S4: Citizenship

Topic outline

• 

  General

  • Announcements Forum
  • S4: Citizenship for Associate Nursing Program SB File
  • S4: Citizenship for Associate Nursing Program TG File
• UNIT 1 SOCIAL COHESION

  Key Unit Competence:
  The student should be able to make decisions that promote social cohesion
  

  in practical situations.

  Introductory Activity 1
  Mugabo was born in the village of Masaka to business parents. His father
  was a shop keeper and his mother a small scale milk seller. One day, when
  he was coming from school, he saw a young girl called Keza who was
  crying…… When Mugabo asked her why she was crying, Keza replied that
  she was hungry. Mugabo decided to take her to his mother so that she could
  get what to eat. When the two arrived, his mother served them with milk and
  Keza was very happy. From that day, they became great friends.
  How can you term or name this kind of positive and humanistic value?
  Discuss the importance of Citizenship Education to both students and the
  

  entire Rwandan community basing on this afore-mentioned social behavior.

  Learning Activity 1.1
  Using internet and/or other reference books, carry out research and write
  the meaning of Citizenship Education and its objectives. Afterwards, share
  

  your findings in pairs with one of your classmates.

  1.1. The concept of Citizenship Education and its objectives
  1.1.1. The Citizenship Education
  Citizenship comes from two Latin words, ‘Civis’ (citizen), and ‘Civitas’ (city) which
  is equivalent to the Greek word of ‘Polis’. In that sense, citizens are members
  or inhabitants of a city, or a state, they form a political community and can be
  differentiated from foreign citizens.
  The term citizenship is often used interchangeably with nationality, but it refers
  to the legal relationship between an individual and a state, in which the state
  recognizes and guarantees the individual’s rights. ‘Legal’ is used to mean formal
  status, with prior registration, recognition, and publication by civil status services.
  As regards the concept of Citizenship Education most often named “civic
  education” in different countries and organizations, it can be defined as educating
  children, from early childhood, to become clear-thinking and enlightened citizens
  who participate in decision making concerning society.
  Citizenship education is also defined as the approach of facilitating civic/
  democratic competence development by providing the background knowledge
  necessary to create an ongoing stream of new citizens participating and engaging
  with the creation of a civilized society. Therefore, in order to secure the future
  of a society, citizens must train younger generations in civic engagement and
  participation.
  Objectives of Citizenship Education
  Citizenship Education in Associate Nursing Program has the following objectives:
  • Equip the learners with required knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
  which enable them be accountable, committed, responsible and patriotic
  citizens;
  • Teaches learners the theories, principles, values and procedures on which
  dependents the qualities of a good and patriotic citizen.
  • Promote the ethical, humanistic, and moral values that characterize
  Rwandan society.
  • Show awareness of cultural aspects affecting or likely to affect society.
  • Play a central role in uniting people, the preservation of culture and
  conservation of social identities.
  • Develop attitudes and values relevant to peace and tolerance, justice,
  respect for others and for human rights, solidarity and democracy,
  patriotism, hard work, commitment, resilience and dignity.
  • Get a deeper understanding of global issues and challenges and therefore
  appreciate the need for national, regional and international cooperation in
  

  solving these challenges for the good of the human race.

  Application Activities 1.1.
  1. Explain the concept of citizenship Education
  2. Discuss the objectives of citizenship Education
  1.2. Importance of Citizenship Education
  Learning activity 1.2.
  In group of 4 or 5 learners Use internet and other reference books, conduct
  a research and write the importance of learning Citizenship Education. Write
  it down and then present it to the whole class.
  It is of great importance to study Citizenship Education for different reasons.
  First of all, Citizenship education gives learners the knowledge and skills which
  help them become informed and responsible citizens who are willing and able
  to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the
  political process. Therefore, Citizenship Education helps learners become active
  citizens once they understand their role within society and how they can go about
  improving it.
  Citizenship Education also helps learners to develop self-confidence and a
  sense of agency, and successfully deal with life changes and challenges such as
  bullying and discrimination.
  Moreover, Citizenship Education enables learners to make a positive
  contribution by developing the knowledge and experience needed to claim their
  rights and understand their responsibilities. As a result, it prepares them for the
  challenges and opportunities of adult and working life.
  For schools and other educational organizations, Citizenship Education helps to
  produce motivated and responsible learners, who relate positively to each other,
  to staff and to the surrounding community.
  For society, it helps to create an active and responsible citizenry, willing to
  participate in the life of the nation and the wider world and play its part in the
  

  democratic process.

  Application activities 1.2.
  Explain why it is very important to learn Citizenship Education.
  1.3. Concept and factors of social cohesion
  Learning activity 1.3.
  In Rwanda, after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, cohesion among the
  people of Rwanda was negatively affected. Today, Rwandans have rebuilt
  this social cohesion. Discuss with your friend and come up with the definition
  of the term of social cohesion and the factors that have contributed to its
  

  promotion in Rwanda and indicate how.

  1.3.1. The Concept of social cohesion

  
  

  Social cohesion is similar to unity. When members of different groups work together
  harmoniously, this means that there is a good relationship among them. This
  good relationship acts as a bond linking people together for better growth.
  This bond among members of a group or society can be termed as cohesion.
  The overall good relationship that makes people in a group or society to work
  together and relate well with one another is called social cohesion.
  Social cohesion balances individual rights against those of the society and
  appreciates that a good relationship enables people to respect each other’s
  values. Therefore, it works towards the well-being of all its members.
  For example, it fights exclusions and marginalization and creates a sense of
  belonging. It also offers members of the group or the society the opportunity for
  upward mobility. This promotes peace and unity and results in both individual and
  

  national development.

  1.3.2 Factors for social cohesion
  

  
  

  In each society, there are many things that can contribute to the promotion of
  social cohesion. These can be referred to as factors of social cohesion. In
  Rwanda, the factors of social cohesion include society norms’ respect, positive
  values, the respect of human rights, religious tolerance, promotion of national
  and humanistic values, active listening, and empathy and active bystandership.
  a) The Society norms’ Respect
  Norms can be defined as rules or expectations that define the appropriate
  behavior within the society, for example, how students behave in class, how to
  live with neighbors, how to behave in public, etc. Norms can be prescriptive when
  they encourage positive behavior, for example “be honest” or proscriptive when
  they discourage negative behavior, for example “do not cheat”. Failure to follow
  these norms may lead to a consequence such as being rejected in the society.
  However, norms change according to environment or situation and may change
  overtime.
  b) Strengthening Positive values
  Suppose you are travelling home from school. On the way, an old woman gets
  into the bus and finds all seats occupied. You are the only young person in that
  bus. How would you react to this situation?
  In the situation above, your conscience is likely to push you into standing for the
  old woman to sit down. This is because you may feel obliged to show respect
  for the elderly. This is a positive value. Indeed, positive values are like a compass
  direction: they help point the way to critical and logical thinking.
  i. We often demonstrate positive values in different ways. For example, by
  solving problems that affect others, helping those in need, having a sense
  of responsibility in what we do, being honest or even being caring for
  others. All these positive values contribute to social cohesion. The Human
  

  rights’ Respect.

  
  

  In your discussion, you may have observed that as much as you are required
  to work hard in your studies, there is some time spared for breakfast, lunch
  and games? This is because each person is entitled to basic needs such as
  food, clothing and shelter. As a child, you are also entitled to play. Similarly, your
  parents send you to school because you have right to education.
  Human rights point to us how tolerate with others. When a person’s human rights
  are respected, that person is likely to live in peace with others. Up holding human
  rights also helps us to respect and appreciate others. This creates an enabling
  

  atmosphere for personal as well as national development.

  c) The Religious Tolerance
  

  
  

  Though each religion has its own religious teachings and practices, such as
  different dress codes, worship of different supreme beings, etc. the values
  promoted by the different religions are mostly the same. For example, Buddhism,
  Judaism, Islam and Christianity have different religious teachings but they all
  encourage the religious values of love for fellow human beings, honesty in dealing
  with others, showing care and concern for the needy and living a righteous life.
  These values, and others, are drawn from the teachings of each religion. These
  religious values make a person embrace others and desire to live harmoniously
  with them. This translates to social cohesion hence unity which promotes selfgrowth
  and national development.
  1.3.3. Promoting National and humanistic values
  There are values that are promoted by the government and those which are
  expected from all of us as human beings. They include:
  a) Resilience
  Resilience is the ability of a person or society to recover quickly from difficult situations.
  A good example here is the History of Rwanda. Though faced with the unfortunate
  happening of the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 where many Tutsi were
  murdered, the country has sprung back to the path of national development,
  economic growth and national healing and reconciliation. As a result, the people
  of Rwanda now live in peace.
  Indeed, Rwanda is today known to be one of the most peaceful countries in the
  world. This has happened due to the strong spirit of resilience among the Rwanda
  people and leadership. Resilience is thus an important national value in Rwanda
  

  which promotes social cohesion.

  b) The Benevolence activities
  

  
  

  Benevolence is the actor quality of being kind to others. A benevolent person i s kind
  and helpful to others. He/she strives to meet the needs of others without expecting
  anything in return. People who help others without asking for any compensation or
  favor, their actions can be termed as benevolence. No doubt their actions bring you
  closer to them. In the same way, benevolence helps people in the society to become
  brotherly and to live in harmony. This promotes social cohesion.
  c) Repentance
  Repentance is the act of expressing sincere regret about one’s wrong doing or
  sin. It is mostly done when asking for forgiveness. It can be done in church,
  to a friend or to anyone whom you have wronged. Repentance sets you free
  and restores your human dignity. It takes away feelings of bitterness between or
  among people in the society. This restores good relations thus promoting social
  cohesion.
  d) Forgiveness
  Forgiveness is the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. When you
  are forgiven, you feel free to relate with the person who forgave you. When you
  forgive, you release yourself from bitterness and therefore you can embrace
  those who had wronged you. This fosters good relationship among members of
  the society there by fostering social cohesion.
  is good to note that we forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness but
  because we deserve peace.
  e) Promoting unity and Reconciliation
  Reconciliation is the act or process of restoring friendly relations between two
  or more people or groups of people. This means that the people had enmity
  between them or a feeling of bitterness towards each other. Reconciliation helps
  to drive away the feelings of hatred and bitterness and replaces them with love
  and friendliness.
  f) Consensus-building
  Consensus building is the process of coming up with a conclusion agreeable to
  all parties after many opinions have been given. Consensus building involves
  considering the input of every member of the group and collectively crafting an
  outcome that best meets the needs of the group with the least opposition from a
  majority of the members.
  During consensus building, people must work together. This promotes cooperation
  among the members of the group. This cooperation cultivates a good working
  relationship which promotes peace and unity in the group.
  Also, different ideas are suggested then analyzed critically so as to come up with
  the best decision. This builds up the skills of critical thinking and problem solving.
  These help members to make decisions that are informed, most appropriate for
  their circumstances and which are acceptable to all. This builds commitment
  from all members hence leading to oneness that promotes social cohesion.
  g) Active listening and Empathy
  Active listening is the ability to listen attentively and not just hearing. It is important
  to practice active listening because it assists in identifying a problem, identifying the
  cause of the problem and finding a solution to a problem. It also allows others to
  express their opinion freely and frankly.
  In active listening, one must show interest in the subject matter, try to understand
  the speaker and respond only when necessary without interrupting the speaker: the
  result of active listening in social cohesion..
  Empathy refers to the to understand and share the ability feelings of others. This
  is especially when the people you are empathizing with are going through difficult
  times. This makes the person feel valued and cared for even when little help has
  been given to them. As a result, they get close to those showing empathy. This
  

  results in friendly relations and therefore social cohesion.

  h) Inclusiveness
  Inclusiveness is the act of involving all interested parties in a matter and listening
  to the views of each one of them. It is important to involve all members of the
  society, regardless of their social status, in making decisions on issues that affect
  them. When this happens, every person feels appreciated.
  They also feel that their opinions matter and that they are important members of
  the group. This promotes trust and mutual respect among all the members there
  by promoting good relations among them. This results in social cohesion.
  Inclusiveness should be embraced in education, at the work place and in the
  activities that a society engages in. This results in a more harmonious society
  and thus a peaceful and united nation.
  Inclusion is not simply physical presence. It is about intentionally planning for the
  success of everyone. This can be done at the workplace, in school, in the village
  as well as at the national level.
  i) Active bystandership
  Bystandership refers to the act of watching without extending any help as a victim
  goes through a bad situation. In active bystandership, the person witnessing
  what is happening intervenes in a way to solve the problem of the victim. He/she
  is active and not just passive. Though he/she may not actually offer a workable
  solution, his/ her intervention shows the victim that someone is concerned about
  what he/she is going through. This makes it easy for the victim to reach out
  to those helping him/ her in a bid to get a workable solution. At the end, good
  relations are established thus fostering social cohesion.
  The following are the steps to active bystandership:
  – Notice what is happening around you;
  – Interpret whether it is an emergency that needs intervention or help;
  – Imagine yourself in the situation of the person in need of help (empathize);
  – Intervene in the situation.
  This can be done by:
  • Interrupting yourself the harmful situation;
  • Interrupting and disrupting the people involved;
  • Involving others around you;
  • Calling the police or the administration.
  When intervening, remember to:
  • Approach every one as a friend;
  • Avoid being controversial or antagonistic;
  • Avoid using violence;
  • Be as honest and direct as possible;
  

  • Keep yourself safe.

  Application activities 1.3
  1. Define the concept of social cohesion.
  2. Outline five religious values that enable tolerance in Rwanda
  3. Identify and explain different national and humanistic values
  4. Explain ways in which your school is inclusive. How does this promote
  social cohesion in the school?
  5. Imagine you found your friend copying homework from your classmate.
  Describe different ways in which you can practice active bystandership in
  

  this situation.

  1.4. Challenges to social cohesion
  Learning activity 1.4
  Think of a situation where you tried expressing your opinion on something
  and you were silenced. What reason was given for your being silenced?
  How did you feel? Let your friends analyze how you reacted to the situation
  and to which extent this act constitutes a challenge to the social cohesion.
  1.4.1. Regionalism
  It makes an individual to avoid others and do things on his/her region. This
  limits cooperation with other members of the society and thus can hinder social
  cohesion.
  Regionlism can also be used to refer to a social theory that advocates for freedom
  of action for region over collective or state control. Whenever this is practiced, it
  makes people to be self-centered. They have no regard or empathy for others.
  A society that encourages regionalism practices individualism is likely to embrace
  bystandership as well. This is because no one cares for the other. This is a
  

  hindrance to national unity and social cohesion.

  1.4.2. Discrimination and exclusionism
  The act of treating someone differently from others and in an unjustified way is
  referred to as discrimination. Discrimination can happen due to differences in
  social status, sex, age, tribe, nationality or skin color. The person discriminated
  against feels unwanted. This reduces the person’s ability and motivation to relate
  well with those discriminating against him/ her. As a result, the person may pull
  himself/herself out of the group and adopt individualistic tendencies.
  Any form of discrimination is bad. For example, gender discrimination in the
  workplace hinders good relations between men and women in the workplace.
  This eventually spills over to the entire society, creating social barriers between
  males and females. Discrimination hinders social cohesion and national cohesion.
  As Sharron Angle said, “There is a plan and a purpose, a value to every life no
  matter its location, gender or disability.” Embrace everyone!
  1.4.3. Social injustice
  When you try to express your feelings on a certain matter and someone silences
  you, arguing that you are not right, or that you should keep quiet and this
  amounts to social injustice. Social injustice is the unfair treatment of people who are
  considered marginalized in one way or another. This could be because they have
  traits or characteristics that are different from those of the majority or because
  they are considered less privileged. For this reason, they are considered unequal
  to other society members.
  Social injustice involves a collection of shared unjust experiences. This means
  that it affects a group of people. This group is mostly seen as inferior and therefore
  expected to remain silent regarding what they feel or think to the advantage of a
  dominant group. This makes interaction between the two groups hard there by
  hindering social cohesion.
  Examples of groups of people who can be considered marginalized and therefore
  be victims of social injustice include women, people living with HIV and AIDS,
  disabled people and the poor. We should make every effort to embrace inclusiveness
  

  when dealing with these people.

  Application activities 1.4
  1. What dangers would arise if a country adopted the regionalism as a
  national decision?
  2. Identify any aspects of discrimination that you have witnessed in your
  community and suggest possible ways of curbing it.
  3. Identify Possible ways of curbing discrimination
  

  4. Explain what ways of overcoming challenges to social cohesion

  1.5. End Unit Assessment
  End Unit Assessment
  1. Define the term of Citizenship Education and account for its
  importance.
  2. Identify and explain two factors of social cohesion in the
  Rwandan society.
  3. Account for three objectives of Citizenship Education.
  4. Discuss the different measures that the government has put in
  place to promote reconciliation among people living in different
  place in Rwanda.
  5. Explain the benefits of repentance.
  6. Explain the ways in which the people of Rwanda have shown
  resilience.
  7. How does upholding of human rights promote social cohesion?
  8. Explain ways in which your school is inclusive. How does this
  promote social cohesion in the school?
  9. Suggest possible ways of overcoming different challenges to
  

  social cohesion.

• UNIT2:FAIGHT AGAINST CULTURAL DISCRIMINATION

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to identify and avoid any form of cultural discrimination
  Introductory Activity
  ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
  they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their
  character.’ Martin Luther King Junior
  Read the above quotation of Martin Luther King, Junior and discuss the
  

  forms of cultural discrimination and consequences of cultural dilution.

  2.1 Concept of culture and cultural discrimination
  Learning activity 2.1
  Using internet and/or other reference books, carry out a research and write
  the meaning of cultural discrimination. Afterwards, share your findings in
  

  pairs with one of your classmates.

  

  Etymologically, the word “Culture” (from the Latin culturas terming from colere,
  meaning “to cultivate”) generally refers to patterns of human activity and the
  symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Cultures
  can be “understood as systems of symbols and meanings that even their creators
  contest, that lack fixed boundaries, that are constantly in flux, and that interact
  

  and compete with one another.”

  Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions
  of a population those are passed down from generation to generation. Culture
  has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” As such, it includes codes
  of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art. norms of behavior, such as law
  and morality, and systems of belief.
  Culture refers to the general characteristics and knowledge that make up the
  people’s way of life and social organization at a particular time. It is composed of
  the activities, the language, beliefs, art and the sense of beauty of a community.
  Culture is passed on through social interactions and offers a unique identity, social
  patterns and experiences that separate one society from another. However, it is
  important to note that culture is dynamic which means that it changes over time.
  It changes as the people acquire more knowledge, as the technology advances,
  and as more foreign people immigrate to a given cultural context bringing in new
  

  ideas and new ways of doing things.

