Staff Spotlight: Florence Uwiragiye

Staff Spotlight for February 2018: Florence Uwiragiye, Gasabo District Coordinator

Where are you from?

I am from Bumbogo sector.

What is your favorite vegetable?

My favorite vegetable is cassava leaves crushed into isombe sauce.  

Do you have any hobbies outside of work?

I like gardening and harvesting different crops, such as peanut and cassava. I like growing beans.

How did you start working with GHI?

I started working with GHI in July 2010. GHI was working with a cooperative where my mother was a member, and sometimes I attended for her. We had a child named Foibi at the time, and a GHI worker named Johan visited us in our cooperative. We found that Foibi needed to go to the hospital because she was malnourished. Johan called me and we took Foibi to the hospital. This was my time when I got to know GHI for the first time.  Afterwards I met with Julie, GHI’s former Country Director, who asked me if I could work with the organization.  After a few days they called and gave me daily subcontracted work; I washed their clothes and help them to cook. I married my husband since starting to work at GHI after Foibi was treated in the hospital for two weeks. That’s when I started working with GHI.  

What is your favorite part about working at GHI?

I really enjoy working with the families. I like home visits with families because we have conversations, comfort them, and give them ideas to help their situation. Help isn’t just money - it can be anything. That’s why working with families makes me happy. Training them and doing home visits makes me the most happy because we are part of a community. 

Tell us a GHI story about something that impacted you- it could be something from a training or enrollment, a Turikumwe case, something that happened on the farm, anything!

One thing I can’t forget is a child who was my neighbor’s; he was swelled so badly that he couldn’t see anything. I talked with my co-workers and we worked to gather Community Health Workers and they took him to the hospital because he was in Ubudehe  number one, and we also helped him to get health insurance. Now the child is doing well, I’ll never forget this case. The second case I can’t forget is one of a child with a sick heat. She was going to die but we did our best, and the child survived. Now both families are doing well because their children are healthy. This makes me happy and makes me like to help everyone.

Anything you’d like to add?

I am happy to work with GHI and am very proud of GHI, especially how we feel comfortable with each other. I am proud of the families and communities we work with during trainings and home visit. I feel happy when we help families and they become healthy, and when the caregivers attending our trainings show their communities the positive impact of GHI. All of this makes me love my job and feel comfortable in my work. In GHI I have received both knowledge and friends. I started working in GHI at a time when I was not very mature, but I’ve improved in my ideas and grown. Sometimes I don’t think of GHI as an organization, I just look at us as a family because we help each other.

There is Njyira Nkugire, a staff-collected fund for GHI members in times of good and bad. If someone gives birth we visit her, if someone has a wedding we attend and help them, if someone has some misfortune we also visit them. Then there is the Turikumwe fund when we help some families we work with, we advocate for them at the government level or in health centers. The whole GHI staff makes a contribution, and we try to solve some cases. All those reasons make me love GHI. All the things I’ve learned during my time in GHI will be helpful either in or out of GHI. I’ve learned a lot of knowledge that can help me in everyday life. If I stop working with GHI I can do independent work and it can succeed because of my knowledge from GHI. 

Thank you, we are together!

Translation by January Mukunzi, Photos by Maggie Andresen

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Ibibazo By’Umukozi W’Ukwezi: Gashyantare 2018

Florence Uwiragiye: Umuhuzabikorwa wo mu karere ka Gasabo

Uturuka hehe?       

Nturuka mumurenge wa Bumbogo ari nawo ntuyemo.

Nizihe mboga ukunda?

Imboga nkunda ni isombe.

Haba Hari ikindi kintu ukunda gukora cyitari mukazi (nyuma cyangwa mbere y’akazi)?

Njyewe ubundi nkunda guhinga  murugo kuko jyananeza  imyaka imwe nimwe nkubunyobwa, imyumbati, nkaba nkunda kweza ibishyimbo cyane kurushya indi myaka mpinga.

Nigute watangiye gukorana na GHI?

Natangiye gukorana na GHI 2010 mumpera za NYAKANGA. GHI icyo gihe yakorana nama cooperative, Mama yarari murimwe murayo ma cooperative nkanjya mugirayo harumwana twari dufite murugo wa mukuru wajyewitwaga Foibi. Icyo gihe uwitwaga Johana aza muriyo cooperative Foibi twamujyanyeyo. Bavugako uwo mwana akeneye ubufasha bwo kujyanwa kwa muganga kuberako yarafite ikibazo cy’imirire mibi. Johani  arabwira ngo bazaza kundeba murugo cyangwa bampamagare, nyuma barampamagaye foibi tumujyana kwa muganga Kibagabaga nibwo navugako namenyanye nabo. Nyuma nahuye nuwari umuyobozi wa GHI witwa Julie ambaza niba hari ikintu numva nabasha gukora mubwirako nagikora, nyuma barampamagaye bakajya bampa uturaka two gufura ndetse nkanafasha umuntu watekaga. Nashatse aribwo nsa nkutangiye gukorana na GHI ubwo narimvuye kwa muganga mazeyo ibyumweru bibiri ndwaje Foibi.

