Staff Spotlight_ Emmanuel Kayinamura
Behind every successful team is a great support system. For Gardens for Health International (GHI), that includes Kayinamura, the man who gets staff to work safely and on time every day.
For ten years, he has been the man behind the wheel to move the team around and enable them to deliver GHI’s essential agriculture and nutrition program. Emmanuel’s passion for his work is visibly reflected in the time he dedicates to work.
We had a conversation with him to get to know what motivates him:
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Emmanuel Kayinamura. I am one of the drivers here at GHI.
How long have you worked with GHI? What’s the one thing that made you stay that long?
I joined GHI in May 2010. I love the culture here. But most of all, I love the fact that we work with children and vulnerable families. By the time I started working with GHI, the organization was working with vulnerable children. Then later, we started supporting families with pregnant mothers in their first trimester (3 months) and malnourished children below 5 years.
Working with GHI empowers me to interact with all kinds of different people. It teaches me about different communities and people. The work here keeps you humble, especially when you get to interact with the families we support. Knowing that the work we do makes such an impact on people has really motivated me to work here for this long.
Tell me about your typical day at work.
I leave home everyday at 5:30am to pick up the truck from the office. Once I am sure it’s in a good state, I head to different bus stations throughout the city where we pick staff members to bring them to the office.
Once I get to the office, I engage in different activities across town to support the team. Sometimes, it is necessary for me to travel longer distances to support the staff as they implement field activities.
What do you love most about your work? What wakes you up early in the morning to come to work?
I love my work in general, that alone encourages me to wake up in the morning. But mostly I love the team we work with. I remember there was a time when I used to work so much because I was the only driver, and I would barely make time to get some rest. My colleagues would sometimes remind me to.
Which one of GHI’s programs inspires you most? What makes it different from other programs?
I love the Health Program most. We work with health centers to train expectant mothers over several months. Just like someone studies and completes university, GHI also graduates families. It’s always fascinating for me to watch how people change before and after the training.
I also love how the entire team works together on a task. You should see us during a time we are preparing for an event or training. In the morning, one of us may go looking for saucepans, plates, or any other materials we may need but in the end, we are all working together to achieve the same results.
The best part of the program is knowing that the results of our work are visible. You can see a mama’s mindset about nutrition change.
If you are not working, what are you most likely to be doing?
I love cooking. If I am not working, I most likely will spend my time helping my wife to cook. I love preparing vegetables. We mostly prepare amaranth at our home because we have a lot of it.
I also love to do construction at home during my free time. For instance, I have plans of making a hand-made chair for our guests to relax outdoors and for us to enjoy our time.
Which lessons have you learned and adapted from GHI work into your home?
I love GHI values - the way the entire team complements each other. That was my first lesson. Sometimes I also do things at home to help my wife, it doesn’t really matter that I am the man at home.
During the weekend, most times I help my wife with domestic chores. At first, she could tell me that men don’t sweep but I would hesitate and do it. She is now used to that.
The other lesson I have got from the entire team here is collaboration and patience. Those two are things I took with me and I also put into practice at my place.
Could you share with me at least one thing about you that your colleagues don't know?
I am great at timekeeping. I respect time. If someone tells me to expect them at 8am, I expect them to be there, and I will do the same too.
I also love cooking a lot. It makes me happy when I host people at my home, cook, and then serve them.
What’s your favorite vegetable?
I love collard greens. My wife loves amaranth. Most times though, we cook amaranth here at home, because that’s what we have here in the neighborhood.
Which advice would you give to a new GHI staff member?
One thing I would like to tell everyone is to keep time. When you observe time keeping in your life, you achieve a lot, and succeed in a lot of things, including your work.
Emmanuel Kayinamura n’umwe mu bantu bakora ibishoboka byose kugirango abakozi bagerere ku kazi igihe. Umurava mu kazi ke ugaragarira buri wese binyuze mu gihe amaze akorera ikigo cya GHI (Umurima w’Ubuzima).
Twagiranye nawe ikiganiro ngo twumve igituma akunda akazi ke.
Uratangira utubwira amazina yawe.
Nitwa Emmanuel Kayinamura. Ndi umwe mu bashoferi ba hano muri GHI. Ndi umugabo w’umugore umwe.
Umaze igihe kingana iki ukora muri GHI? Kandi n’iyihe mpanvu yatumye uhakorera kumara icyo gihe?
Maze imyaka icumi muri GHI. Natangiye mukwa gatanu 2010 GHI igikorana n’abana batishoboye. Nyuma rero twaje gutangira gukorana n’abamama batwite bafite inda ziri munsi y’amezi atatu (3).
Nkunda imyitwarire y’abantu hano, ariko mbere ya byose, nkunda ko dukorana n’aba mama hamwe n’abana baturuka mu miryango itishoboye.
Gukorana na GHI, bifasha umuntu kubana n’abantu batandukanye, kandi bikwigisha guca bugufi. Akazi kacu gasaba umuntu uciye bugufi, cyane iyo umuntu atangiye kwegera imiryango dufasha. Kumenya ko akazi dukora gafite akamaro kagirira imiryango dukorana nibyo byatumye mpakorera kumara kino gihe. Mba numva ntahandi nakorera.