  Application activities 2.1
  1. Basing on the definition of the concept of the culture, write six activities
  or practices from the Rwandan culture.
  2. What are the channels through which the culture is transmitted to the
  

  future generations?

  2.2. Types of cultural discrimination
  Learning activity 2.2
  1. Find out what the group members and think about the following:
  • The traditional food of Rwanda as compared to other communities
  • The economic activity of the nomads
  • The mode of dressing of the Islam communities
  2. If their views are discriminative, find out from the discriminated groups
  how the perceptions held against them can be changed.
  2.2.1. Definition of cultural discrimination
  Cultural discrimination refers to exclusion, restriction, or hate that is directed
  towards any person or groups of people on the basis of perceived or real
  differences in cultural values and beliefs. Religious hatred, tribalism, and racism
  are the most common forms of cultural discrimination. Cultural discrimination is
  commonly directed towards ethnic minorities within a country and it can manifest
  itself through unfair hiring and firing of workers, sexual harassment, and racial
  profiling. Cultural discrimination is unacceptable and illegal all over the world.
  2.2.2. Types of cultural discrimination
  The following are the types of cultural discrimination:
  Harassment: This may occur when inappropriate jokes, insults, name-calling
  or displays of posters or cartoons directed at a person or individuals within
  a society because of their race, ethnic group, religious affiliation or gender.
  Wage discrimination: This happens when an employer offers a lower wage for
  a woman, new immigrant or people from a specific race due to a biased
  or perceived attitude towards their gender, nationality, ethnicity and origins.
  Their qualifications, experience, skills or competences are not taken in
  consideration as the basis for payment.
  Discrimination in hiring: This normally takes place during a job interview, where
  a person may be asked inappropriate questions for example about one’s
  religion, nationality or and language and what he or she answers will be the
  basis for disqualifying him or her.
  Discrimination in firing: Firing happens when an employer has his or her work
  responsibilities and job removed from him or her. For example, firing a person
  because of their religion, language or even nationality.
  Discrimination in education: A number of years ago, blacks were denied
  quality education just because they were blacks, a color and race regarded
  as unfortunate and backward by the Europeans who regarded themselves
  highly and as a chosen race by God. Many African countries might have
  witnessed discrimination in education within their set ups, both during and
  after colonialism (precise where this happened).
  Discrimination in residential areas and housing: This was common in some
  countries where blacks were subjected to stay in either camps created by the
  whites or in shanty places. Today, even when such extreme cases are rare,
  discrimination in housing still exists. Some landlords do not give out their
  rentals to members outside their religious sects.
  Discrimination is based on language: This normally takes place in societies or
  nations that have a major group or language. Such strong ethnicities may
  suffocate the languages of ethnic minorities by allowing more benefit to those
  

  of the majority language.

  Application activities 2.2
  1. Define the concept of cultural discrimination.
  2. Explain three types of cultural discrimination.
  2.3 Cultural dilution and cultural diversification
  Learning activity 2.3
  Using internet and/or other reference books carry out a research and write
  the meaning of the terms of cultural dilution and cultural diversification.
  

  Afterwards, discuss your findings with the members of your group work.

  2.3.1 Cultural dilution
  Cultural dilution takes place when two or more cultures are blended and
  progressively become similar through the influence of their cohabitation or
  interaction. In fact, interaction between people from different cultures weakens the
  original affiliation. This happens because, in the process of socialization, people
  may get attracted to the cultural practices of other people that they relate with
  and eventually get assimilated in certain aspects such as dressing, language,
  religion and the type of food that they eat.
  Media also plays a major role in this process of cultural interaction. People who
  are far apart are able to interact through the media such as television, the radio
  and other computerized social platforms and exchange of culture.
  When different cultures blend, the original one may die out or be replaced by new
  ones that have never existed in the society’s history. Often, dilution takes place
  due to stronger influences.
  In the process of cultural dilution, the cultures indubitably change. In reality,
  cultures are internally affected by both forces encouraging change and forces
  resisting change. These forces are related to social structures and natural events,
  and are involved in the perpetuation of cultural ideas and practices within current
  structures, which are themselves subject to change. Resistance can come from
  habit, religion, and the integration and interdependence of cultural traits. For
  example, men and women have complementary roles in many cultures. One sex
  might desire changes that affect the other, as happened in the second half of
  the 20th Century in western cultures (for example with the women’s movement),
  while the other sex may be resistant to that change (possibly in order to maintain
  a power imbalance in their favor).
  Cultural change can have many causes. These include the environment,
  technological inventions, and contact with other cultures. In addition, cultural
  ideas may transfer from one society to another, through diffusion or acculturation.
  In diffusion, the form of something moves from one culture to another. For
  example, hamburgers, mundane in the United States, seemed exotic when
  introduced into China.
  Acculturation refers to replacement of the traits of one culture with those of another,
  such has happened to certain Native American tribes and to many indigenous
  peoples across the globe during the process of colonization. Related processes
  on an individual level include assimilation which is adoption of a different culture
  by an individual and transculturation.
  Assimilation means the adoption, by a minority group, of the customs and
  attitudes of the dominant culture while “Direct Borrowing” on the other hand refers
  to technological or tangible diffusion from one culture to another.
  Some of the factors that are responsible for the cultural dilution are the
  following:
  Discovery and invention are mechanisms of social and cultural change. Discovery
  refers to the finding of new knowledge within an existing realm. Generally, it
  relates to discovering new understanding of a particular behavior or ritual.
  Invention is the creation of a new device or process. New discoveries often lead
  to new inventions by people.
  A country receives new immigrants with a strong culture and influence. The
  dynamics of this process were manifest in the period of colonization of Africa by
  European who placed an utmost emphasis on the cultural alienation of African
  cultures.
  In the framework of globalization, the strongest culture by virtue of economic,
  technological and military superiority tends to impose itself upon the modus
  vivendi (use simple word) of relatively weaker communities. This has led to
  the creation of hybrid cultures all around the globe, whereby the most powerful
  community or civilization has been able to become a trendsetter of life styles
  especially among the youth, and most obviously in pop culture. In the decades
  since World War II, this has been most visible in the fields of music, fashion,
  entertainment, or esthetical perception in general. From within, whenever a
  society grows or changes. There is always a likelihood of losing some of its
  core principal values unknowingly as the citizens strive to acquire new skills for
  

  political, economic and social survival.

  All cultures and people have a great attachment to their cultural roots, practices
  and way of life. No society wants to surrender or exist without culture and thus,
  dilution is unwanted. Each society or group of people world over are on a struggle
  to preserve and sustain their culture, language and practices, which give them
  an identity.
  2.3.2 Cultural Diversification
  Cultural diversity refers to the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed
  to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to
  cultural evolution. The term of cultural diversity can also mean having different
  

  cultures which respect each other’s differences.

  

  Due to differing past experiences and environmental endowment, people adapt to
  varying social systems, practices and beliefs. The African countries, for instance,
  went through different colonial experiences. These experiences in one way or
  another shaped their social interactions including the religion that the people in
  

  these communities subscribe to.

  In the same way, the surroundings of a people influence the activities carried out
  in those societies to a great extent. This can be explained by the fact that the
  natural resources available determine the economic and social activities to be
  carried out.
  A community living by the lake for instance is bound to practice fishing as an
  economic activity. Its beliefs and social constraints are also likely to be around
  that practice. Some roles such as canoeing may be associated with the male
  gender for example. The staple food is also likely to be fish accompanied by
  other locally available food.
  Communities grow various food crops depending on the climatic conditions of
  their area. Therefore, the environment determines the economic activity of a
  people as well as the traditional food mostly eaten.
  Art, being a part of a people’s culture, is different from region to region. This is
  because art is inspired by the history and the surroundings within the environment.
  For instance, in Rwanda, Imigongo is an art form popular in Rwanda traditionally
  made by women using cow dung. Often in the colours black, white and red,
  popular themes include spiral and geometric designs that are painted on walls,
  pottery, and canvas. These art forms convey the spirit of the Rwandan landscape,
  

  its flora and fauna and of its people.

  

  Cultural diversification may also occur when a given society welcomes people of
  different races, gender, sexual orientations or national origins. A good example is
  the existence of seafood hotels in countries where seafood is not common.
  In major towns today, hotels provide foreign foods targeting the immigrants who
  may want to look for meals that are culturally preferable to them. It is important
  to look at cultural diversification as an advantage. This is because it provides an
  opportunity for positive exchange of ideas that can improve the lives of people by
  enriching them in one way or another.
  It is important to look at cultural diversification as an advantage. This is because
  it provides an opportunity for positive exchange of ideas that can improve the
  lives of people by enriching them in one way or another. It is also important to be
  conscious of the fact that all people are entitled to the same rights and freedom
  in terms of work, respect, fair laws, values, education among other aspect of life.
  For people of different cultural backgrounds to coexist, the following is
  necessary:
  • Drafting multiple activities into the national activity calendar to allow the coexistence
  of all ethnicities and their multi-practices to exist in one country.
  • Giving all groups in society equal opportunities in education, business,
  government, and sports.
  • Ensuring equality for all principles. Laws must apply to all people under a
  fair law system.
  • Co-existence of all people with varying experiences and backgrounds
  should be practiced.
  • There should be commitment to tolerate and learn from other people with
  different experiences and backgrounds. For example, Rwanda has now
  become a cosmopolitan city, allowing many different nationalities to settle
  and interact.
  The following are some of the benefits of cultural diversification:
  a) The cultural diversification promotes productivity and profitability:When people
  from various backgrounds work together, they share unique characteristics
  and the best is attained. This impacts on the output of businesses and
  other organizations positively.
  b) It helps to create a pool of talent: Talents naturally develop as people share
  varying experiences and perspectives in life.
  c) It promotes unity: As mentioned earlier, diversity helps people appreciate
  the differences that exist among people in terms of beliefs and practices,
  

  values and norms, race and gender.

  Application activities 2.3
  1. Give short notes to explain the following words: Diffusion,
  assimilation, direct borrowing and acculturation.
  2. Explain the factors that can cause the cultural dilution.
  3. Describe one situation which is likely to lead to the cultural
  diversification.
  4. Explain any conditions that can help people of different cultural
  backgrounds coexist.
  5. Find out the benefits of cultural diversification.
  2.4. Consequences of cultural dilution and principles of inclusion
  Learning activity 2.4
  By watching a documentary film or using internet and/or other reference
  books, carry out a research and explain the consequences of the cultural
  dilution and the principles of inclusion. Afterwards, present your findings to
  

  the whole class.

  2.4.1. Consequences of cultural dilution
  Cultural dilution may cause many negative situations to occur in societies whose
  cultures, languages or core beliefs are being blended or diluted. The minds of the
  affected groups whose cultural practices, language and general life characteristics
  are being blended are equally put under threat of patronage and dependence.
  The people whose culture is under dilution are made to think that they are not
  very intelligent and experienced in whatever they do and thus must be helped or
  supported.
  Cultural dilution leads the affected groups within society to lose their collective
  rights; they are dominated and made to exist without identity. They have no room
  to enjoy their rights and freedoms, are denied social, civil, economic and political
  opportunities within their own society and above all, subjected to a terrible
  struggle for survival other than progress.
  Cultural dilution leads to loss of language. Normally, languages from stronger
  cultures become popular at the expense of the local languages. For example, in
  Africa, the English, French, and Portuguese languages took over and dominated
  the indigenous African languages in former British, French and Portuguese
  colonies leading to either total loss or blending of many aspects of African culture
  in the fore mentioned territories. Cultural dilution can impact national identity
  and culture, which would be dissolved or eroded by the impact of global cultural
  industries and multinational media. When a nation has many other cultures
  expressing their lifestyle through food, music, dress and the media, it overwhelms
  the predominant culture and leads to dilution.
  Dilution hinders social integration or cohesion. This is because the human worth
  of some people or groups within society whose culture is under the threat of
  dilution is ignored and the people are subjected to discrimination and other forms
  of harassment and denial. The society is divided into social classes leading to
  social tension, hatred, conflicts and deaths.
  Societies undergoing dilution will lose their core values, beliefs and practices,
  such as morals or religious orientations. New influences will set in and take
  control especially due to global influence or new immigrants or weaknesses
  from within or a combination of all. For examples other cultures that believe in
  making abortion or homosexuality legal and any other idea which goes against a
  particular culture’s norms and values is likely to attract the members of the host
  culture hence diluting it.
  The youth and women among others may greatly lose their moral fabric and may
  adopt immoral practices for survival like prostitution and theft. Nothing will stop
  them since the strong customs that bound them to observe strict morality is now
  weakened by ideas of liberalism and individuality.
  Politically, societies or nations suffering dilution are becoming recipients of
  international thinking and practices, international laws and order which have no
  direct connection to their customs. There is a great change of attitude towards
  the basic and core values, norms, or practices in African countries in modern
  times. Civil marriages are becoming popular and legalized at the expense of
  traditional marriages. Homosexuality and lesbianism is being accepted quietly
  but steadily due to global influence against indigenous cultures in Africa that
  have and are suffering cultural dilution.
  Foreign owned businesses introduce new ideologies resulting in a dilution of
  culture and ultimately affect its identity. This impact has been felt most in our
  food culture, coffee shop culture and traditional culture. This has caused the
  younger generation to prefer fast foods to traditional local foods. The younger
  generation is attracted to fast food due to its wide range of food, affordability and
  

  convenience.

  Food has always been part of the identity of any group of people, so when the
  younger generation begins to appreciate and enjoy these foods, they will begin
  to lose sight of the significance of these food and traditions and consequently,
  lose their identity. In the long run, fast food will result in recipes and skills of
  traditional foods not being passed down to the future generation. This will lead to
  the traditional foods being forgotten.
  Cultural dilution is very likely to cause the traditional dressing of a community
  to be neglected. Clothing has been an important part of the different cultures.
  The traditional costumes of any culture are unique in its own way with historical
  values and different significance and symbols closely connected to the culture.
  For example, the traditional Rwandan dress and traditional symbols are very
  unique. When the younger generation do not feel proud but feel uncomfortable
  or awkward to wear their traditional costumes, they will not have a sense of
  belonging and no longer associate themselves to their culture. This is a dilution
  

  of culture and loss of identity.

  2.4.2. Principles of inclusion

  
  

  Inclusion implies involving and collaborating with every member of society
  irrespective of ethnicity, race, religion, language or origin towards social
  integration. For inclusion to exist in a community, the following principles must
  be followed:
  a) Tolerance for all people and the diversity that exists within society. People
  should appreciate and value the co-existence as a blessing and view each
  

  member as a valuable resource in society.

  b) Respect for all human rights, freedoms, and rules of law irrespective of the
  diverse cultures that may exist.
  c) Provision of equitable opportunities to all members, therefore no matter
  one’s nationality, religion, race or culture they ought to have equal
  opportunities based on job, housing, health and justice.
  d) Recognition of each member’s worth and allowing each member to make
  a contribution to the society while at the same time helping other members
  to realize their targets.
  e) Involvement of all members in society, including free participation in all
  civic, economic, social and political activities in their society.
  f) Exploration of all the multiple culture identities within society, making each
  proud and passionate about co-existence and diversity.
  g) Prevention of prejudice and negative biases by creating a strong allinclusive
  civil society that will support active participation in public works
  and that can make every person accountable to the society and its entire
  people.
  h) Promotion of social justice, including engaging the citizens to distinguish
  fairness from unfairness or what is respectful from what is disrespectful.
  i) Universal access to public infrastructure, social services and amenities
  therefore making each person feel secure and taken care of by his/ her
  society.
  j) Equitable distribution of the national resources that are allocated and
  utilized by all the citizens, with an emphasis on social integration.
  k) Education about different cultures in a positive way that avoids biasness
  and enables students to pick useful information that can benefit them as
  they grow.
  l) In Rwanda, the national Itorero program is emphasizing similar principles in
  order to train the Rwandan citizens to appreciate and work towards social
  integration. Inclusion starts with the individual and then spreads out to the
  whole society. Educational institutions should similarly develop practices
  that reflect, promote, and value cultural diversity. Such good practices will
  help train and prepare the minds of young people and enable them look at
  

  inclusion as the way to go.

  Application activities 2.4
  1. Examine the consequences of cultural dilution in any society
  familiar to you. Write an essay that includes at least five
  examples of cultural dilution and its consequences in one
  particular society.
  

  2. How can you practice principles of inclusion at school?

  2.5. End Unit Assessment
  End Unit Assessment
  1. Define the term cultural discrimination and explain its different
  types.
  2. What should do people of different cultural backgrounds so as
  to coexist.
  3. Debate on what people should do so as to void or combat the
  cultural discrimination.
  4. Explain the advantages of the cultural diversification.
  

  5. Describe three principles of inclusion.

• UNIT 3 GENDER AND SOCIETY

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to relate/interact effectively with families, peers at school and
  community.
  Introductory activity
  Discuss different ways people interact effectively in families and
  community.
  3.1: Gender equality and equity
  Learning activity 3.1
  Using various resources, search about the following concepts:
  the meaning of gender, gender equality and equity and prepare
  

  presentation.

