11 MARCH 2022 ACTIVITIES
On 11 March 2022, the World commemorated the second year fighting against Covid 19 pandemic, it is a day, which was observed differently in different corners of the world mainly among health institutions and various non-governmental organisations.
It is in this line that TUMUKUNDE Initiative as a non-governmental organisation and member of GCAP Rwanda joined other sister organisations to commemorate the day in Rwanda.
The call and motive to commemorate the day was to raise awareness particularly on the western countries mainly countries manufacturing covid 19 vaccines to end monopolies by alleviating Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
In this regard, TUMUKUNDE Initiative conducted a related campaign from the 4th March up to 11 March and it was marked by different activities including:
•Mobilisation through social media;
•Writing and delivering letters to different embassies based in Rwanda, representing western countries;
•Organising a press conference with the aim of spreading our message through Radio and TVs
•Mobilisation in schools and taxi parks
On 11th March 2022, afternoon hours, we organised a campaign in Kimisagara secondary school and Kimisagara Market, both facilities located at one kilometre from the Head office of Kigali City and Central Business District (CBD) of the city.
It is an event that called local leaders on District level, Delegates from Rwanda Biomedical Centre and Education leaders in the city. This event was attended particularly by leaders from sister organisations mainly those working in health sector.
KIMISAGARA Secondary School is a big school in sub-urban area near the city centre, it accommodate over 3500 students and over 100 staff and over 2000 students attended our event.
We chose to campaign at a school with the aim of showing the world that even though big pharmaceutical companies are stuck on intellectual rights, they are doing it to get big profit, ignoring lives of different people who are perishing on daily basis from Covid 19, leaving behind orphans and destitute families.
We reminded them that by doing so they are killing future intellectuals, future innovators, future philanthropists, thus, a future world.
On the other hand, KIMISAGARA market is another location in the same area which accommodates a big market and a high movement of people.
Local authority advised us to use the market instead of the taxi park because it is the most overcrowded area in a sub-urban area where a big number of the people are not vaccinated and needed to do so. At the area, there is a vaccination site which was running out vaccines. Our event helped to show the rest of the world that we always need vaccines despite the progress Rwanda has made so far in vaccinating citizens.
The event at KIMISAGARA Secondary school was marked by different actions including:
- Speeches from local leaders and TUMUKUNDE Initiative
- Sketches performed by students on Covid 19 related issues
- Messages from students mainly those affected by Covid 19 repercussions: they include orphans, those who are from destitute families due to Covid 19 and all of them converged on the idea that vaccines should be made available everywhere and to everyone, even their parents so that they resume their works and feed their children in return.