Wadusangiza uko imirimo yawe ya buri minsi muri GHI imeze?
Ubundi mpaguruka murugo saa kumi nimwe nkaza hano ku kazi gufata imodoka. Iyo maze kugenzura ko imeze neza kuburyo nakora ingendo nta mbogamizi, mpita njya mu Giporoso (Remera) aho dufata abakozi tukabazana ku kazi.
Iyo mbagejeje ku kazi, ntangira gukora imirimo itandukanye harimo kujya mu mujyi cyangwa mu kandi kazi hirya no hino gufasha abandi dukorana.
N’iki kigushimisha cyane mu kazi kawe ka buri munsi?
Nkunda akazi kanjye muri rusange, kandi ibyo byonyine binshishikariza kuzinduka buri munsi. Ndibuka umunsi umwe, nakoraga njenyine singire umwanya wo kuruhuka ariko ntacyo byabaga bimbwiye kugeza aho bagenzi banjye banyibutsaga ko nananiwe bakambwira ngo ninduhuke.
N’iyihe muri gahunda za GHI wishimira cyane kurusha izindi?
Nkunda gahunda y’Ubuzima. Muri iyo gahunda, dukorana n’ibigo nderabuzima kwigisha abamama batwite mu gihe cy’amezi atatu. Nk’uko umuntu yiga agasoza muri Kaminuza, GHI nayo yigisha imiryango. Ntakintu kinshimisha nko kureba abantu bahindura imyumvire nyuma y’uko bahawe amahugurwa.
Nkunda n’ukuntu dukorana kugirango akazi karangire. Uzarebe iyo turimo kwitegurira amahugurwa cyangwa ibindi bikorwa. Iyo tugeze hano mu gitondo, umwe ashobora guterura amasafuriya, undi amasahani cyangwa ibindi tuba turi bujyane. Gusa twese, intego iba ari imwe, kugirango icyo gikorwa kigende neza.
Igishimishije cyane n’uko ingaruka z’akazi kacu zigaragarira buri wese. Biroroshye cyane kureba umu mama ahindura imitekerereze ku bijyanye n’imirire kandi bigatuma abaho neza.
Iyo utari mu kazi, n’ibiki ukunda gukora?
Ubundi nkunda cyane guteka. Iyo ntari mu kazi, akenshi mba ndi gufasha madamu guteka. Nkunda guteka imboga kurusha ibindi byose.
Nkunda nokubaka iyo ndi nko mu kiruhuko. Ubu mfite gahunda yokubaza intebe tuzajya dukoresha hanze mu rugo. Ni tugira abashyitsi bazajya bayishimira kandi izatuma natwe tugira ibihe byiza.
Ni ayahe masomo umaze kwigira mu kazi ka GHI ukoresha no murugo iwawe?
Abantu bo muri Garden (Umurima’ Ubuzima) bagira urukundo. Hari ubwo bijya bintangaza twagiye nko mu mahugurwa. Ba teacher baca bugufi bagafasha abamama batitaye k’uko basa. Iyo twakoranye, ubona bikorera ibikoresho byose harimo n’amasafuriya, n’ibibido by’amazi.
Ikindi, nkunda indangagaciro za GHI. Abantu bose dukorana uba ubona buzuzanya, iryo niryo somo rya mbere nungutse. Iyo ngeze murugo, ngerageza gufasha madamu, ntitaye ko ari njye mugabo mu rugo. Nkunda no kumufasha akandi kazi ko mu rugo iyo ndi mu kiruhuko. Mbere yabanje kujya ambwira ngo abagabo ntibakubura, ariko nkamwihorera nkikomereza. None ubu amaze kubimenyera.
Ikindi nigiye kubantu bose dukorana ni ukwihangana. Ibyo bintu bibiri; ubwuzuzanye no kwihangana niyo masomo yambere nigiye aha kandi akanamfasha no murugo.
Wadusangiza ikintu kimwe uzwiho bagenzi bawe muri GHI batari bazi?
Ndi umuntu wubahiriza igihe. Buriya iyo umuntu ambwiye ati ndakugeraho amasaha aya n’aya, mba nzi ko ariyo ariyo ari bungerereho. Kandi nange ngerageza kubahiriza igihe iyo nahawe gahunda.
Ni izihe mboga ukunda cyane?
Nikundira Sukuma wiki ariko Madamu we, akunda Dodo. Gusa, akenshi duteka Dodo mu rugo kuberako arizo zikunze kuboneka cyane aho dutuye.
Birambabaza cyane kuba tutaratangira kwihingira imboga murugo. Ariko tumaze kumenya uburyo bwogutera imboga butandukanye kandi budasaba ubutaka bunini. Tugiye kuzatangira vuba kandi tuzahera kuri Sukuma wiki.
Ni Iyihe nama wagira umukozi mushyashya wo muri GHI?
Namugira imana yokubahiriza igihe. Iyo umuntu wese yubahirije igihe, agera kuri byinshi kandi no mukazi kaburi munsi biramufasha.