  • Definition of the concept of gender, gender equality and Gender equity
  Gender: Basing on the studies carried out by Connell, R. (2002); Fine, C. (2010);
  Pringle, R. (1992); Rahman. M. and Jackson, S. (2010); Connell, R.W. (2012)
  and corroborated later by Fletcher, G. (2015), gender is defined as a process
  of judgement and value (a social hierarchy) related to stereotypes and norms
  of what it is to be masculine or feminine, regardless of your born sex category.
  Here ‘Masculine’ and ‘feminine’ categorizations of gender are assessments or
  judgements that can be applied to a person regardless of the sex assigned to
  them at birth. Gender, unlike sex, is not rooted in biological difference but in
  socially constructed norms and expectations.
  Gender refers to the social understanding of being male or female. It goes
  beyond the biological meaning to a cultural meaning. Many other authors have
  also defined the concept of gender in the following ways:
  According to UNESCO (2015), gender refers to the socially constructed relations
  between men and women. Societies decide which resources men and women
  can access jointly or separately, the work they can perform, the clothes they
  wear, and the knowledge they are allowed to acquire, as well as how they acquire
  and use it. Gender is about relationships that may change over time and place.
  While sex tends to be fixed, gender is amenable to change over time depending
  on circumstances. Gender relations between men and women may vary between
  classes, races and cultures. Institutions may have cultures that determine the
  executive, administrative and service positions of men and women. Students’
  specializations are also being shaped by gender.
  Gender equality: means that women and men as well as girls and boys enjoy the
  same rights, resources, opportunities and protection
  Gender equity: According to UNESCO (2015), gender equality in education means
  ensuring that female and male learners are treated equally, have equal access
  to learning opportunities and benefit from education equally. They become
  empowered and can fulfill their potential so that they may contribute to and
  benefit from social, cultural, political and economic development equally. Special
  treatment/action can be taken to reverse the historical and social disadvantages
  that prevent female and male learners from accessing and benefiting from
  education on equal grounds.
  Education is a human right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of
  equality, development and peace. Education enables girls and boys, women and
  men to participate in social, economic and political life and is a foundation for
  the development of a democratic society (SADE, 2011). Gender equality is the
  process of avoiding discrimination on the basis of sex (male/ female). This can
  be by engaging both sexes in decision making, allocating resources equally and
  providing equal opportunities.
  Gender equality means that each gender plays roles of equal importance to the
  society. It is also important to note that biological characteristics relate the female
  gender to particular roles such as nursing infants as they have the maternal
  ability to do so.
  On the other hand, the masculinity of the male gender places them at a better
  position to carry out the more demanding manual jobs. This does not limit the
  women to domestic chores and neither does it prohibit men from carrying out
  domestic activities such as cooking. Equal opportunities such as education and
  resources enable girls, boys, men and women to make choices on what to do in
  life. For example, today there are many chefs who are men and architects who
  are women.
  Traditionally in Rwanda, activities such as drumming were left for men, but today,
  teams of girl’s drum with strength and skill. Fathers are encouraging daughters
  to do engineering and other courses that were perceived to be men’s domain.
  

  Several women, for instance, have joined the arm.

  Gender complementarity
  I learned a new phrase: “gender complementarity”. What does it mean? Well,
  “complementarity” is “The state or quality of being complementary”. so what
  in the world does that mean?» Well, obviously it›s when you say nice things
  about people. «Complementary as opposed to «complimentary” means
  “completing” (in short). Presence B has those qualities and these shortcomings.
  Put them together and what do you get? A complete working model. The
  idea, then, behind gender complementarity is that men have these qualities
  and those short comings while women have those qualities and these short
  comings. Put them together and you›ve got a great working model. Apart,
  and you might hear, «It is not good for Man to be alone» or something like it.
  Perhaps you’ve heard this before. “Children do best growing up in a home with
  a mother and a father.” Now, I dare you ... toss that grenade out in an open
  forum and see what happens in the fallout. You see why, I assume.If we agree
  that «mother and father» are best for kids, then what do we do with «mother
  and mother» or «father and father» kids? You can likely see fairly quickly
  that the idea of same-sex couples raising children becomes questionable.
  Of course, it will be instantly repudiated. But have you ever looked at the
  repudiation? Here are the types of responses you will see. “Married couples are
  no better than other family forms at raising children.” (An argument in a vacuum.)
  “Children do best in a family where the adult relationship is steady, stable and
  loving.” ((One of the all-time favorites) “Abuse is rampant in the traditional family.”
  (Similar to and related to the previous. Gender complementarity is the aspect of
  making both males and females carry out roles that support each other. This is
  

  because one gender cannot make a society. Both complement each other.

  Application activity: 3.1
  Explain different ways Rwanda has promoted gender equality.
  3.2 Benefits of gender equality and complementarity
  Learning activity: 3.2
  Discuss the importance of complementarity in socio-economic
  development.
  There are benefits when gender equality and complementarity is exercised.
  These benefits are given below:
  a) When women are presented with equal opportunities as men, they are
  able to acquire education as opposed to when they do not enjoy gender
  

  equality.

  b) Career progression for women becomes easier when there is gender
  equality and complementarity.
  c) Women are able to enjoy financial independence and new roles in society
  when gender equity is put in practice.
  d) When women are given the same opportunities as men, there is human
  development in the society.
  e) When all members of the society have the opportunity to earn, there is
  likely to be improved economic growth.
  f) When women get equal opportunity as men, they also enjoy freedom,
  choice and happiness.
  g) Gender equality improves economic and social conditions for everyone.
  When both parents are earning, families are healthier and better fed. Their
  income, savings and investments go up. This extends to the community
  and the entire nation.
  h) When both girls and boys live free from rigid stereotypes that limit their
  potential, they are able to exploit their full potential in a way that benefits
  themselves and the society they live in.
  i) In organizations and institutions where there is gender balance, there is
  likely to be better decision-making and more effective implementation of
  these decisions as everyone is involved in decision and therefore own the
  decisions made.
  Application activity 3.2
  Identify the benefits of gender equality and complementarity in society
  3.3. Gender roles
  

  Learning activity 3.3

  Observe the following pictures and answer the following picture
  

  
  

  The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines gender roles as socially
  constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society
  considers appropriate for men and women. Simply put, they are the roles that
  men and women are expected to occupy based on their sex.
  Traditionally, many Western societies have believed that women are more
  nurturing than men. Therefore, the traditional view of the feminine. Gender role
  prescribes that women should behave in ways that are nurturing. One way that a
  woman might engage in the traditional feminine gender role would be to nurture
  her family by working full-time within the home rather than taking employment
  outside of the home.
  Men, on the other hand, are presumed by traditional views of gender roles to be
  leaders. The traditional view of the masculine gender role, therefore, suggests
  that men should be the heads of their households by providing financially for the
  family and making important family decisions.
  Application Activity 3.3
  Identify various gender roles found in your community.
  3.4. Gender stereotypes
  Learning Activity 3.4
  Observe the following picture, interpret and carry out a discussion
  

  about it in relation to consideration of women in Tradition Rwanda.

  

  Gender stereotypes are generalizations about what men and women are like and
  what they are capable of doing. Hence, there is typically a great deal of consensus
  about them. According to social role theory, gender stereotypes derive from the
  contrasting distribution of men and women into social roles both in the home
  and at work (Eagly, 1987, 1997;Koenig and Eagly, 2014). There has long been
  a gendered division of labor, and it has existed both in foraging societies and
  in more socioeconomically complex societies (Wood and Eagly, 2012.Gender
  stereotypes are used not only to characterize others but also to characterize
  oneself (Bem, 1974). The process of self-stereotyping can influence people’s
  identities in stereotype-congruent directions. Stereotyped characteristics can
  thereby be internalized and become part of a person’s gender identity – a critical
  aspect of the self-concept (Ruble and Martin, 1998;Wood and Eagly, 2015). Young
  boys and girls learn about gender stereotypes from their immediate environment
  and the media, and they learn how to behave in gender-appropriate ways (Deaux
  and LaFrance, 1998). These socialization experiences no doubt continue to exert
  influence later in life and, for this reason, the gender stereotypes tend to have
  a self-perpetuating quality. Gender stereotypes are over-generalisations about
  the characteristics of an entire group based on gender. A man might say women
  aren’t meant for combat, while a woman might say men do nothing but watch
  

  sports.

  

  Stereotypes are not always necessarily true because they come from making
  general conclusions about a group of people based on mere assumptions.
  These general conclusions cannot be true for all people because individuals
  have different desires, feelings and thoughts. Both the female gender and the
  male gender have been stereotyped in the society.
  The following are examples of gender stereotypes:
  a) Women are rational beings.
  b) Men are tough and protective.
  c) Women make good secretaries and teacher
  They are also viewed as fragile and emotional, caring and more appropriate for
  jobs like nursing.
  These stereotypes begin right from childhood once the sex of a child is known.
  The newborn is welcomed in a very stereotyped setting that’s decorated with
  items suggesting how he/she ought to grow. Girls are made to love dolls and
  take care of them as women take care of children while boys are bought car toys
  and video games. While growing, they are assigned roles in the same way. Boys
  can watch TV while girls do all the cleaning and cooking, unless there is a fence
  to trim.
  Boys are also encouraged to do outdoor sports such as bicycle riding and hiking.
  

  These stereotypes grow with children and are passed on to generations.

  Application activity 3.4
  Identify various gender roles and gender stereotypes in your
  community.
  3.5. Impact of gender stereotypes on individuals, families and
  society
  Learning activity 3.5
  

  Identify gender issues that you know in your community

  Gender stereotypes portray teaching or serving in a hotel as female careers
  while higher medical professions are perceived to be male careers. From the
  discussion above, however, you realize that none of these careers belong only
  to men or women. Holding on to these beliefs has very negative impacts on
  individuals, families and the society at large. For example, the assumption that
  women are more emotional than rational is demeaning to the female gender and
  makes them look inferior to the male gender. This can lead to disrespect in the
  family and consequently break the harmony that should be in a family.
  The following are the effects of gender stereotypes on individuals, family
  and society:
  a) It can cause psychological distress to an individual. For example, where
  a boy is told that he should not cry in public, he is likely to suppress his
  emotions to prove his masculinity yet undergo a lot of emotional suffering.
  b) It can easily reduce an individual’s self-esteem. When women are viewed as
  passive members of the family who must always be submissive and have
  no place in decision-making, their sense of value is ideally diminished. They
  may end up feeling unwanted yet they are a central part of the society in real
  sense and can make great leaders.
  c) Stereotyping can prevent individuals from pursuing their dreams such as
  a person’s career of interest. This denies such a person the opportunity to
  live a fulfilling life. For example, a female student may have interest in a
  mechanical job, but the fear of not meeting the expectations of the society
  may hold her from pursuing her dream career hence not achieving her full
  potential.
  d) It can be used as a basis for discrimination. For example, this can happen in
  the family when sharing household chores. The girl child, for example, may
  be overwhelmed with responsibilities such as preparing meals, cleaning,
  laundry and buying grocery while her male siblings engage in fun activities.
  e) It can lead to subordination of one gender in society. For example, in the
  earlier days, women were not allowed to vote. This denied them of the right
  to elect leaders of their choice.
  f) It can bring confusion and disagreement in the family about whose
  responsibility it is to provide for the family. Though any member of the
  family can be the breadwinner depending on the situation, stereotyping that
  presumes that the man should fend for the family can be detrimental when
  the man in the family is not able to earn for one reason or another
  He may feel incapable of doing his duty even when he is not to blame. This can
  also have a negative impact on the family because the idea that a woman should
  not fend for the family is a hindrance to improving the living standards of the family
  

  as the income comes from one source

  Application 3.5
  Explain the impact of gender stereotypes on individuals, families and
  society.
  3.6. End Unit Assessment
  End unit assessment
  1. Explain why it is important for the government to promote gender
  equality.
  2. Evaluate the benefits of gender equality and complementarity.
  

  3. Discuss the of gender stereotypes on a society in general.

• UNIT 4 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to protect the individual and stand against GBV and child
  abuse.
  

  Introductory Activity:

  Read the story below about Uwera and her family and discuss the
  questions below it.
  Muhire came home from a drinking spree one day and found his daughter
  Uwera occupied doing her homework quietly. He hit her because the
  door to that led outside was still open. He then ordered his six year old
  son who was already asleep to get up and take in all the construction
  material that was lying outside despite them being too heavy for him. As
  if that was not enough, he slapped his wife who was cleaning utensils
  and ordered her to serve him food. The following day, when Uwera left
  school, she felt too afraid to go back home and so she sought refuge
  at her friend’s home, only to be raped by her friend’s brother who was
  under the influence of drugs. This affected Uwera so much that she later
  committed suicide.
  Questions
  1. What forms of violence do we find in this family?
  2. What are the causes of violence?
  3. What are the consequences of this violence?
  The activity above describes a number of different types of gender-based violence
  and some of their consequences. Gender based violence can happen in various
  forms i.e. physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence.
  4.1 Concept and forms of gender based violence
  Learning Activity 4.1
  Read the following story
  Umulisa and Gatete twins children born in a harmony family. Their
  mother died when they were in primary school. Their father got married
  with another wife. The stepmother obliged them to leave the school
  while they were in senior one at 14 years old and came to help her in
  domestic activities. They always obliged to wake up at 4:00 am and carry
  out waste to the land to cultivate up to evening and coming back home
  with animal grasses. At 15years old Umurisa leaved home to the town to
  look for a job. In the way, a seropositive person raped Umulisa. After one
  month, she went to the health centre for test exam and realised that she
  was pregnant and contaminated of HIV/AIDS.
  1. What forms of violence do we find in this story?
  

  2. What are the causes of violence?

  Gender based violence
  Gender based violence is defined as any act that results in a bodily, psychological,
  sexual and economical harm to somebody just because they are female or male.
  Such act results in the deprivation of freedom and negative consequences. This
  

  violence may be exercised within or outside house holds.

  

  It includes physical, sexual and psychological violence such as domestic violence;
  sexual abuse, including rape and sexual abuse of children by family members; forced
  pregnancy; sexual slavery; traditional practices harmful to women, such as honour
  killings, burning or acid throwing, female genital mutilation, dowry-related violence;
  violence in armed conflict such as murder and rape; and emotional abuse, such as
  coercion and abusive language.
  Trafficking of women and girls for prostitution, forced marriage, sexual harassment
  and intimidation at work are additional examples of violence against women.
  Gender violence occurs in both the ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres. Such violence
  not only occurs in the family and in the general community, but is sometimes also
  perpetuated by the state through policies or the actions of agents of the State such
  as the police, military or immigration authorities.
  Gender-based violence happens in all societies, across all social classes, with
  women particularly at risk from men they know.
  Child abuse
  Child abuse occurs when a parent or a caregiver, whether through action or failing to
  act causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to the child.
  Application activity 4.1
  1. Describe gender-based violence as witnessed in your community
  2. Suggest possible ways of controlling Gender based violence.
  4.2 Forms and consequences of gender-based violence
  Learning activity 4.1
  Using various resources search, explain and present forms of gender
  based violence
  Physical violence
  Physical assault: Beating, punching, kicking, biting, burning, maiming or killing,
  with or without weapons, often used in combination with other forms of genderbased
  violence Perpetrated by spouse, intimate partner, family member, friend,
  

  acquaintance, stranger or anyone in apposition of power.

  Emotional/Psychological violence
  Abuse/ humiliation: Insulting, degrading, demanding, and compelling the victim to
  engage in humiliating acts, whether in public or private, denying basic expenses for
  

  family survival.

  

  Confinement: Isolating a person from friends/family, restricting movements,
  deprivation of liberty or obstruction, restriction of the right to free movement.
  Sexual violence
  • Rape: The fact that a person is involved in sexual intercourse without consent
  by force, intimidation, paying prices among others.
  • Conjugal rape: Coercing a spouse into sexual relation without that spouse’s
  consent, by way of force, intimidation, paying prices among others.
  • Sexual abuse: Actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature,
  including inappropriate touching, by force or under unequal or coercive
  conditions.
  • Sexual harassment: Any unwelcome or unsolicited sexual attention, demand
  for sexual access or favours, sexual innuendo or other verbal or physical
  conduct of a sexual nature, or display of pornographic material.
  • Sexual exploitation / Sexual slavery aimed at achievement of selfsatisfaction:
  Any abuse of a position of vulnerability, difference in power
  relation or abuse of trust for sexual purposes.
  • Forced sodomy/analrape: Forced/coerced anal intercourse, usually male to
  male or male to female.
  • Forced prostitution: Forced/coerced sex in exchange for material resources,
  services and assistance, usually targeting highly vulnerable women or girls
  unable to meet basic human needs for themselves and/or their children.
  • Sexual violence as a weapon of war and torture: Crimes against humanity
  of a sexual nature, including rape, sexual slavery, forced abortion or
  sterilization or another form to prevent birth, forced pregnancy, forced
  

  delivery, and forced child rearing, among others.

