, I see.

05:43 So I can really get into my craft

05:45 and do what I love to do here.

05:48 Hi, my name is Zane Daly.

05:51 And my favorite color is orange.

05:52 I mean, what I've learned is that there's

05:58 a lot of nice people in Africa.

06:00 And it's nice to be in Africa.

06:03 I know that there's a lot of nice people in here,

06:06 and black people.

06:07 And they're really-- and they're more nicer than people

06:12 in California.

06:14 Yes, I'm comfortable in here.

06:16 My name is Imacus Njinga Okofu-Pababio,

06:22 affectionately known as Mama One Africa.

06:27 And I am originally from New York City.

06:32 I've lived in Ghana for the past 32 years.

06:37 This is my third trip to Rwanda.

06:40 I own a health resort called One Africa in Ghana.

06:44 And I'm looking to establish another One Africa health

06:49 resort here in Rwanda.

06:52 Currently, I have a project in the eastern region of Gueru,

06:57 where we're training women who were survivors of the genocide.

07:03 There are several villages, I understand,

07:06 that were developed by the president and prison

07:10 ministries.

07:12 So I am working along with a young group, about 200,

07:17 called Rich Hearts.

07:20 So what we've done is to provide sewing machines.

07:24 We're teaching women not only to sew,

07:27 but to run their own businesses.

07:31 And so our project is about a year old.

07:35 We were stopped as a result of COVID.

07:38 But it's a successful business.

07:42 Our aim is to train 200 women within a five-year period,

07:48 so that at the end of their training,

07:50 they actually will own the businesses

07:53 that they've been trained for.

07:55 So the project is, as I said, to train women,

07:59 so that over a five-year period, we

08:01 will have trained 200 women.

08:04 So it's to bring them to, one, international standards,

08:09 so that we can sell our products abroad.

08:12 And it's just to--

08:15 my objective in all of this, at this stage of my life,

08:20 is to be as happy and as joyful and as helpful as possible.

08:26 In USA?

08:27 No, because if I did, I would have stayed there.

08:31 I escaped from America in 1990.

08:35 Why?

08:36 One, racism.

08:38 Two, poor opportunities.

08:42 And the fact that, unfortunately, over the years,

08:46 I've been traveling around the world.

08:48 I've backpacked through South America.

08:50 I've lived in the Caribbean.

08:52 But because of the negative hype about Africa,

08:57 I never wanted to come here.

09:00 And so finally, one day, it dawned on me

09:04 that the last place that I lived, which was in the Caribbean,

09:09 was not Africa.

09:11 So I needed to come and see.

09:14 And so as fate would have it, someone came and talked to me

09:18 about Africa, and I came.

09:21 And I must say that I was totally pissed off

09:26 when I arrived in Ghana.

09:28 Because if I had known that Africa was what it was

09:33 and what it is, I would have been in Africa a long time ago.

09:38 And I know that a lot of you want to go to America.

09:42 And I say, fine, go there, see, as we say, and come back home

09:48 and do what needs to be done at home.

09:51 Because one of the things that happens when many of you

09:54 go to America, you never, ever tell people back here

10:00 how you struggled.

10:03 And as the culture is not only in Ghana

10:06 but in other African countries, if you can't come back

10:09 to your country with something in your hand,

10:13 gifts for your family, gifts for your friends,

10:16 they don't want to see you.

10:18 Because they say that you have failed,

10:21 that you're not a success.

10:24 Because you don't tell them that you had to work three jobs

10:27 in order to pay your rent, your insurance,

10:29 send your kids to school, hospital, all of that.

10:33 Nor do you talk about the racism that exists in America.

10:38 And you may not experience it as much as we have,

10:43 having been born there.

10:45 Because one of the things that the system has done,

10:48 and previously and still do, when

10:51 programs bring young Africans to America,

10:55 they generally put you in the homes of white families.

11:00 They don't bring you to our community.

11:01 They don't bring you to the hood.

11:03 So consequently, we don't know each other.

11:06 And we're like ships in the night.

11:08 We're passing, coming to Africa.

11:10 And you're passing us, going to America.

11:14 Because you think that America is the all in all,

11:19 when everything that the world needs is in Africa.

11:23 And if we had governments that helped its residents, that

11:29 made jobs that were with salaries

11:34 that you could live on, then you would have no reason

11:37 to want to leave.

11:38 Why would you want to leave paradise and go to hell?

11:41 And many of us, as you've seen from our group, what we want

11:46 is to be able to live in peace, to be able to do business.

11:51 We have a lot of talent that we want to share.

11:54 We're not coming to take over.

11:56 We're coming to be a part of what's going on.

12:00 And we do have a lot of talent.

12:02 And we do have a lot that we want to give to the continent.

12:06 We're happy that Rwanda has opened its arms to us.

12:10 And so we bring the best of what we have

12:14 to be able to share with you.

12:16 My experience, having been in Rwanda, it's been good.

12:20 People have taken really good care of me.

12:23 My group, Rich Hearts, they take good care of me.

12:28 Jhavi, Dion, and others, they've taken really good care of me.

12:34 We work well together.

12:37 I feel safe.

12:39 I'm not looking over my shoulder afraid that somebody

12:42 is going to attack me.

12:44 People have not tried to rob me.

12:46 And I even tried to bribe somebody here.

12:50 I did.

12:53 They wouldn't let me do it.

12:55 Seriously.

12:57 I mean, there is the Rwandan cultural village.

13:03 And I have to give a shout out to those guys there,

13:05 their security.

13:07 I went to them one day.

13:08 And I said, I want to get inside and see

13:10 what this project is about.

13:11 And they said, no, madam, we can't allow you to do that.

13:14 And I said, oh, listen, because some places where I come from,

13:17 you just take our little money.

13:19 I said, well, here, let me give you a little something

13:21 for your pocket.

13:22 And they said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

13:24 We can't take that.

13:25 And I said, OK, no problem.

13:29 So I went away.

13:30 And I came back the next week.

13:32 So this time, I stopped at a store.

13:34 And I bought them breakfast.

13:37 I bought them cakes and whatnot.

13:40 So I bought breakfast.

13:41 And I said, listen, guys, I bought you breakfast.

13:44 And they were nice.

13:45 Oh, thank you, Mama One Africa.

13:47 They ate my breakfast.

13:49 And I said, are you going to let me in now?

13:52 And they said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

13:55 I said, what do you mean, you're not going to let me in?

13:57 I tried to give you money.

13:58 You didn't want it.

13:59 You ate my breakfast.

14:00 And you still won't let me in.

14:03 So I said, well, what do I have to do to get inside there

14:07 and see what's going on?

14:09 So they gave me the man's name.

14:11 And I called him.

14:12 And he said, oh, sure.

14:14 So when I showed up the next time, I said,

14:17 I have an appointment to go inside.

14:20 He said, yeah, Mama Africa, we know.

14:22 They're waiting for you there.

14:24 Oh, yes, I will say, oh, let me dash you something.

14:28 Dash is what we call a tip or a bribe.

14:31 But I couldn't bribe anybody here.

14:33 And so I was just testing the waters

14:37 because I heard that there is zero tolerance for corruption.

14:42 They wouldn't-- they ate my food.

14:44 But I mean, it was OK because when I go running,

14:50 I generally take breakfast or something for the security

14:53 guards anyway.

14:54 But I find people to be very honest, OK?

15:00 And no one has tried to take advantage of me.

15:03 I love the respect that they give to old ladies.

15:07 If somebody called me an old lady one more time,

15:09 I just might slap them.

15:11 But no, I won't.

15:13 Because I guess at 79, I'm an old lady.

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