First Lady Jeannette Kagame and her Benin counterpart Claudine Talon have pledged to work together to promote women and childcare in their respective countries.
They were speaking during a dinner hosted by Mrs Kagame in honour of the visiting First Lady of Benin. The Tuesday dinner in Kigali was attended by a number of senior government officials and the staff of Imbuto Foundation.
Mrs Talon arrived in the country on Monday for a four-day working visit. Her visit signifies growing strong bilateral relations between Rwanda and Benin, following Benin President’s visit to Rwanda in September, officials said.
During the three-day visit by Benin President Patrice Talon, Rwanda and Benin signed agreements to strengthen ties and bilateral cooperation in a couple areas of mutual benefit, such as business and political.
However, Mrs Talon’s visit specifically focuses on promoting the two countries’ partnership socio-economic development of their vulnerable citizens, especially; supporting rural women and children, and families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, through offering medical support, psychosocial support, and economic empowerment and peer education programmes.
At the dinner, Mrs Kagame, also the founder of Imbuto Foundation, expressed strong willingness to supporting Benin’s First Lady through her organisation, Claudine Talon Foundation, in achieving its goals.
Mrs Kagame added that Mrs Talon’s visit to Rwanda will also “benefit the people of two countries and strengthen the existing bilateral relations.”
She pledged to forge ways through which Imbuto Foundation and Claudine Talon Foundation can work together for mutual benefits.
Mrs Talon hailed Mrs Kagame’s Imbuto Foundation for a range of comprehensive social and commercial services it offers to vulnerable families and members of the Rwandan community.
Imbuto Foundation has been supportive to HIV-positive women and children through offering services such as, free-of-charge psychosocial, medical, police and legal services.
Similar services have been offered to adult and child survivors of gender based violence and child abuse occurring in the family or in the community at large.
Imbuto Foundation also supports girls to acquire quality education as well as offers basic household support to surviving widows of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, among other activities.
“Imbuto Foundation is exemplary,” Mrs Talon said. “I heard people talk about you (Mrs Kagame) and your Imbuto Foundation in 2012 when I was trying to put together all necessary documents to start up my organisation but due to some circumstances, the Foundation was not able to start at that time.”
Claudine Talon Foundation began operations in July, with the aim of supporting maternal healthcare and giving clean water to rural areas of Benin, among others.
“I am happy with what Imbuto Foundation has achieved and my humble plea is that this organisation will act as the Godmother to Claudine Talon Foundation,” Mrs Talon added.
Mrs Talon is expected to take part in various activities around Imbuto Foundation’s diverse programmes in health, education and socio-economic empowerment, according to a communiqué from the Office of the First Lady of Rwanda.
On Tuesday, Mrs Kagame and Mrs Talon visited the Isange One Stop Centre and Imbuto Foundation’s project – Family Package, at Kacyiru Hospital, in Kigali.
The visit to the centre aimed at giving Mrs Talon an insight into what it offers in terms of free-of-charge comprehensive services to gender-based violence victims.