  

  Socio-Economic Violence
  • Economic violence: Occurs when the abuser has complete control over the
  victim’s money and other economic resources.
  • Discrimination and /or denial of opportunities, services: Exclusion, denial of
  access to education, health assistance or remunerated employment, denial
  of property rights.
  Social exclusion /ostracism based on sexual orientation
  Denial of access to services, social benefits or exercise and enjoyment of civil, social,
  economic, cultural and political rights, imposition of criminal penalties, discriminatory
  practices or physical and psychological harm and tolerance of discriminatory
  practices, public or private hostility to homosexual, transsexuals or transvestites.
  4.3. Consequences of gender-based violence
  Learning activity 4.3
  Search and explain the consequences of gender based violence and
  

  child abuse

  From the above discussion, you realize that gender based violence can lead to
  various effects on an individual, families and the entire community. These may
  include the following:
  Consequences on Health
  Individual consequences to the victim:
  • Injury
  • Disability or death
  • STDs and AIDS
  • Injury to the reproductive system including menstrual disorders
  • Child bearing problems
  • Infections
  • Miscarriages
  • Unwanted pregnancies
  • Unsafe abortions
  • Depression, leading to chronic physical complaints and illnesses
  • Loss of sexual desire and painful sexual intercourse
  • Difficult pregnancy and labour, chronic pain and infection
  

  • Infertility

  Impact on wider society:
  • Strain on medical system
  • High economic expenses for medical care for victims of GBV
  Effect on availability of human resources as victims cannot participate in the
  development and economic growth of the country.
  B. Psychological
  Individual consequences to the victim
  • Emotional damage including anger, fear, resentment and self-hate
  • Shame, insecurity, loss of ability to function and carry out daily activities
  • Feelings of depression and isolation
  • Problems sleeping and eating
  i) Mental illness and thoughts of hopelessness and suicide
  ii) Gossip, judgments made about the victim, blaming the victim, treating the
  victim as a social outcast
  Impact on wider society
  • Expensive, drain on community resources; family, neighbors, friends, schools,
  community leaders, social service agencies, etc.
  • If perpetrators are not apprehended or arrested, this sends a strong
  message that the behaviour is somehow acceptable, leading to further
  incidents.
  C. Legal/justice system
  Strain on police/court resources already challenged and over burdened
  • Lack of sensitivity to the issues on the part of some judges and legal officers.
  • Costs incurred by the victim.
  Lack of access to legal system due to lack of knowledge of existing laws or victims
  

  reluctant to report due to heavy stigma attached to sexual abuse

  Application activity 4.3
  Debate and discussion on how separated or divorced parents,
  spinsterhood, and bachelorhood are related to GBV and affect
  

  children

  4.4. Linkage between gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS and
  STIs.
  Learning activity 4.4
  Using various resources search and discuss the types of gender based
  violence, which can lead to the spread of HIV and AIDS and
  

  STIs

  In your discussion, you may realize that most of the common HIV and AIDS and
  STI infections are either a result or a cause of gender-based violence.
  The following are some of them:
  i) Rape/Sexual Assault
  Forced or coerced sex increases women’s vulnerability to HIV infection
  by severely limiting, if not destroying, women’s ability to negotiate safe sexual
  behaviour. In situations of rape, condom use is rare.
  ii) Intimate partner violence
  Many abusive partners are less likely to use condoms thus leading to HIV
  and AIDS.
  iii) Violence against HIV positive women.
  Women who are or who are even perceived to be infected with the HIV
  virus face considerable risk of violence, discrimination, ostracisation and
  abandonment, including by their partners or other family members, all over
  the world.
  iv) Sexual violence in conflict
  Women and girls are at greatly increased risk of violence in times of war and
  conflict. Under these conditions, acts of violence include strategic use of rape
  and gang rape, forced pregnancy, forced marriages with enemy soldiers,
  sexual slavery and mutilations are perpetrated by various community and
  state actors, including soldiers, members of militias and police.
  v) Violence against sex workers
  It is estimated that sex workers, who on a global level are mostly young
  and female, may number in the tens of millions. Statistics indicate that
  HIV prevalence among sex workers is high in many regions. Sex workers
  are more vulnerable to HIV infection and violence because they are often
  demonized and discriminated against, as well as invisible in decisionmaking
  processes.
  vi) Trafficking
  Trafficking is a form of violence in which people, primarily women and children,
  are forcibly transported from their home communities through the use of threat or
  violence or other coercive means and placed in forced labor, servitude or slaverylike
  practices, including but not limited to forced marriage and forced prostitution.
  In each of these situations, women may experience abuse differently from men,
  and may be targeted in ways directly related to their gender.
  D. Mechanism to respond to gender based violence
  The following are some mechanism to respond to gender based violence
  i) Health Care i.e, providing necessary health care to the victims
  ii) Psycho-social counseling to the victim
  iii) Putting in place strong policies, laws, programs and regulations that prevent
  Gender Based violence of any kind in the society
  iv) Legal assistance in case of abuse or any related acts of violence
  v) Community Awareness and Training about gender based violence
  vi) Capacity Building for Local Women’s Organisations
  

  vii) Skills Training, Economic Opportunities and other Rehabilitation Programs

  Application activity 4.4
  1. Discuss the relationship between gender-based violence and HIV
  and AIDS in the society.
  2. Suggest any 5 methods applied in your community to prevent
  

  GBV

  4.5. End Unit Assessment
  End unit assessment
  1. Give at least three examples of GBV and three 3 examples of
  child abuse.
  2. Discuss the consequences of GBV and child abuse on socioeconomic
  development of a country.
  3. Explain different strategies put in place by the government of
  

  Rwanda in order fight against GBV and child abuse.

• UNIT 5 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to manage conflicts effectively
  Introductory Activity
  Mwiza Alice is a young girl studying in Senior 4 inone of the schools in
  Kigali. She likes to be with her friends. One day, during holidays, she
  attended a birthday party of her classmate Gasaro without informing her
  parents. It was getting dark and dark, and the father was in the sitting
  room watching a television. He noticed her absence and called Alice’s
  Mother and asked “ I cannot see Alice where is she? The mother replied
  Innocently, I do not know either. They became worried but hoping
  that she will return home soon. The father was very angry and was
  murmuring “ she will see me!!, how can she go out without permission?”
  Suddenly, Alice entered the house, talking on telephone and went in her
  room without greeting the parents. The Father got bitter and follows her
  in the room. Opening the door, he found out that Alice was still on the
  telephone, with a beer bottle on the table. The father, picked the beer
  bottle and the telephone and requested her to come to the sitting room
  for further explanation. Alice got angry and said bitterly to her father,
  father I am grown, I need my freedom, what have I done wrong? I am
  able to take decisions that please me? Alice’s Mother intervened and
  requested her to calm down and obey his father’s orders.
  Questions:”
  1. Why do you think is the source of Alice and Her Father’s
  conflict?
  2. If you were Alice what could you have done?
  3. Alice and her father’s conflict happen at home? Where else
  do you think conflict happen
  4. What do you think are sources of conflicts?
  5. What do you think are potential consequences of Alice and
  

  her Father’s conflict?

  5.1 Concept of conflicts
  Learning Activity 5.1
  John and Janet living in Amahoro Village. There are married to each
  other for many years. One day, after dinner, Janet brought an interesting
  conversation with her husband and said, lovely husband, we know have
  enough money on our saving account, it is now the time to think what we
  will do with the money. I suggest that we buy a car, I am tired of going on
  foot everyday. John said, No No No it can’t be, we rather buy a house I
  am tired of paying rent month. Janet said, for what now??? This house
  is good, we have never failed to get rent and we will not fail to get it in the
  future? They continue to argue bitterly and ended up in a serious fight.
  Questions:
  1. Basing on your own experience and what you have read in
  the story, what is conflict?
  2. Find other sources of conflicts between people in everyday life
  3. If you are invited to solve the problem of John and Janet
  

  what can you do.

  The term conflict is obvious in everyday life. Every person experience conflicts in
  their individual and social life. A conflict means competitive or opposing actions
  of incompatible or antagonistic state or action of diverging ideas, interests or
  persons. It may mean mental struggle resulting from opposition or incompatible
  needs drives, wishes or internal demands. For example, a person may need to
  go to church and to go to Cinema at the same time or he/she may be in dilemma
  of choices. This situation requires to settle and to be handled so that life continue.
  In society, Conflict means a state or a condition marked by lack of agreement
  or harmony between people or groups of people that may result into quarrel or
  misunderstanding or disputes. The conflict may result from difference in nature,
  opinions, ideas, wishes and interests.
  A Conflict is an outgrowth of the diversity that characterizes our thoughts, our
  attitudes, our beliefs, our perceptions, and our social systems and structures. It
  is as much a part of our existence as is evolution (Weeks, 1994: 7).
  A conflict is the manifestation of how people think and behave according to their
  different personal identities and social histories. It also occurs as a response to
  frustration, and some would say as an expression of aggressive and competitive
  instincts. It is an affirmation that people are unique and different.
  In everyday life, there is increased competition in almost all areas of life. At school,
  students have different interests and abilities and compete in various spheres of
  school life such as marks, sports, fashions, styles…. In the society, people have
  different feelings, attitudes, values, cultures, behaviors, perceptions, …
  It is obviously difficult to values the same things, to see things in the same way or
  to like or to love the same things. Each person has his or her own preferences.
  When interests of one person or a group are confronted with interests of others
  this leads to conflicts or disputes among people or groups of people. For example,
  in a group of students who are set to watch a movie, some may like to watch a
  romantic movie while others like to watch action or war full movie. This situation
  creates tension and discomfort among group members and consequently leads
  to conflict.
  Conflicts take place in different areas: in the family, at school, at the workplace,
  in churches, and in society in general. Conflicts are parts of human life as
  Rwandese like to say “ Ntawutira uwo batongana”. Conflicts are important in
  a way that they help the society to be strongly unified after solving them. That
  is why it is very important to have skills on how to solve and prevent conflicts.
  Conflicts are inevitable in a person’s day-to-day life. And when they happen, the
  idea is not to try to prevent them but rather to resolve and manage them in an
  effective manner. This is what is termed as conflict management.
  Conflict occurs between people in all kinds of human relationships and in all social
  settings. Because of the wide range of potential differences among people, the
  absence of conflict usually signals the absence of meaningful interaction. Conflict
  by itself is neither good nor bad. However, the manner in which conflict is handled
  determines whether it is constructive or destructive (Deutsch & Coleman, 2000).
  Conflict is defined as an incompatibility of goals or values between two or more
  parties in a relationship, combined with attempts to control each other and
  antagonistic feelings toward each other (Fisher, 1990). The opposing actions
  and the hostile emotions are very real hallmarks of human conflict.
  Therefore, it is essential to understand the basic processes of conflict so that we
  can work to maximize productive outcomes and minimize destructive ones.
  A conflict has five phases.
  • Prelude to conflict - It involves all the factors which possibly arise a
  conflict among individuals. Lack of coordination, differences in interests,
  dissimilarity in cultural, religion, and educational background all are
  

  instrumental in arising a conflict.

  • Triggering Event - No conflict can arise on its own. There has to be an
  event which triggers the conflict. For example Gasaro and Bwiza are fiends
  and they were given a pair assignment. Gasaro criticized Gwiza to present
  badly which lead to the teacher to award them little marks.
  • Initiation Phase - Initiation phase is actually the phase when the conflict
  has already begun. Heated arguments, abuses, verbal disagreements are
  all warning alarms which indicate that the fight is already on.
  • Differentiation Phase - It is the phase when the individuals voice out their
  differences against each other. The reasons for the conflict are raised in the
  differentiation phase.
  • Resolution Phase - A Conflict leads to nowhere. Individuals must try to
  compromise to some extent and resolve the conflict soon. The resolution
  

  phase explores the various options to resolve the conflict.

  Application activity 5.1
  1. Discuss the concept of conflicts and its sources in human life.
  2. Conflicts are neither good nor bad. Discuss this affirmation
  

  3. Explain the phases of conflicts

  5.2. Types/Levels of conflicts
  Learning activity 5.2
  Using various resources and using your own experience, discuss the
  types/levels of conflicts in the society.
  

  5.2.1. Inner or intrapersonal conflict

  
  

  Internal conflict is something that people continue to face on an ongoing basis
  around difficult decisions. It arises within an individual, often involves some form
  of goal conflict or cognitive conflict. It comes out of one’s thoughts, emotions,
  ideas, values and predispositions. Goal conflict exists for individuals when their
  behaviour will result in outcomes that are mutually exclusive or have compatible
  elements (both positive and negative outcomes). For example, a student who
  completes senior three and is faced with difficult to choose options to undertake
  in senior 4. The inner or internal conflicts is within an individual and it is sometime
  the source of stress, isolation and other behaviours. People have to solve inner
  conflict in order to have a tranquilly and calm state of the mind.
  It is usually a psychological tussle involving contradictory thoughts, values,
  principles and emotions occurring in a person’s mind at the same time. It may
  vary from a simple conflict such as being torn between which shirt or blouse to
  wear to a certain occasion, to major conflicts like choosing a marriage partner or
  determining which career to pursue
  

  5.2.2. Interpersonal conflict

  
  

  This refers to a conflict between two individuals. It mostly occurs because
  of personal or individual differences such as different interests, tastes and
  preferences. When two people with different interests are tasked with making a
  choice, their differences in choice are likely to be seen. Where neither of them
  is willing to give up for the sake of the other or even to reason with the other, a
  conflict is likely to arise. For example, if a couple is to choose what family car to
  buy, different suggestions are likely to arise out of each partner’s preferences in
  terms of the make, colour, engine size or even the number of passengers that
  the car can accommodate. Without the spirit of give and take, these different
  preferences may lead to a conflict between the partners. Such a conflict can be
  termed as an interpersonal conflict.
  

  5.2.3. Intragroup conflict

  
  

  This is a conflict that happens among individuals within a team or a group.
  The misunderstandings among the affected members of the team trigger an
  intragroup conflict. Usually, it will start as an interpersonal disagreement among
  group members who have different personalities or those who have differing
  ideas and opinions on a given matter.
  This breeds tension within the group, especially if one among the conflicting
  members is a leader. For example, if a football team is asked to choose the
  colour for their uniforms, different suggestions are likely to be given due to the
  different colour preferences of the different team members. Unless members are
  willing to listen to each other, a conflict is likely to arise. Such a conflict can be
  termed as an intragroup conflict. If group members do not reach a consensus,
  some leave the group or the whole group dissolves.
  Intragroup conflict seems to fall into two distinct categories: (1) substantive
  conflict and (2) affective conflict. Substantive conflict refers to conflict based on
  the nature of the task or to “content” issues. It is associated with intellectual
  disagreements among the group members. In contrast, affective conflict derives
  primarily from the group’s interpersonal relations. It is associated with emotional
  responses aroused during interpersonal clashes
  

  5.2.4. Intergroup conflict

  
  

  Intergroup conflict occurs when a misunderstanding arises among different teams
  within an organization. For example, there can be a misunderstanding between
  the sales department of a company and the finance department. While the
  finance department may push for attainment of set targets, the sales department
  may find the targets too high or unrealistic. This may be motivated by varied
  interest between the two departments, such as a scenario where the finance
  department pushes for higher sales while the sales department is pushing for
  attainable targets. This can lead to a conflict between the two departments.
  

  5.2.5. Intra-national conflict

  
  

  Intra-national conflict is the confrontation between one part of the population
  and another. The civil wars that exist in many countries emanate from this type
  of conflict between fellow citizens sharing the same space. They cause many
  victims, and their consequences are difficult to repair as long as they break
  the friendly and social ties. Such conflicts are loaded with more emotions, and
  everyone sees the other as his enemy or traitor who must be wiped out with all
  his potential allies.
  5.2.6. International conflict
  The international conflict pits two or more countries against one another for
  territorial reasons or the supremacy of the powers. Intra-national conflict can turn
  into an international conflict and vice versa if the object is not resolved in time and
  / or the protagonist groups get support from their opposing exteriors.
  Border conflicts are between two or more countries or cultural groups with
  common borders. Borders can be seen as lines or as areas of contact, fronts or
  links between states but also between social groups.
  These conflicts originate in territorial boundaries, nationality issues or access
  to resources. They are aimed at the attempt of territorial expansion and others
  mainly because of the course of this limit. These conflicts are the basis for the
  

  creation of United Nations and security council as one organ of UN.

  Application activity 5.2
  1. Differentiate intrapersonal from interpersonal conflict with
  concrete examples
  2. Discuss the intergroup and intragroup conflicts and give
  examples on each to explicit your answers
  5.3 Causes of conflicts
  Learning activity 5.3
  Using various resources and your own experience discuss the causes
  

  of conflicts in everyday life.

  
  

  In society conflicts are of different natures and happen anywhere in the society.
  Particular conflicts may have appropriate causes. However, the following are the
  common causes of conflicts in human community:
  5.3.1 Differences in perception
  Differences in perceptions, values and attitudes of individuals or groups over
  the same problem leads to interpersonal or intergroup conflicts. Differences in
  perceptions is due to uniqueness, education, background, values, cultures, and
  attitudes of individuals. For example: In a family, if asked preference of what to
  cook for dinner, family members may come up with several proposals leading to
  conflicts. Differences in views lead to conflicts.
  5.3.2 Excessive competition
  Competition in society and organization leads to conflicts. Some people may
  compete for power and influence while others may compete for resources.
  Competition for power occurs when each party wishes to maintain or maximize
  the amount of influence that it exerts in the relationship and the social setting.
  It is impossible for one party to be stronger without the other being weaker, at
  least in terms of direct influence over each other. Thus, a power struggle ensues
  which usually ends in a victory and defeat, or in a “stand-off” with a continuing
  state of tension. Power conflicts can occur between individuals, between groups
  or between nations, whenever one or both parties choose to take a power
  approach to the relationship. Power also enters into all conflicts since the parties
  are attempting to control each other.
  5.3.3 Differences in goals
  Different goals of individuals or groups leads to conflict among them. For example,
  in order to maximize profits, production department may want to produce limited
  varieties in large volume so that costs are minimized. Sales department, on the
  other hand, may feel that selling products of different sizes, colours and models
  can increase sales and, thus, minimize costs. Differences in group goals leads to
  conflict between the two.
  5.3.4 Interdependence of tasks
  When organs or units within society are interdependent to each other, and one
  organ or unit fails to accomplish its task, the conflict emerges. If one organ or unit
  f fails to process its work on time, this will affect the deliverables of other units
  and the overall performance of an organization or institution. Hence leading to
  

  inter-group conflict.

  5.3.5 Habit patterns
  Some people like to argue and debate. They enjoy conflict as a matter of habit. It
  acts as a motivator for them to improve their performance. Personal or individual
  differences, for example different interests, tastes, likes and dislikes among
  members of a team. Some habits are not good in the group and may lead to
  conflicts: Selfishness, where one person wants only what works for them ignoring
  others. Greed, where some people want everything for themselves forgetting that
  other people have the same rights. A prejudice which is an unfair opinion or feeling
  one has about people or things.
  5.3.6 Personal characteristics
  When group members differ in work attitudes, age, education, temperament
  and status levels, the possibility for conflict is high. However, in all institutions
  and organization, people should adopt a habit of respecting the views of others,
  appreciating the uniqueness diversity of people as a richness to live and work
  together.
  5.3.7 Responsibility relationships
  When authority and responsibility of individuals and groups is not properly defined,
  people do not understand each other’s role. There is lack of consistency in work
  activities and communication distortions take place. This becomes a source for
  inter-group conflict.
  5.3.8 Ineffective communication
  Miscommunication and misunderstanding can create conflict even where there are
  no basic incompatibilities. If in the organization there is no vertical communication
  from superiors to subordinate, there is a tendency of creating rumors which may
  lead to a conflict. Again, lack of horizontal communication leads to a conflict.
  For an organization or an institution to reach its goals, effective and efficient
  communication is important elements because it prevents and solves conflicts
  when they arise.
  It must be noted that most conflicts are not of a one source or cause but involve
  a mixture of causes. For example, Cooperative or group management conflict
  typically involves economic competition, but may also take the form of a power
  struggle and often involves different ideologies or political values. The more the
  

  causes that are involved, the more intense and intractable the conflict usually is.