Nakahe kazi wishimira gukora cyane muri GHI?

Njyewe ikintu nkunda gukora  cyane hano muri GHI,  nkunda gukorana n’imiryango, home visit, kuko tugirana ibiganiro nababyeyi ibyakubwiye ukabyumva ukaba Wabasha no kumuhumuriza ukamugira inama kuko ubufasha si amafaranga gusa ubwo rero gukorana n’imiryango n’ikintu kinezeza cyane. Gutanga amahugurwa na home visit biranshimisha kuruta ibindi byose kuko nisanga m’umuryango mugari. Tubwire inkuru yerekeye GHI yaba yarakugizeho impinduka, iyo nkuru ishobora kuba ariyo mumahugurwa cyangwa muri gahunda yo guhitamo imiryango dukorana, ibibazo byo muri turikumwe, ikintu cyaba cyarabaye hano kwifamu cyangwa ikindi icyaricyo cyose!

Hari ibintu ntasobora kwibagirwa hari umwana twari duturanye wari warabyimbye kuburyo nagiye kumureba adashobora no kureba kubera  kubyimba. Naraje mbibwira abo twakoranaga  tuvugisha umujyanama w’ubuzima  nawe avugisha abayobozi bibanze umwana ajya kwa muganga cyaneko nanyina yariri mukiciro cyambere atanabizi turakurikirana mutuelle arayibona ubungubu umwana yarakize afite ubuzima bwiza ibyo numva aribintu bidashobora kumvamo mubuzima bwanjye hamwe nundi twafashije wari ufite ikibazo cyumutima nawe yari agiye gupfa ubu nawe nimuzima ntakibazo afite ibyo byombi rero nibintu numva bidashora kuva muri njyewe. Ubu iyo miryango imimeze neza bitewe nuko abana babo bakize,ibyo rero  bituma numva ndushijeho kugira umutima w’urukundo murijye hamwe n’ubumuntu.

Haba hari ikindi wumva wakongeraho?

Icyo nakongeraho, numva nishimiye gukora muri GHI kuko numva binteye ishema cyane, uburyo twisanzuranaho nk’abakozi, numva nishimiye imiryango migari dukorana nayo  cyane mugihe cyo gutanga  amahugurwa  ndetse na home visit nka nezezwa no kubona haruwahawe ubufasha muriyo miryango akagira ubuzima bwiza, n’ iyo harumuryango wahawe amahugurwa akagaragaza impinduka nziza mbanumva iribyigiciro kuri GHI bigatuma ndushaho gukunda akazi nkora no kukiyumvamo, ikindi muri GHI nahungukiye byinshi yaba mubumenyi n’inshuti kuberako nagezemo nsa nkukira muto ariko nakuriyemo yaba mumyaka ndetse no mubitekerezo ibyo bintera ishema.

Hari igihe ntafata GHI kwaho Atari umushinga ahubwo nkumvako ari nkumuryango, kuko habaho gufashanya mubishoboka byose yaba TURIKUMWE ndetse na NJYIRA NKUJYIRE, umuntu arabyara  tukajye kumuhemba, umuntu yakoresheje ubukwe tukabutaha, umuntu yagira ibyago tukamutabara, imwe mumiryango dukorana tukayiha ubufasha cyangwa ubuvugizi mubuyobozi ndetse no kubigo ndera buzima, hari no kumuha ubufasha twese nk’abakozi b’umushinga ikibazo afite cyikaba cyakemuka. Izo mpamvu mbabwiye zituma numva nishimiye GHI kandi nanahigiye byinshi kuburyo byazangirira akamaro yaba mugihe ndimuri GHI cyangwa n’ahandi. Nahungukiye ubumenyi bwinshi kuburyo bwamfasha mubuzima ntekerezako aho njyeze ahangaha nsobora kuba nagira ikintu nkora nubwo naba ntakiri kumwe na GHI ubuzima bwose bwakunda kandi bwashoboka bitewe nibyo nigiyemo.

Murakoze, kandi turikumwe!

Byashyizwe mu Kinyarwanda na January Mukunzi, Amafoto na Maggie Andresen