  Application activity 5.3
  Basing on your experience and knowledge acquired, discuss the
  causes of conflicts in groups, organization and institutions in the
  society
  5.4. Consequences of conflicts
  

  Learning activity 5.4

  Read the case study and answer questions
  One day, Mary stayed with her brother Peter 9 years old. As elder
  sister, she took care of the house and was commanding her brother to
  perform some simple home chores. “Peter, go and bring me water in the
  bucket”, Peter said I am tired, go there aged yourself. Mary said bitterly
  you Monkey!! I will not give you food. You call me Monkey? You should
  apologize because that is an abuse! Mary said, apologizing for what you
  stubborn boy!! Peter god angry, went in Mary’s room and picked two new
  pair of shoes and three them into the pit latrine. When Mary noticed this,
  she beat her brother seriously. When the mother came back home, Peter
  narrated the story to her mother that Mary beat him. She called Mary in
  a soft voice, grabbed her and gave her some punches and slaps. Mary
  cried until the eyes become red. When the father arrived home, Mary
  reported her mother to the father. The father started quarrelling with the
  mother over beating Mary, and they ended in a serious fight until the
  neighbours intervened. They had injured each other and were taken to
  the Hospital.
  Questions:
  Basing on what you have read in the story and your own experience,
  discuss the consequences of conflicts, family, institution and society
  

  at large.

  In conflict, people show disrespect for others’ ideas. They aim to promote their
  interests at the cost of others.
  A. Negative consequences of conflicts
  5.4.1. Mental strain
  Excessive conflict creates tension and frustration amongst people. This not only
  harms the individuals (as they may enter into a state of depression) but also
  harms the organization (people do not positively contribute to organizational
  productivity).
  5.4.2. Discontentment
  Conflict breeds antagonism and discontentment. This reduces power to think
  creatively and reduces group effectiveness. If people do not arrive at mutually
  agreeable solutions, it results in discontentment. People are not satisfied with
  their jobs. This lowers the organizational productivity.
  5.4.3. Communication breakdown
  When individuals or groups develop conflicting ideas, they avoid interacting with
  each other. This reduces communication amongst them leading to inter-group
  rivalry and loss of productive ideas.
  As conflicts lead to disagreement and communication breakdown, people do not
  agree with each other leading to splitting up of groups and units. This diverts
  energy from organizational goals and leads to instability in the organizational
  structure.
  5.4.4. Resignation
  Discontentment can lead to resignation from jobs. If results are not in favour of
  people who strongly oppose certain decisions, they do not wish to work in those
  organizations and look for other job outlets. If these people are dynamic and
  creative individuals, it is loss for the organization.
  5.4.5. Distorted perceptions
  Groups hold strong perceptions about their activities and disregard those of the
  other group. They highlight their strong points and competitors’ weak points. This
  leads to deviation from organizational goals.
  5.4.6. Competitive struggle
  Conflict leads to competition. Rather than arriving at consensus, agreement or
  settlement, competitive struggle declines group’s ability to think and act positively.
  5.4.7. Subordination of group goals to individual goals
  Members promote personal goals rather than group goals. They think of ways to
  promote their personal interests rather than organizational interests. This reduces
  organizational efficiency. People divert energy from constructive to destructive
  

  thinking.

  They think of how to win over conflicting situations rather than pursuing
  organizational goals. Short-term personal problems, thus, supersede
  long-term interests of the organization. People focus on personal goals
  at the cost of organizational goals. This results in goal displacement as
  short-term perspective overpowers the long-term perspective.
  5.4.8 Threat to group survival:
  In extreme situations, members can stop working. This stop functioning of the
  group and threatens its survival.
  B. Positive consequences of conflicts management and resolution
  Conflicts are inevitable and they have not only negatives consequences.
  However, they have positive consequences if they are efficiently managed and
  resolved. Then conflict become constructive and encourages new ideas to solve
  organizational problems. It promotes change and keeps the organization going
  in the desired direction. Within conflict management and resolution, differences
  in opinion do not hurt anyone’s feelings. People respect each other’s ideas and
  arrive at new solutions to the problems to develop working relationships.
  5.4.9. High degree of cohesion
  Inter-group conflict gives rise to commitment and loyalty amongst members
  of the group. Group members unite together, take advantage of opportunities,
  overcome threats and take strong actions to resolve their problems. All members
  of the group work together for a common goal.
  It promotes group cohesiveness if people of different groups compete with each
  other. In order to do better, members of each group work together. They become
  loyal and bonded to each other which promotes organizational performance.
  5.4.10. Improvement in quality of decisions
  When group members face conflict, they think of all possible solutions to the
  problem, evaluate the decisions and use their creative and innovative abilities
  to arrive at the best decisions. Inter-group conflict, thus, improves the quality of
  decisions and stimulates creativity and innovation. When people have conflicting
  opinions, they deeply analyze facts of the case. Deep understanding of concepts
  promotes new thinking, new ideas and, thus, fosters innovation.
  5.4.11. Emergence of leaders
  Everybody does not think alike in conflicting situation. Group members bestow
  power on those who can positively contribute to the problem situation to take
  

  decisions. Increased power gives rise to leaders who act as the group captain.

  This also reduces rivalry amongst members to become group leaders.
  5.4.12. Response to change
  Conflict promotes change if people do not readily agree to each other. Differences
  in opinions, values and perception introduce new ways of working which is
  different from the traditional thinking. Conflicts challenge the existing a situation
  and promote new ideas and reassessment of current group practices. Conflict
  signals something wrong with the present system of working and promotes ability
  to assess the present and desire for a better future. Conflict, thus, increases
  responsiveness of group to change.
  5.4.13. Increased productivity
  It is empirically proved that productivity of conflicting groups is more than
  those which have close agreement amongst the members. Members with
  different perceptions and interests produce high-quality solutions to problems.
  This improves productivity of the group. Conflicts highlight weaknesses in the
  existing system of management. These weaknesses can be removed to improve
  efficiency of the organization’s operating system.
  5.4.14. Releases strain
  If group members do not agree with pre-defined values and norms, conflicts
  give them a ground for voicing their reservations. This releases strain that would
  otherwise remain suppressed in their minds. In conflicting situations, people
  openly express their thoughts and feelings, even if they are against the thought
  process of other members of the organizations. This releases strain and provides
  

  mental satisfaction to the members.

  Application activity 5.4
  1. Discuss the consequences of conflicts to individuals and to the
  community in general
  2. Discuss the positive consequences of conflicts management
  and resolution to individuals and to the community in general
  5.5. Management and transformation of conflict
  Learning activities 5.5
  1. Differentiate, conflict resolution, conflict management and conflict
  

  transformation

  

  Conflicts are part and parcel of human life and experiences. When they occur,
  they are either solved, managed or transformed. The following are differences
  between conflict resolution, conflict management and conflict transformation:
  5.6.1. Meaning of key concepts
  

  • Conflict resolution

  
  

  Conflict resolution seeks to heal the conflict at the heart of dispute. It focuses
  on finding creative solutions and common grounds between parties. It views the
  conflict as a neutral source rather than negative a harness the possible outcome
  of conflict creates a solution. Conflict resolution focuses on short term disputes
  that are present through the understanding of the root causes of conflicts and
  envisages methods to solve them. Conflict resolution is often utilized to create
  positive-sum constructive outcomes from a conflict. In deciding what conflicts
  should be solved using conflict resolution, the creative potential of conflict should
  be considered. it is more accurate to describe conflict as a neutral force with
  constructive and destructive potential.
  • Conflict management
  According to Bloomfield and Reilly, conflict management can be defined as “the
  positive and constructive handling of difference and divergence” (Bloomfield
  and Reilly, 1998). Instead of focusing on resolving differences between people,
  conflict management takes a pragmatic approach to conflict by constructing
  agreements and practices that allow people to effectively cooperate despite their
  differences. Thus, conflict management is used for long standing conflicts that
  cannot be resolved easily and helps the parties to learn how to continue being
  in the same space without reverting the behaviors present at the highest of the
  conflict. Therefore, it is a system that handles differences and disputes positively
  and constructively to encourage parties to work together even during conflicts. It
  seeks to mitigate the negative effects in the environment of the conflicting parties.
  For some conflicts or disputes, conflict resolution and conflict management work
  together since when the conflicts surface parties start looking into conflict resolution
  to solve the disputes and when it intensifies, they use conflict management.
  • Conflict transformation
  Unlike conflict management, which focuses on providing tools to mitigate conflict,
  and conflict resolution, which focuses on providing creative solutions through
  resolving conflict constructively, conflict transformation asserts that individual
  conflicts are influenced by larger cultures, systems, and structures that promote
  the continuation of conflict. Like conflict resolution, conflict transformation fulfills
  psychological needs by not only making sure parties’ needs are addressed
  in individual conflicts but by ensuring they are being fulfilled by the system
  surrounding the conflicts. Conflict transformation empowers individuals to handle
  conflicts creatively and nonviolently on their own while addressing changes in the
  

  surrounding system that may allow for sustained peace

  There is no one solution that will work in all situations in solving and
  managing conflicts. Each situation will be different, from the trigger of the
  conflict to the parties involved. A manager skilled in conflict resolution
  should be able to take a birds-eye view of the conflict and apply the conflict
  management style that is called for in that specific situation.
  Conflict management is the process by which disputes are resolved, where
  negative results are minimized and positive results are prioritized. There
  are five conflict management styles:
  5.5.2. Conflict Management styles/Methods
  • Accommodating
  This style is about simply putting the other parties needs before one’s own. You
  allow them to ‘win’ and get their way. Accommodation is for situations where
  you don’t care as strongly about the issue as the other person, if prolonging the
  conflict is not worth your time, or if you think you might be wrong. This option
  is about keeping peace, not putting in more effort than the issue is worth and
  knowing. Accommodation can be the absolute best choice to resolve a small
  conflict and move on with more important issues.
  Example: Daniel and Peter are arguing about discussing about the best
  Combination to choose after ordinary level. Peter considers Science combinations
  as the best combinations ever, while Daniel proposes humanities combinations
  as the best one. Peter prefers to stop arguments and agrees that science
  combinations are better just to stop arguing and confirms that both combinations
  are fine.
  • Avoiding
  This style aims to reduce conflict by ignoring it, removing the conflicted parties,
  or evading it in some manner. Team members in conflict can be removed from
  the project they are in conflict over, deadlines are pushed, or people are even
  reassigned to other departments. This can be an effective conflict resolution style
  if there is a chance that a cool-down period would be helpful or if you need more
  time to consider your stance on the conflict itself. Avoidance should not be a
  substitute for proper resolution, however; pushing back conflict indefinitely can
  

  and will lead to more and bigger conflicts down the line.

  Example: Kalisa and Kaliza are students in Senior four Nursing program.
  They have been given assignement to accomplish and submit
  in five hours. They do not agree on the procedures to follow.
  However, when the teacher informs them that they are given
  one additional day to submit, they leave out misunderstanding
  and draw new strategies to accomplish the task in new time
  schedule.
  • Compromising
  This style seeks to find the middle ground by asking both parties to concede
  some aspects of their desires so that a solution can be agreed upon. This
  style is sometimes known as lose-lose, in that both parties will have to
  give up a few things in order to agree on the larger issue. This is used
  when there is a time crunch, or when a solution simply needs to happen,
  rather than be perfect. Compromise can lead to resentment, especially if
  overused as a conflict resolution tactic, so use sparingly.
  Example: James and Rosette are students in Senior 4 Nursing program,
  they are given an assignment on maternal childcare, James
  wants to present using video while Rosette prefer to use
  pictures, texts and illustrations. This causes a dispute among
  them. However, they resolved it by taking a half of assignment as
  a video and other part to include pictures, text and illustrations.
  • Competing
  This style rejects compromise and involves not giving in to others viewpoints
  or wants. One party stands firm in what they think is the correct handling of a
  situation and does not back down until they get their way. This can be in situations
  where morals dictate that a specific course of action is taken, when there is no
  time to try and find a different solution or when there is an unpopular decision to
  be made. It can resolve disputes quickly, but there is a high chance of morale and
  productivity being lessened.
  • Collaboration
  Collaboration involves putting together several ideas given by different people so
  as to come up with a solution acceptable to everyone. It produces the best longterm
  results, at the same time it is often the most difficult and time-consuming to
  reach. Each party’s needs and wants are considered, and a win-win solution is
  

  found so that everyone leaves satisfied.

  • Negotiation
  The principles of collaborative negotiation are useful to solve a dispute around
  you. This is the technique of deal-making that help to solve a problem within
  your limit. For instance, you should target to explore the interests underlying
  parties’ positions, such as a need to resolve a dispute without attracting negative
  publicity. By negotiating options and looking for minimum best across disputes,
  you may be able to negotiate a desirable outcome to your disagreement without
  the help of outside parties.
  • Mediation
  In mediation, disputants come up with a skilled, neutral third party to help them
  come to harmony. Rather than imposing a solution, a professional mediator
  inspires disputants to search the interests underlying their positions. Working with
  disputants both together and individually, mediators seek to help them find out
  a resolution that is viable, voluntary, and not obligatory. This strategy transforms
  the conflict to an opportunity to make adjustments through listening to others
  thereby making reasoned choices.
  • Arbitration
  Arbitration resembles a court trial. Here, a neutral third party serves as a judge
  and make proper decisions to end the dispute. The arbitrator listens to the
  arguments and evidence presented by each side and then extracts a binding
  and often confidential decision. Although disputants typically cannot appeal an
  arbitrator’s decision, they can negotiate most features of the arbitration process,
  including whether lawyers will be present and which principles of evidence will
  be used. Arbitration transforms the conflict into a forum for reasoning together,
  explaining any shared vision and showing the need to share available resources
  harmoniously. This is likely to lead to improved interdepartmental relations;
  increased morale among members of the conflicting groups hence increased
  productivity.
  Peace keeping forces are sometimes used as arbitrators where there are conflicts
  and wars. The role of the peacekeeping forces usually is to not only maintain
  peace and security, but also to facilitate the political process, protect civilians,
  assist in the disarmament of fighting groups, support the organisation of elections
  in areas where the ruler of law has been restored, protect and promote human
  rights and assist in restoring the rule of law.
  • Litigation
  In a civil trial, a defendant and a litigant face off before either a judge or a judge
  and bench, who weigh the evidence and make a decision. Information presented
  in hearings and trials usually enters the public record. Lawyers typically rule
  litigation, which often ends in a negotiated settlement during the pretrial period.
  Note that negotiation and mediation are the informal procedures that always try
  to make decisions without harming the disputants. Conflict-resolution training can
  further improve your ability to negotiate satisfactory resolutions to your disputes.
  • Guidance and counselling
  This involves talking to an objective or an experienced person for advice. It
  transforms the conflict into an opportunity to see competing interests or thoughts
  as platforms to choose the best option. This empowers the decision-maker to
  make informed decisions.
  • Talking to others about the conflict
  This involves sharing your mental struggle with those close to you. This gives
  the person an opportunity to hear the opinions of others, clear any doubts or
  

  confusions and therefore transforming the conflict into a learning opportunity

  Application activity 5.5
  Discuss different conflict resolution and management in the society
  5.6. Conflict Prevention
  

  Learning activity 5.6

  Read the following case study and answers the questions that follows:
  Once upon time, there was family in Eastern part of Rwanda and all
  inhabitants fled to other districts to find some food. The found fertile
  lands and stayed there for a long time. Across the border in Tanzania, the
  Rwandese who live there decided to come back to their home country and
  were settled in Eastern part. They grew crops, they reared animals and
  became rich. They considered that area as theirs. When the inhabitants
  who fled because of the famine heard this, they started planning how to
  come back to chase away those who repatriated from Tanzania.
  Questions:
  1) Suppose you are a leader how would you solve the land settlement
  issue?
  2) Propose conflict preventive measures that you would take to ensure
  that the conflict over land does not break at home, community and
  society
  Conflict prevention is a broad term that refers to a variety of activities and
  strategies within the field of peace building that are deployed to pre-empt and
  subsequently neutralize potential triggers to widespread violent conflict.
  Conflict prevention is defined as “a medium and long-term proactive operational
  or structural strategy undertaken by a variety of actors, intended to identify and
  create the enabling conditions for a stable and more predictable international
  security environment.”
  According to Michael Lund conflict prevention is any structural or intercessory
  means to keep intrastate or interstate tension and disputes from escalating into
  significant violence and use of armed forces, to strengthen the capabilities of
  potential parties to violent conflict for resolving such disputes peacefully, and
  to progressively reduce the underlying problems that produce these issues
  and disputes. Hence, conflict prevention are any measures that prevent violent
  conflicts and strengthen the capacity of concerned actors to act structurally to
  reduce the possibility of conflict. There are two types of conflict prevention
  • Direct or operational conflict prevention
  Direct or operational conflict prevention is a reactive and often short-term
  interventions and measures taken to prevent an imminent outbreak of violence.
  Direct prevention of conflict uses mediators. Example: Getting a mediator or
  withdraw of military forces in an area.
  • Structural conflict prevention
  Structural conflict prevention is a long term institutional or grass roots changes
  and measures designed to help create sustainable peace, while addressing
  the underlying causes of violence within a community. Example: Economic
  development assistance or increased political participation.
  If conflicts are not resolved and managed, can lead to major problems which
  may affect the whole nation and affect development negatively. It is a duty of
  everyone and political entities to ensure that conflicts are resolved, managed and
  prevented. Conflicts can be prevented in the following ways:
  • Good governance
  Good governance is effective in preventing conflicts. It achieves this through its
  participatory approach where every citizen’s voice is taken into consideration in
  decision making process. It is consensus oriented and protects the minority, it
  ensures accountability, efficiency, transparency, equitability and the rule of law
  at all leadership levels. It ensures that legal frameworks are impartial, protects
  

  human rights and ensure justice at all levels.

  • Effective and efficient communication
  Effective and efficient Communication also plays a very important role in avoiding
  conflict. People get to know of other’s expectations and make their expectations
  known only through communicating. The way one talks, the tone and choice of
  words, politeness and respect in communication can prevent or trigger conflicts.
  • Emotion management
  Emotions and feelings are lived every day. Controlling one’s emotions, feelings
  also is very important as emotional outbursts often result to conflicts and leads to
  negative consequences unnecessarily. People should sound judgments, critical
  thinking in decision making to avoid conflicts.
  • Values Education
  Values education helps to prevent conflicts since it imparts necessary traits, and
  the concept of good and bad right and wrong which leads people to have the
  same point of view on some things. For example, patience and listening, honest,
  justice, peace, respect, humility are core values in conflicts prevention.
  • Transparency and accountability
  Transparency and accountability ensures that all people are given equal
  opportunity opportunities and have access to all services. When some do not
  abide by principles, they are held accountable of their actions or decision and
  therefore justice is ensured. to all citizens. This checks against gender, ethnic or
  any forms of discrimination, nepotism, corruption that may come across.
  • Equality of all people in all spheres of lives.
  Equality of people is the mother of harmony and peace in the society. When all
  citizens are given equal opportunity to services, jobs, health care, education,
  economy conflicts are minimized. Because if a problem arises is solved
  immediately. Again, ensuring inclusivity, gender equality and equity, participatory
  approach in all spheres of life is a value to conflict prevention in the society.
  • Putting in place laws that protect all citizens.
  Legislation and law enforcement are forces that manage and prevent conflicts.
  In Rwanda, many laws were put in place to protect citizen rights and their
  property. For example, there laws that protect of gender-based violence, laws
  for child protection, for social protection, for crime prevention. In addition to
  this, the Government of Rwanda prevents conflicts by putting in place policies
  and programs that support and help vulnerable people. Example: mutual health
  

  insurance, VIUP, Girinka, Abunzi program among others.

  • Security and economic stability
  Ensuring a stable economy in a country helps to prevent conflict. When the
  citizens know they can set up businesses, they can make money and can save
  and invest without fearing their investment will be stolen will help people work
  

  better and with more confidence and with each other fairly.

  Application activity 5.6
  1. Differentiate direct from structural conflict prevention
  2. Assess strategies of conflicts prevention in Rwanda and elsewhere
  in the world.
  5.7. End Unit Assessment
  End Unit assessment
  1. Explain the meaning of the following concepts
  a). Conflict
  b). Conflict management
  c). Conflict resolution
  d). Conflict transformation
  2. Discuss the types of conflicts in society
  3. Assess the causes and consequences of conflicts on individual,
  community and society in general.
  4. Suppose you are elected a leader of a given non-government
  organization, what strategies would you use to solve, manage
  

  and prevent conflict in your organization.

• UNIT 6 INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

  Key Unit Competence:
  Be able to analyze the role of the individual in society including family,
  marriage, local, national and global communities.
  Introductory activity 6.1
  Living in a society involves being part and taking part in society in
  all aspects. As a learner, describe your individual role in your daily
  environment?
  6.1. Individual identity and multiple identities
  Learning activity 6.1
  Think of the various social groups that you belong to. Why do you
  belong to each of these groups? Explain your answer to your friend.
  Identity is a socially and historically constructed concept. Anybody learns about
  his or her own identity and the identity of others through interactions with family,
  peers, organizations, institutions, media and other connections he/she makes in
  his/her everyday life.
  Key facets of identity like gender, social class, age, race and ethnicity, religion,
  etc. play significant roles in determining how people understand and experience
  the world, as well as shaping the types of opportunities and challenges they
  face. Social and cultural identity is linked to issues of power, value systems and
  ideology.
  When we think about identity, we may focus on cultural markers, like clothing, or
  biological and physiological markers as skin color. However, it’s also important to
  understand that our identities are comprised of shared ideas, ideologies, biases
  and ways of seeing the world around us. Our identities, therefore, are socially
  constructed, and our biological attributes are only one part of who we are.
  It is said that birds of a feather flock together. This means that there will be a
  reason why you identify with every particular social group that you belong to.
  

  There are either shared characteristics, shared interests or a shared vision. For

  example, you may be a member of a certain religious group because you share
  the same faith. Similarly, you may also belong to another group of people who
  share similar ambitions with you.
  In spite of belonging to all these groups, you maintain your individual qualities,
  interests and aspirations as a person. These make up your individual identity.
  The different groups you belong to portray your social identity whereas the way
  you do things and your beliefs make up your cultural identity. As such though
  a person may have his/her own individual identity, he/she may also have other
  multiple identities.
  An individual who is socialized to more than one set-up of cultural values and
  various social groups will acquire multiple identities.
  Thus, an individual is likely to identify himself/herself indifferent ways.
  For example:
  a) Individual identity-a teacher, a man, etc.
  b) Cultural identity- Christian, Muslim, etc.
  

  c) National identity - Rwandan, Ugandan, Kenyan, etc.

  

  Application activity 6.1
  You are a Rwandan born in Rwanda, went to school in Canada, got
  married in Germany and returned to Rwanda many years later, explain
  

  how you have an individual and multiple identity

  6.2 Roles and responsibilities of the individual at different levels
  Learning activity 6.2
  1. Explain your role in your family.
  

  2. How do you participate in community and country activities?

  

  Any individual has the different roles in his/her family, as a member of your
  community and as a citizen of his/her country. At all these levels, he/she has roles
  and responsibilities. In order to discharge each of these roles and responsibilities,
  there is need for wise decision-making.
  In a family, a member has duties and responsibilities that you are expected to carry
  out. For example, helping in household chores and running errands for the older
  members of the family. In school, a learner participates in extra curricula activities
  could be a responsibility.
  An individual’s duties to the community include: cooperation, respect and
  participation in community activities such as umuganda. As a citizen, an individual
  has the responsibility of participating in national activities such as voting in elections.
  Adopting habits that help conserve the environment and promote peaceful
  coexistence among members of the society is part of our individual responsibilities
  at all levels. By performing our duties, we are living according to the expectations of
  our societies and this is important because it strengthens our solidarity, unity and
  patriotism.
  When an individual plays his/her roles at the national level, he/she contributes to the
  improvement of human life hence makes the world better.
  It is also important to note that full human potential cannot be reached if
  individuality is suppressed by society. Therefore, the society gives us a sense of
  belonging by providing opportunities to share individual traits especially during
  communal activities.
  Application Activities 6.2
  1. Explain your roles and responsibilities at the community level.
  2. How do these roles and responsibilities contribute to national
  unity and development?
  6.3. Consequences of making choices and various influences
  on the individual
  Learning activity 6.3
  Read the following story and discuss how you would arrive at a
  decision on solving the problem mentioned.
  1. You are a student in Senior Four and you have realized that you
  have contracted a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). Discuss
  the best way to handle this situation. How did you arrive at the
  decision?
  2. Debate on the various opinions given by the group members and
  have one student make a presentation on your discussions in
  class.
  Every choice has consequences and for one to arrive at a decision, he/she must
  be aware of the nature of consequences to expect. For example, from your
  discussions, you must have argued on the merits of opening up to someone
  about the STI infection. You may as well consider going to a health facility or even
  keep your problem a secret in fear of stigmatization. Each of these choices has
  either positive or negative outcomes to the person making the decision as well
  

  as others around him/ her.

  

  A choice made without first thinking deeply about the consequences that will
  follow can be termed as an impulsive decision. Impulsive decisions are likely to
  lead to negative consequences such as:
  • Yielding to peer pressure
  • Taking drugs leading to drug addiction
  • Making wrong career choices
  • Immorality
  • Contracting HIV and AIDS
  • Unwanted pregnancy
  • Failure in exams
  • Environmental degradation
  • Shame and embarrassment to oneself and family
  

  • Poverty

  

  On the other hand, choices that are made after considering all options and
  thinking deeply about their consequences are termed as well thought- out or
  rational decisions.
  Rational decisions are likely to lead to positive consequences such as:
  • Being principled and avoiding peer pressure
  • Making the right career choices
  • Living a fulfilled life both at work and at the family level
  • Prosperity in career, business and other aspects of life
  • Environmental conservation
  • Fame and recognition in society
  • Success in exams.
  Application Activity 6.3
  1. What would influence you to decide either to go to the hospital or
  not to in situation given in Activity3?
  2. Using the situation given in Activity 4, discuss the consequences
  that would follow if you chose not to go to hospital or seek help
  from any one because of the fear of stigmatization.
  3. How would this decision affect your close friends?
  4. Explain the consequences of going to see a doctor after realizing
  

  that you have an STI.

  In the scenario given in the activity above, financial constraints, fear of being
  laughed at by peers as well as the fear of being reprimanded by religious leaders
  may make the victim decide not to go to the hospital where his/ her condition
  is likely to be made public. On the other hand, the fear of being discovered by
  peers, high level of education and high level of self-esteem can motivate the
  victim to seek medical attention.
  It is important to understand the factors that influence choices because then we
  can understand why decisions are made. Good choices help an individual to
  improve a situation while bad choices make situations worse. It is important to note
  that you can choose your actions, but not the consequences. If you do not like
  the consequences that may follow your actions, avoid these actions.
  6.4. Types of manipulations and process of decision making
  Learning activity 6.4
  1. Tell your partner about a time you made a decision because you
  wanted to impress or please somebody. How did you feel after
  you had done something you personally didn’t feel was right?
  2. Discuss and write a list of the possible consequences of making
  choices just to impress friends
  In life, we are sometimes influenced by manipulations of other people to make
  certain choices. Manipulation involves controlling or influencing the behaviour or
  the response of a person on a certain matter using clever, unfair or unscrupulous
  tactics. We get deceived into doing something that we do not fully believe in but
  which favours or pleases the other person. For example, teenagers may engage
  

  in irresponsible sexual behaviour or go to night parties out of the manipulations of

  their peers. These manipulations can come in different types. The following
  are examples of types of manipulations.
  • Using sympathy and guilt: this is where an individual appeals to the
  emotions of others by seeking pity and creating guilt if the targeted person
  fails to show mercy by doing what was asked of him/ her.
  • Indifference: this is where a person pretends not to care about a situation
  intending to draw the attention of others to himself/ herself.
  • Criticism to gain control: this is belittling other people in a way that makes
  them feel incompetent and unworthy. This way, the critic makes the other
  people perceive him/ her as being more powerful.
  We should be bold enough to stand against any of these types of manipulation
  when making decisions. When we bow to manipulation, we benefit the other
  person. We gain nothing and sometimes we lose out of manipulation. We should
  learn to say ‘No’ to manipulation. For example, teenagers should learn to say
  ‘No’ to peer pressure that coerces them into engaging in irresponsible sexual and
  reproductive behaviour and other socially unacceptable behaviours.
  Remember dealing with saying ‘No’ is much easier than dealing with a Sexually
  Transmitted Infection (STI) or an unplanned pregnancy. Abstain from pre-marital
  sex or protect yourself.
  Note that there are different approaches to decision-making. Note also that
  decision-making is a process that takes time and different steps. It is not an
  event that happens on the spot. While spontaneous decisions are sometimes
  necessary, such as during an emergency, decisions made after consultations
  and considerations are more informed hence more reliable.
  The following are some important steps one should take in order to make a
  wise and informed decision:
  • Identify the problem or opportunity: If one has to make an appropriate
  choice, he/she must fully understand the problem or opportunity at hand.
  This will help in determining the most appropriate decision by considering
  all the available options.
  • Research: Get as much information to help you get a deeper understanding
  of the problem or opportunity
  • Analyze the information: Study the information gathered and opinions
  given and establish any connections and discrepancies. See how others
  have solved a similar problem or utilized a similar opportunity and the
  consequences that followed. Establish whether the same can happen in
  your case.
  • Develop options: Come up with the possible solutions to the problem or
  approaches to utilizing the opportunity. Consider other alternatives and the
  consequences of each possible solution or approach.
  • Decide: Choose the most appropriate option after you have considered all
  the available options and their consequences.
  • Implement: Actualize the decision that you made.
  • Evaluate: Establish how effective the decision you have made is. In case
  the decision is not effective, the second best option can be tried and a new
  research is carried out.
  Some decisions have huge financial implications. It is necessary therefore to do
  thorough research before making any decision. Consulting knowledgeable and
  

  experienced people is also necessary to avoid incurring financial losses.

  Application activity 6.4
  1. Since you have learned what decision-making entails, what
  aspect of your decision-making do you need to change?
  Explain to your partner.
  2. What steps would you take when making a communal decision?
  3. Explain; what steps you would take to make the decision about
  the career you would like to pursue.
  6.5 Personal responsibility
  Leaning activity 6.5
  Explain what would happen if you failed to do the following:
  1. Wash clothes.
  2. Does your home work.
  3. Brush your teeth.
  Personal responsibility is understood as a level of commitment one is willing to make
  in setting and achieving clear goals. In other words, being personal responsible
  means taking responsibility for one’s actions, words, and performance at work.
  Responsible employees understand that they are in full control of themselves.
  Personal responsibility refers to a duty to take action and be ready to bear the
  resultant consequences if something goes wrong. Personal responsibility can
  also be conceptualized as a duty to try hard to make your life worthwhile and to
  

  be fair to others.

  The following are illustrative examples of personal responsibility:
  • Agency: Agency is an individual’s capacity to control their own life. A
  person, such a very small child, who has no agency also has personal
  responsibility. Most adults have enough agency to be completely
  responsible for their own life. There are things that can be limit agency
  such as living in an extremely repressive society or having serious medical
  conditions or disability.
  • Self-control: The basic responsibility to control your emotions, desires
  and impulses. For example, the responsibility to control feelings of anger
  such you don’t act out in an reasonable way.
  • Honesty: The responsibility to be honest to yourself and the others. This
  can be expected of a small child, particularly with regards to honest to
  others. Being honest to yourself implies also knowing one’s strength,
  limitations, and weaknesses and make effort to improve your personality.
  Honest implies matching words with actions.
  • Accountability: Taking the blame when you have done something wrong.
  Responsibility of holding yourself accountable means communicating
  about projects, your role within them, wins and failures, and ways to
  improve in the future. It involves owning your failures, communicating
  about them openly, and issuing a real and genuine apology if necessary.
  • Moral duty: The responsibility not to do things is morally wrong, even if
  this means challenging authority. For example, following orders doesn’t
  absolve one of personal responsibility for morally reprehensible acts.
  • Civility: The duty to try to resolve differences with others in the most
  peaceful and respectful what possible. For example, following the rules of
  a society in trying that society.
  • Reasonable Expectations: Conforming to the reasonable expectations of
  others where this makes sense. This implies adhering to cultural norms
  unless there is some good reason not to adhere. For example, removing
  your shoes when you enter someone’s home if that is the local custom.
  • Diligence: The responsibility to apply attention care in your actions. For
  example, the duty to pays attention to the road when driving.
  • Risk management: Risk management encompasses the identification,
  analysis, and response to risk factors that form part of the effective risk
  management means attempting to control, as much as possible, future
  outcomes by acting proactively rather than reactively. Therefore, effective
  risk management offers the potential to reduce both the possibility of a risk
  occurring and its potential impact. For example, performing basic safety
  related maintenance on a vehicle.
  • Introspection: The study to try understanding your own thoughts,
  emotions, motivations, character values and goals.
  • Extrospection: The responsibility to observe your environment and others
  and to be mindful of your impact on the world.
  • Motivation: The duty to find energy and enthusiasm for things. For
  example, an adult can’t expect others to be constantly motivating them but
  rather need to find their own source of drive.
  • Knowledge: Knowledge to develop a reasonable level of knowledge with
  regards to your family, community, society, culture, planet and profession.
  For example, the responsibility to know a little about local manners
  traveling.
  • Roles: The responsibility to do your very to fulfill your roles in life whether
  they are social or economic. For example, trying to perform your job.
  • Self-direction: Solving problems and making decisions without anyone
  having to push you. For example, example, a high school student who is
  expected to complete any activity or study.
  • Resilience: The duty to build resilience to stress. For example, an adult
  can be reasonably expected to handle criticism without losing it.
  • Health: Taking good care of your body and mind and always being
  responsible of your health habits.
  • Self-Fulfillment: The duty to try to do something meaningful with your life
  

  as you see it.

  Application activity 6.5
  Using concrete examples, explain the characteristics of personal
  responsibilities
  6.6. End Unit Assessment
  End Unit Assessment
  Read the story below and then answer the questions that follow.
  A teenage boy engaged in irresponsible sexual behaviour and ended
  up impregnating his classmate. A shamed of the situation, he tried to
  convince her to abort the child but she objected. She instead shared
  her predicament with her mother and asked for her advice. Even though
  the situation did not impress her mother, she guided her and after giving
  birth, the girl went back to a day school while her parents supported the
  young child.
  Questions
  1. Describe the consequences of the decisions made by the
  teenage boy and his classmate.
  2. Who between the two teenagers was more responsible and
  why?
  3. Do you suppose their irresponsibility would lead them to a
  long-term commitment? Explain.
  4. Who between the boy and the girl made the best decision?
  

  Give reasons for your answer

• UNIT 7 LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to criticize and improve different leadership styles
  

  Introductory activity

  1. Observe the pictures above and identify different ways of leading.
  

  
  

  2. Examine the characteristics of a good leader and challenges
  

  facing them.

  7.1. Concept and styles of leadership
  Learning activity 7.1
  1. Discuss the meaning of leadership that you know.
  2. In groups discuss the characteristics of a good leader, a good
  manager and a good governor.
  7.1.1. Concept of leadership
  Meaning of leadership: Leadership refers to the ability to influence followers
  positively. It can also be defined as the ability to organize and supervise others
  with the purpose of achieving goals. Leadership is the process whereby an
  individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal or to
  accomplish a mission. Leadership is defined as a social relationship between
  two or more persons who depend on each other to attain certain mutual goals in
  

  a group situation.

  Leadership is inspiring others to pursue a vision within the goals set, so that it
  becomes a shared effort, a shared vision, and a shared success. Leadership
  involves:
  • Establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with others so that they will
  follow willingly.
  • Providing the information, knowledge and methods to fulfill that vision, and
  coordinating and balancing the conflicting situations.
  • Leadership is a process of social influence, which means influencing
  people around you as a leader and maximizing their efforts towards the
  achievement of a goal.
  7.1.2. The leadership styles
  Leadership styles refer to a leaders’ characteristic behaviors when directing,
  leading, motivating, guiding, and managing groups of people. Great leaders can
  inspire political movements and social change. They can also motivate others
  to perform, create, and innovate. They refer to classification of a person while
  leading a group. All leaders do not possess same attitude or same perspective
  and the same ability to lead. Thus, all of the leaders do not get the things done
  in the same manner. Their leadership style varies. The leadership style varies
  with the kind of people the leader interacts and deals with. A perfect/standard
  leadership style is one which assists a leader in getting the best out of the people
  who follow him.
  

  a) The authoritarian/autocratic leadership:

  
  

  It is the type of leadership where the leader keeps strict, close control over followers
  by keeping close regulation of policies and procedures given to followers. There
  is direct supervision in order to maintain a successful leadership environment.
  Followers are expected to be productive, and therefore authoritarian leaders
  endeavor to keep close supervision, because of their belief that for anything to
  be done it requires consistent supervision and follow up. Authoritarian leadership
  style often follows the vision of those that are in control even when the decisions
  are not agreed upon by every individual.
  

  b) Paternalistic leadership:

  
  

  This is a leadership style where the leader works by acting as a father figure, he
  takes care of the followers as a parent. In this style of leadership, the leader has
  complete concern for his followers or workers, creates a relationship of trust and
  loyalty with followers. A team spirit is created and people work interdependently;
  

  they treat each other like family within the organization

  c) Democratic leadership:
  

  
  

  Democratic leadership style involves the leader sharing the decision-making
  process with his followers. The followers have a sense of belonging, ownership
  and responsibility; this also promotes the interests of the group members by
  practicing social equality. One of the main characteristics of this leadership is
  discussion, debate, sharing of ideas and encouragement of people to feel good
  

  about their involvement. It requires guidance and control by a specific leader.

  d) Laissez-faire leadership:
  

  
  

  This leadership style is where all the leaders and workers have the right and
  power to make decisions. Laissez-faire leaders allow followers to have complete
  freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of work and the running
  of the community. There is a high degree of independence and self-rule, while
  at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. The leader
  guides with freedom, the followers are provided with all materials necessary to
  

  accomplish their goals.

  e) Transformational Leadership:
  

  
  

  This is the leadership style where the leader is not limited by his or her followers’
  perception, ideas or innovations. The main objective is to work to change or
  transform his or her followers’ needs and to redirect their thinking. Leaders that
  follow the transformation style of leading challenge and inspire their followers
  with a sense of purpose and excitement. They also create a vision of what they
  aspire to be and communicate this idea to others.
  f) Bureaucratic Leadership
  This style of leadership follows rules very strictly and ensures that their people
  follow procedures precisely. Bureaucratic leadership is also useful for managing
  employees who perform routine tasks. This style is much less effective in teams
  and organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity or innovation. Bureaucratic
  leaders are like autocratic leaders in that they expect their team members
  to follow the rules and procedures precisely as written. The bureaucratic
  style focuses on fixed duties within a hierarchy where each employee has a set
  list of responsibilities, and there is little need for collaboration and creativity. This
  leadership style is most effective in highly regulated industries or departments,
  

  such as finance, health care or government.

  g) Charismatic Leadership:

  
  

  Charismatic leadership is a type of leadership style that resembles transformational
  leadership; both types of leaders inspire and motivate their team members.
  The difference lies in their intent. Transformational leaders want to transform
  their teams and organizations, while leaders who rely on charisma often focus on
  

  themselves and their own ambitions, and they may not want to change anything.

  h) Servant Leadership:
  

  
  

  Servant leadership is a style of leadership leads simply by meeting the needs of
  the people or community. In this leadership the person isn’t formally recognised
  as a leader. These people often lead by example. They have high integrity and
  lead with generosity. This way of leadership creates a positive culture, and it can
  

  lead to high morale among the people or community.

  i) Transactional Leadership:
  

  
  

  Transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which leaders create structures
  where it is clear what is required of their workers, and the rewards that they get
  for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also
  well understood. These leaders look to keep things the same.
  j) Situational Leadership
  Situational leadership is where the leader must adjust his style to fit the
  development level of the followers he/she is trying to influence. With situational
  leadership, it is up to the leader to change his style, not the follower to adapt to
  the leader’s style. The style may change continually to meet the needs of others
  

  in the organization based on the situation.

  Application activity 7.1
  1. What do you understand by leadership?
  2. From the various types of leadership you have learnt, which one
  appeals to you the most?
  Give reasons for your answer.
  7.2. Characteristics of a good leader and challenges facing
  leaders
  Learning activity 7.2
  Case study: Kaneza was appointed to be a leader of the health Centre.
  After three years he became the leader of hospital because he was
  competent.
  Discuss the possible reasons that led to the promotion of Mr Kaneza
  

  as characteristics of a good leader

  7.2.1. Characteristics of a good leader
  Leading other people or an activity a strong set of leadership qualities to help
  positively interact with employees, team members, and clients and other people
  in surrounding environment. Behavioral theories suggest that leadership skills
  aren’t ingrained and can be taught people can obtain good leadership qualities
  through teaching and learning these skills over time while some others suggest
  that some leadership skills are hereditary.
  The following are some of the characteristics of a good leader:
  • Honest: This is being truthful, sincere, having integrity in every action.
  Being untrue and deceptive in behaviour will not inspire trust.
  • Competent: To be competent means to be capable, fit, suitably skilled and
  well qualified. A leader’s actions should be based on reason and moral
  principles. A good leader does not make decisions based on emotional
  desires or feelings.
  • Forward-looking: Setting goals and having a vision of the future is a good
  sign of good leadership. Effective leaders envision what they want and how
  to get it.
  • Inspiring: Another characteristic of a good leader is inspirational. A leader
  displays confidence in his actions. By showing endurance in mental,
  physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new
  heights. Take charge when necessary
  • Intelligent: When a leader reads, studies and seeks challenging
  assignments, he or she improves their knowledge. This is very beneficial
  when leading others.
  • Fair-minded: A leader who shows fair treatment to all people and does not
  have prejudice will treat people and give justice fairly. A good characteristic
  of leadership is when a leader shows and displays empathy by being
  sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and wellbeing of others.
  • Broad and open-minded: This means a leader is open to hearing and
  considering different points of view.
  • Courageous: Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless
  of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. A good leader displays a
  confident calmness when under stress
  • Straightforward: Use sound judgment to make good decisions at the right
  time. A good leader considers all points of view and makes positive and
  workable decisions.
  • Imaginative: A good leader uses his natural gift of being creative and uses
  his imagination to drive the community towards the goals set.
  • Problem solver: A good leader should be able to quickly and creatively,
  while following protocol, solve any problems that arise.
  • Communication: Good communication skills are one of the leadership
  attributes that are absolutely important in leadership positions. Good
  leaders ensure that horizontal and vertical communication are effective and
  efficient.
  • Integrity: Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
  Without integrity, no real success if possible. A leader cannot expect
  his or her followers to be honest when he or she lacks this tremendous
  value: Integrity. Honest and great leaders succeed when they stick to their
  word, live by their core values, lead by example, and follow-through.
  • Accountability: A good leader takes little more than his share of the blame
  and little less than his share of the credit.” Strong and good leaders are
  accountable for the team’s results, good or bad. They hold themselves
  and their employees accountable for their actions, which creates a sense
  of responsibility among the team. Being accountable and leading by
  example is one of the quickest ways leaders can become good leaders
  are by building trust with their team. Being responsible for the actions
  and behaviors of those around you is essential to developing leadership
  qualities, like accountability.
  • Empathy: Truly great leaders have enough open-mindedness to understand
  their followers’ motivations, hopes, dreams, and problems so that they can
  forge a deep personal connection with them.
  • Humility: “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.” Being
  humble and vulnerable with their team members will make a leader much
  more relatable and effective.
  • Resilience: The true grit of a good leader is not how they perform during
  good times, but how they roll up their sleeves and produce when times get
  difficult. Great leaders with positive attitudes lead by example and rally their
  team no matter the circumstances. It’s this inherent positivity that helps
  react to situations with a calm, collected manner and focus on solutions
  rather than on problems.
  • Vision: True leaders inspire loyalty, enthusiasm, and commitment,
  help remind everyone of the big picture and challenge people to outdo
  themselves. Every great leader has had to develop the leadership attributes
  of vision and foresight; it wasn’t gifted to them. Sharing this vision and
  compelling others to act is a secret trait of successful leaders.
  • Influence: Some leaders believe that when they attain a certain level of
  leadership status and those leadership qualities we have talked about
  are owed to them. This is not the case. Leadership and influence are not
  interchangeable, and respect has to be earned, not given.
  • Positivity: Leaders inspire their team not based on their own goals or
  outcomes, but on their exhibited behavior, life outlook, and attitude in any
  given situation. It’s often said that employees and direct reports exhibit the
  behavior of their managers and good leaders need to lead by example at
  all times while mirroring how they want their team to act. Positivity isn’t one
  of those leadership qualities that should be over looked and deemed not
  important. Being positive during stressful or unfortunate situations is a sign
  of strength.
  • Confidence: To be an effective leader, you need to roll up your sleeves
  and take charge. This includes being confident enough to lead, knowing
  that your plans and vision are not only viable for the team but the absolute
  best decision possible. Being confident in every situation is one of the
  leadership qualities that you must develop. Truly great leaders are able to
  

  be confident during any situation even if they feel fear or uncomfortable.

  7.2.2. Challenges facing leaders

  
  

  Executive secretary is a leader in the sense that he is supposed to enforce
  law that maintains healthy and wealthy in the society. Refusal paying health
  insurance is unacceptable. Most leaders experience challenges that hinder them
  from exercising their leadership efficiently. The following are some of the other
  challenges faced by leaders.
  • Leading without being an example. Leadership requires that a leader
  has a good and admirable life background in and out of office. This can be
  very challenging when one wants to do and live according to one’s desires
  and yet the leader needs to set a good example.
  • A leader may face the challenge of lack of funding and other resources,
  opposition from forces in the community, and interpersonal problems
  within the community. Social, economic, and political activities may affect
  the community, for example regarding differences in human rights beliefs.
  When world powers decide that homosexuality for instance is a human
  right, then a leader of a conservative African country will have the challenge
  of implementing this in his/her community.
  • There is a challenge of motivating people and keeping them from staying in
  the same place too long especially when they feel like they are doing well.
  Leaders also have to motivate themselves, and to be enthusiastic about
  what they are doing.
  • Leaders in most cases are faced with public criticism, especially from those
  they lead. This may arise because of finances, the politics of the country or
  community, or the morale of the people.
  • Natural disasters and crises may occur and yet a leader has to find a way of
  controlling the situation. A Police Commander in cases of a tragic situation
  like murder or a road accident will have to deal with the bereaved families,
  the logistics of workers at the site among others. These are different from
  crises in that in a crisis, something important seems to be happening, and
  the situation needs to be controlled.
  • One of the greatest challenges of leadership is facing your own personal
  issues, and making sure they don’t prevent you from exercising leadership.
  For example, challenges and issues from one’s home environment, like
  family problems.
  • Leaders also face the challenge of effective communication. This is difficult
  especially because a leader has a group of people with different personalities
  and their own challenges. Communication has to reach each individual in
  the way the leader intended, but sometimes this doesn’t happen.
  • The loss of passion and intensity that can come with familiarity and long
  service. Think of a situation where a president rules a country for more than
  thirty years. He or she may lose the passion of good leadership
  • Non-cooperation from the community or people being led. This happens
  when people in the community do not participate in the general leadership
  and community goals.
  Application Activity 7.2.
  1. After listing characteristics of a good student, search and find other
  characteristics of a good leader.
  2. Suggest the causes of challenges to leaders.
  7.3. Concept and functions of management and characteristics
  of a good manager.
  Learning Activities 7.3.
  Mr Kwizera is a manager of a pharmacy that deals in selling medicine
  in Rwanda. He delivers a service to different patients in the area
  and people appreciate good service they receive. Basing on your
  

  experience, suggest the role and responsibilities of Mr Kwizera.

  7.3.1. Concept of management
  Management is the ability to coordinate or direct, leading to production of results,
  it involves identifying the mission, objectives and procedures required to meet a
  particular goal or objective. It involves planning, organizing, coordinating and
  controlling activities of others. It also involves the ability to delegate and follow
  up on goals being set. So managers practice management by delegating duties
  and ensuring that they are done. It is the skill of knowing what is to be done
  and seeing that it is done in the best possible way. Management must have
  people, a positive attitude towards work and good communication. It consists of
  six functions.
  Functions of management: There are six major functions of management
  • Planning: The manager creates a detailed action plan aimed at some
  organizational goals. Planning is an ongoing step and can be highly
  specialized based on community or organizational and team goals. It is up
  to the manager to recognize which goals need to be planned within his or
  her individual area
  • Organising: Organizing is done by delegating authority, assigning work,
  and providing direction so that the team works without any problems.
  Organizing involves designating tasks and responsibilities to employees
  with the specific skills required to fulfill the tasks.
  • Leading: In this step, the manager spends time connecting with employees
  on an interpersonal level. It involves communicating, motivating, inspiring,
  and encouraging the community towards a higher level of productivity.
  • Controlling: the manager evaluates the results against the goals. If a goal
  is not being met, the manager must also take any necessary corrective
  actions to continue to work towards that goal.
  • Staffing: This involves hiring the right people for the right jobs to achieve
  the objectives of the organization. Staffing involves recruitment, training’
  performance appraisals, promotions and transfers.
  • Coordinating: It is important to coordinate the organizing, planning and
  staffing activities of the company and ensure all activities work well together
  for the good of the organization. Coordinating involves communication,
  supervision and direction by management.
  7.3.2. Characteristics of a good manager
  Learning activity 7.3.2
  Case Study 1: Kagabo is a sales manager of a company that sells Hand
  sanitizer in Rwanda. This company is new in the country. Kagabo has
  a good plan on how to launch it. He has gathered all the resources
  necessary and hired enough staff to have the product in the market. To
  begin with, Kagabo has planned a launching ceremony and after that
  he intends to give each member of his team a role to play in distributing
  the medicine product. He plans to hold weekly meetings to discuss the
  challenges his team might be facing and deliberate on how to tackle
  them.
  Case study 2: NDIZEYE is a part time manager of a company that sales
  medicines. He coordinates the sales of the company products from the
  main office in Kigali mainly by communicating on phone. He has not met
  any of his team members: however, he makes follow up on the amount
  of money made on a monthly basis. Any member of his staff who does
  not deliver is dismissed without notice and immediately replaced. After
  reading carefully two case studies above, identify who is a good manager
  and justify your answer.
  The following are some characteristics of a good manager.
  • Leadership: Good managers should be able to lead the employees they
  manage, they should have emotional stability, self-assurance, enthusiasm
  and be energetic and engaged. They do not get frustrated and overwhelmed
  with stress. Enthusiasm means the manager is interested in the work that
  is being done.
  • Communication: Good managers must be able to communicate and listen
  effectively. They take the time to listen to what employees and customers
  have to say and are able to communicate that they understood what was
  said and act accordingly. Good managers are also aware of non-verbal
  communication, through the gestures and expressions of their employees.
  • Good managers are good planners; they are organized, and they have
  knowledge of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. They
  know and understand the goals of the business and what the employees
  need to do to achieve that goal. They plan the steps involved in achieving
  that goal and communicate the steps to the employees.
  • Identify and solve problems: A good manager is able to identify and
  solve problems and also take responsibility for problems that arise and find
  

  ethical solutions.

  • Self-Motivation is a quality of an effective manager. This is the ability to
  see one’s self getting the job done especially when they are faced with
  many challenges. A good manager should also be able to motivate others.
  • Integrity: A good manager expresses integrity in and outside of the work
  environment.
  • Dependability and reliability: A good manager is both dependable and
  reliable. Employees will find it easy to fulfill their tasks sufficiently and relate
  to a manager who displays this character
  • Optimism and confidence are traits of a good manager. Being able to
  have and express a positive attitude inspires and motivates others.
  • Calmness: This means that a manager ought to be able remain calm even
  in the most difficult and disastrous situation.
  • Being flexible: This is required because situations and circumstances are
  always changing, therefore a leader is required to have the ability to adapt
  to any situation.
  • A good manager has to be knowledgeable and open to learning more
  about the environment and the industry.
  • Being able to delegate; a good manager should know that tasks need to be
  delegated. Not everything can be done by one or two individuals, therefore
  successful accomplishment of tasks requires a manager to assign various
  duties to suitable people.
  • Another good characteristic of a good manager is that of being a mediator.
  Managing will require the manager to solve and mediate in conflicts in the
  workplace.
  • Team Player: Are you part of a team? You need to be able to function as
  part of a team if you want to succeed as an effective manager. Make sure
  that you are willing to work with others, and that you will hold up your end.
  • A good manager ought to respect and value others and be able to combine
  respect with collaboration and create an excellent team spirit among the
  workers. You should also be able to work well with others, and understand
  different personal.
  Principles of management according to Henri Fayol.
  Henry Fayol, also known as the ‘father of modern management theory’ gave a
  new perception of the concept of management. He introduced a general theory
  that can be applied to all levels of management. The Fayol theory is practiced by
  the managers to organize and regulate the internal activities of an organization.
  He concentrated on accomplishing managerial efficiency.
  The fourteen principles of management created by Henri Fayol are the
  following:
  1. Division of Work
  Henry Fayol’s first principle for management states that staff perform better at
  work when they are assigned jobs according to their specialties. Hence, the
  division of work into smaller elements then becomes paramount. Therefore,
  specialization is important as staff perform specific tasks not only at a single
  time but as a routine duty also. Efficiency and effectiveness of work are better
  achieved if one staff member is doing one thing at a time and another doing
  a different thing, but all leading to the same collective goal, at the same time.
  Henri believed that assigning clear work and tasks in the workforce amongst the
  worker will enhance the quality of the product. Similarly, he also concluded that
  the division of work improves the productivity, efficiency, accuracy and speed of
  the workers.
  2. Authority and Responsibility
  This principle suggests the need for managers to have authority in order to
  command subordinates to perform jobs while being accountable for their
  actions. These are the two key aspects of management. Authority facilitates
  the management to work efficiently, and responsibility makes them responsible
  for the work done under their guidance or leadership. The formality is in the
  organizational expectations for the manager (his responsibilities), whereas the
  informality (the authority) can be linked to the manager’s freedom to command,
  instruct, appoint, direct, and ensure that his or her responsibilities are performed
  successfully.
  3. Discipline
  This principle advocates for clearly-defined rules and regulations aimed at
  achieving good employee discipline and obedience. Fayol must have observed
  the natural human tendencies to lawlessness. He perceived the level of
  organizational disorder that may erupt if employees are not strictly guided by
  rules, norms, and regulations from management. Without discipline, nothing can
  be accomplished. It is the core value for any project or any management. Good
  performance and sensible interrelation make the management job easy and
  comprehensive. Employee’s good behaviors also helps them smoothly build and
  progress in their professional careers.
  4. Unity of Command
  This means an employee should have only one boss and follow his command. If
  an employee has to follow more than one boss, there begins a conflict of interest
  and can create confusion. This principle states that employees should receive
  orders from and report directly to one boss only. This means that workers are
  required to be accountable to one immediate boss or superior only. Orders and
  directives emanate from one source and no two persons give instructions to an
  employee at the same time to avoid conflict.
  5. Unity of Direction
  This principle proposes that there should be only one plan, one objective, and one
  head for each of the plans. Whoever is engaged in the same activity should have
  a unified goal. This means all the person working in a company or organization
  should have one goal and motive which will make the work easier and achieve
  the set goal easily.
  6. Subordination of Individual Interest
  The interests of the organization supersede every other interest of staff,
  individuals, or groups. Imperatively, employees must sacrifice all their personal
  interests for the good of the organization. In other words, organizations should
  not tolerate any staff that is not committed to the organization’s objectives and
  goals. This implies that a company or organization should work unitedly towards
  the interest of a company rather than personal interest.
  7. Remuneration-
  Payment of staff salaries should be as deserved. The salary should be reasonable
  to both staff and management and neither party should be short-changed. The
  salary of every staff member must be justifiable. A supervisor should receive
  more pay than line staff. Thus, whosever management appoints to be supervisor
  takes more than the subordinates by virtue of his or her responsibilities. This
  plays an important role in motivating the workers of a company.
  8. Centralization
  This principle suggests that decision-making should be centralized. This
  means that decision-making and dishing-out of orders should come from the
  top management (central) to the middle management, where the decisions are
  converted into strategies and are interpreted for the line staff who execute them
  (decentralization). In any company, the management or any authority responsible
  for the decision-making process should be neutral. However, this depends on the
  size of an organization. Henri Fayol stressed on the point that there should be a
  balance between the hierarchy and division of power
  9. Scalar Chain
  This principle is a product of the formal system of organization. It is also known as
  the hierarchy principle. It asserts that communication in the organization should
  be vertical only. It insists that a single uninterrupted chain of authority should
  exist in organizations. Horizontal communication is only allowed when the need
  arises and must be permitted by the manager. Fayol on this principle highlights
  that the hierarchy steps should be from the top to the lowest.
  10. Order
  This is another formal organizational control system which has been interpreted
  in different ways. Some see it as the rule of giving every material its right position
  in the organization and others think that it means assigning the right job to the
  right employee (Rodrigues, 2001). A company should maintain a well-defined
  work order to have a favourable work culture. The positive atmosphere in the
  workplace will boost more positive productivity.
  11. Equity
  Another word for equity is fairness. Henri Fayol suggested that manager should be
  fair to their staff. But the fairness required, probably, is such that must make staff
  to comply with principle of subordination of individual interests to organizational
  interests. Such organizations make staff feel at home, share a portion of profits
  with staff, communicate with staff, remain open to staff, share staff feelings, and
  identify with staff personal/family challenges. . All employees should be treated
  equally and respectfully. It’s the responsibility of a manager that no employees
  face discrimination.
  12. Stability
  In this principle, Fayol expresses the need to recruit the right staff and train them
  on the job with a hope to retain them for long. The basis of this principle is the
  belief that such staff with a secured tenure will put back into the organization the
  knowledge and experience which they may have garnered while working for the
  organization. An employee delivers the best if they feel secure in their job. It is
  the duty of the management to offer job security to their employees.
  13. Initiative
  A good manager must be one who can be creative to initiate new ideas and
  also be able to implement them. Fayol was direct to managers at this point.
  He understood the importance of good ideas to the growth and success of
  organizations. The management should support and encourage the employees
  to take initiatives in an organization. It will help them to increase their interest and
  make then worth.
  14. Esprit de Corps
  It is the responsibility of the management to motivate their employees and be
  supportive of each other regularly. Developing trust and mutual understanding
  will lead to a positive outcome and work environment. This is a French phrase
  which means enthusiasm and devotion among a group of people. Fayol is of the
  view that organizations should enforce and also maintain high morale and unity
  among their staff. Thus, understanding, love for each other, unity, peace, and
  common determination is paramount to their success.
  Relationship between leadership and Management
  Leadership doesn’t require any managerial position to act as a leader. On the
  other hand, a manager can be a true manager only if he has got the traits of
  leader in him. By virtue of his position, manager has to provide leadership to
  his or her group. A manager has to perform all five functions to achieve goals,
  i.e., Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, and Controlling. Leadership is a part
  of these functions. Leadership as a general term is not related to managership.
  A person can be a leader by virtue of qualities in him. For example: leader of a
  club, class, welfare association, social organization, etc. Therefore, it seems to
  be true to say that “All managers are leaders, but all leaders are not managers.”
  A leader is one who influences the behavior and work of others in group efforts
  towards achievement of specified goals in a given situation. On the other hand,
  manager can be a true manager only if he or she has got traits of leader in him.
  Manager at all levels are expected to be the leaders of work groups so that
  subordinates willingly carry instructions and accept their guidance.
  

  Table: Comparative Leader and Manager

  
  

  
  

  Application activity 7.3
  Discuss the importance of managerial functions in any organization.
  7.4 Governance
  Learning activity 7.4
  As a future associate nurse, how do you expect to do in your career
  that can contribute to the good governance of the country.
  7.4.1. Notion
  Governance is the ability to have rule or authority over people, controlling
  resources and commanding government activity. For example: taxation and
  providing social services, being responsible for provision of security of people
  and property.
  7.4.2 Types of government
  Democratic Governance
  This is where the leaders in the different institutions; political, economic or private
  sectors, ensure that the institutions work as they are supposed to and helps the
  people they are supposed to help. This form of governance aims to not only
  reform the institutions but also help them find better and more efficient ways of
  dealing with the challenges affecting them.
  Economic and Financial Governance
  Economic and financial governance is where leaders are involved in promoting
  economic growth and reducing poverty in any institution. This can be done by
  finding ways for sustainable development, implementing economic policies
  that are transparent, predictable and credible, and ensuring proper financial
  management.
  E-Governance or information technology governance
  This is the assessment on information technology and communication and the
  impact it has on government practices, and how the government relates with the
  society. It has an indirect influence on relations between governments and their
  citizens, strengthening the participation and involvement of citizens in political
  choices so that their rights and duties are better understood and respected.
  The goals of e-governance is to ensure profitability in businesses dealing with
  information technology and that dangers that could arise are taken care of before
  they do
  Corporate Governance
  Corporate governance deals with moral principles, values and practices that
  work to bring a balance between economic and social goals of different people,
  institutions and the society as a whole and the individual and common goals.
  The main emphasis of corporate governance is ensuring the best interest of the
  parties involved is upheld.
  Land governance/Environmental governance
  Land governance or environmental governance is concerned with issues of
  land ownership and tenure. It deals mostly with the policies, processes and
  institutions which are directly involved in the access to, use of and control over
  land. It also looks at how these policies are implemented and enforced and the
  people involved. It is involved in finding ways to sustain land development and
  reduction of poverty.
  Public governance:
  Public governance can be said to be the power relationship between the
  government and its citizens. It can occur through the government working with
  community organisations to provide services to the citizens and through the
  government ensuring there is proper competition for goods and services in a
  market that is regulated by the government.
  Private governance:
  Private governance occurs when nongovernmental entities or private societies
  or institutions make policies that have a major effect on the quality of life and
  opportunities of the citizens of a country.
  Non-profit governance:
  Non-profit governance works in ensuring that an institution achieves its social
  mission while still making sure the institution or organization is viable. Public trust
  and accountability is important to the survival of an organization, so it needs to
  achieve its mission in a way that is respected by those it serves and the society
  in which it is located.
  Functions of governance
  • Determining the objectives of the organization: These are expressed
  through the organization’s vision and mission statements and implemented
  through its strategic plan.
  • Determining the ethics of the organization: This means to define what
  aspects of behaviour are really important. Ethics are based on morals and
  values. They help to set the rules or standards that govern the conduct
  of people within the organization. The set of behaviour normally is set by
  the people heading the organization and passed down to the rest of the
  members.
  • Creating the culture of the organization: This looks at the way people
  interact with each other. The leaders of the organization decide on the
  culture they want and influence this decision through the people they
  appoint to top positions.
  • Ensuring compliance by the organization: This means ensuring the
  members of the organization comply with its regulatory, statutory and legal
  obligations and also work towards achieving the organization’s objectives.
  • Designing and implementing the governance framework for the
  organization: The governing body is accountable for the performance of
  the organization, and retains overall responsibility for the organization it
  governs.
  • Ensuring accountability by management: To ensure the efficient
  governance of the organization, various responsibilities need to be delegated
  to people within the organization’s management. There is a governance
  framework that defines the principles, structures, enabling factors and
  interfaces through which the organization’s operational arrangements will
  operate, which is what ensures accountability.
  Application activity 7.4
  Discuss any four types of governments that are used in your
  community.
  7.5. Relationship between leadership, management and
  governance
  Learning activity 7.5
  Discuss the relationship between leadership, management and
  

  governance

  Governance can be said to be representing the owners or people who represent
  a firm, company or any institution and the will of these people.
  These owners will then appoint the management personnel whose mandate is to
  manage the organization. These managers must have some leadership qualities
  for them to be accepted by the governing body as managers. This therefore
  shows a relationship between management, governance and leadership.
  One of the functions of governance is to determine the objectives of the
  organisation, its vision and how this can be made the organisation’s policy.
  Management, on the other hand, is about making decisions for implementing the
  policies set by the governing body of the organisation. The leadership qualities of
  the managers brought on board is what will determine how well the policies are
  implemented or not and how well the rest of the staff in the organisation take up
  the vision.
  Management comes second to the governing body of any organisation. This
  means there has to be an organisation that needs managers. The managers
  are bound to exist only if they agree to the wishes of the governing body. The
  qualities of a leader that exist in the manager and how acceptable they are to the
  governing body are also what ensure an individual stays in management in the
  organization.
  There are different types of governance and different types of leadership styles.
  The governing body, based on what type it is, may chose management individuals
  with specific leadership styles that suit their wants.
  Application activity 7.4
  Show the relationship between leadership, management and
  governance
  7.6. End Unit Assessment
  End Unit Assessment
  1. Define leadership?
  2. Discuss leadership styles applied by leaders in your community?
  3. Differentiate the characteristics of a good leader and a good
  manager?
  4. Suggest the causes of challenges to leaders
  5. What do you think is importance of electing leaders in
  

  democracy?

• UNIT 8 DIGNITY AND SELF-RELIANCE

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to critique how the home-grown solutions contribute to self-reliance
  (Abunzi, Gacaca, Girinka, Ingando, Imihigo, Itorero, Ubudehe, Umuganda,
  umwiherero)
  Introductory activity
  Discuss how Rwandan people were handling their problems in
  traditional society in different domains such as medicine, education,
  agriculture, justice, leisure, arts, handcraft and environment and then
  propose which methods from Rwandan traditional society should be
  applied to our modern society to handle problems. Write your answer
  on not more than one page.
  8.1. Concepts of home-grown solutions and self-reliance
  Learning activity 8.1
  1. Examine in which context Rwanda has initiated her proper
  innovations such as Gacaca, Abunzi, Itorero, Umwiherero and
  Girinka to achieve economic and social development and write
  your response in not more than 15 lines.
  2. Read and use your knowledge on Umuganda to comment on the
  following statement:
  “Our country was once known for its tragic history. Today, Rwanda is
  proud to be known for its transformations…When your achievements
  are a result of hard work, you must be determined to never slide back
  to where you once were… What we have achieved to date shows us
  what we are capable of and Umuganda is an integral part of achieving
  even more…Umuganda is one of the reasons we are moving forward,
  working together and believing in our common goal of transforming
  our lives and the lives of our families”, President P. Kagame at Ndera
  

  on October 30, 2015

  8.1.1. Home-grown solutions initiatives
  Home-Grown Initiatives (HGIs) are Rwanda’s brain child solutions to economic
  and social development. They are practices developed by the Rwandan
  citizens based on local opportunities, cultural values and history to fast track
  their development. Being locally created, HGIs are appropriate to the local
  development context and have been the bedrock to the Rwandan development
  successes for the last decade.
  HGIs are development/governance innovations that provide unconventional
  responses to societal challenges. They are based on:
  • National heritage/legacy
  • Historical consciousness
  • Strive for self-reliance
  HGIs include Umuganda (community work), Gacaca (truth and reconciliation
  traditional courts), Abunzi (mediators), Imihigo (performance contracts), Ubudehe
  (community-based and participatory effort towards problem solving), Itoreroand
  Ingando (solidarity camps), Umushyikirano (national dialogue), Umwiherero
  (National Leadership Retreat) and Girinka (One cow per Family program).
  They are all rooted in the Rwandan culture and history and therefore easy to
  understand by the communities.
  Self-reliance: This is a state of being independent in all aspects. The
  

  independence could be social, political or economic.

  8.1.2 Abunzi Community mediators

  

  The word “abunzi” can be translated as “those who reconcile” or “those who
  bring together” (from verb kunga). In the traditional Rwanda, abunzi were men
  and women for their integrity and were asked to intervene in the event of conflict.
  Each conflicting party would choose a person considered trustworthy, known as
  a problem-solver, who was unlikely to alienate either party. The purpose of this
  system was to settle disputes and also to reconcile the conflicting parties and
  restore harmony within the affected community.
  Abunzi can be seen as a hybrid form of justice combining traditional with modern
  methods of conflict resolution. The reintroduction of the Abunzi system in 2004
  was motivated in part by the desire to reduce the accumulation of court cases,
  as well as to decentralise justice and make it more affordable and accessible
  for citizens seeking to resolve conflicts without the cost of going to court. Today,
  Abunzi is fully integrated into Rwanda’s justice system.
  a) Conflict resolution through community participation
  Historically, the community, and particularly the family, played a central role in
  resolving conflicts. Another mechanism for this purpose was inama y’umuryango
  (meaning ‘family meetings or gatherings) in which relatives would meet to find
  solutions to family problems. Similar traditions existed elsewhere, such as the
  “dare” in Zimbabwe. These traditional mechanisms continue to play important
  roles in conflict resolution regarding land disputes, civil disputes and, in some
  instances, criminal cases.
  The adoption of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in Rwanda emerged
  from the recognition of a growing crisis in a judiciary where it had become almost
  impossible to resolve disputes efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. The
  Government of Rwanda concluded that modern judicial mechanisms of dispute
  resolution were failing to deliver and so the decision was taken to examine
  traditional mediation and reconciliation approaches as alternatives. By doing so,
  it would not only help alleviate the pressure on conventional courts but also align
  with the policy objective of a more decentralized justice system. In addition, the
  conflict resolution mechanisms rooted in Rwandan culture were perceived as less
  threatening, more accessible and therefore more intimate. Those who referred
  their cases to Abunzi were more comfortable seeking mediation from within their
  community, which afforded them a better understanding of the issues at hand.
  b) Establishment of the mediation committees (Abunzi committee)
  In 2004, the Government of Rwanda established the traditional process of abunzi
  as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. Established at the cell and sector
  levels, abunzi primarily address family disputes, such as those relating to land
  or inheritance. By institutionalizing Abunzi, low level legal issues could be solved
  at a local level without the need to be heard in conventional courts. Citizens
  experiencing legal issues are asked to first report to abunzi, cases not exceeding
  3,000,000 Frs (for land and other immovable assets) and 1,000,000 Rwf (for
  cattle and other movable assets). Cases of these types can only be heard in a
  conventional court if one party decides to appeal the decision made at the sector
  level by the mediation committee.
  As the Abunzi system gained recognition as a successful method to resolve
  conflict and deliver justice, the importance of providing more structure and
  formality to their work increased. Consequently, the abunzi started receiving
  trainings on mediating domestic conflicts and support from both governmental
  and non-governmental organisations to improve the quality of their mediation
  services.
  8.1.3 Gacaca Community courts
  The word gacaca refers to the small clearing where a community would traditionally
  meet to discuss issues of concern. People of integrity (elders and leaders) in the
  village known as inyangamugayo would facilitate a discussion that any member of
  the community could take part in. Once everyone had spoken, the inyangamugayo
  would reach a decision about how the problem would be solved. In this way,
  Gacaca acted very much as a traditional court. If the decision was accepted by all
  members of the community, the meeting would end with sharing a drink as a sign
  of reconciliation. If the parties were not happy with the decision made at Gacaca,
  they had the right to take their case to a higher authority such as a chief or even
  to the king.
  One aspect particular to traditional Gacaca is that any decision handed down at
  the court impacted not only the individual but also their family or clan as well. If
  the matter was of a more serious nature and reconciliation could not be reached,
  the inyangamugayo could decide to expel the offenders or the members of their
  group from the community.
  The most common cases to come before Gacaca courts were those between
  members of the same family or community. It was rare for members of other
  villages to be part of the courts and this affirmed the notion of Gacaca as a
  community institution.
  Colonisation had a significant impact on the functioning of Gacaca and in 1924
  the courts were reserved only for civil and commercial cases that involved
  Rwandans. Those involving colonisers and criminal cases were processed under
  colonial jurisdiction. While the new justice systems and mechanisms imported
  from Europe did not prohibit Gacaca from operating, the traditional courts saw
  far fewer cases. During the post-colonial period, the regimes in power often appointed administrative officials to the courts which weakened their integrity
  and eroded trust in Gacaca.
  The Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 virtually destroyed all government and
  social institutions and Gacaca was no different. While Gacaca continued after the
  Genocide, its form and role in society had been significantly degraded.
  a) Contemporary Gacaca as a home-grown solution
  Contemporary Gacaca was officially launched on June 18, 2002 by President
  Paul Kagame. This took place after years of debate about the best way to give
  justice to the survivors of the Genocide and to process the millions of cases that
  had risen following the Genocide.
  Contemporary Gacaca draws inspiration from the traditional model by replicating
  a local community-based justice system with the aim of restoring the social
  fabric of the society. In total, 1,958,634 genocide related cases were tried
  through Gacaca. The courts are credited with laying the foundation for peace,
  reconciliation and unity in Rwanda. The Gacaca courts officially finished their work
  ten years later on June 18, 2012.
  Gacaca first began as a pilot phase in 12 sectors across the country one per
  each province as well as in the City of Kigali. After the pilot, the courts were
  implemented across the country and the original Organic Law No. 40/2000
  (January 26, 2001) was replaced by the Organic Law No. 16/2004 (June 19,
  2004) which then governed the Gacaca process.
  b) The aims of the contemporary Gacaca
  – Expose the truth about the Genocide against the Tutsi
  – Speed up genocide trials
  – Eradicate impunity
  – Strengthen unity and reconciliation among Rwandans
  – Draw on the capacity of Rwandans to solve their own problems.
  These aims were carried out at three levels of jurisdiction: the Gacaca Court of
  the cell, the Gacaca Court of the Sector, and the Gacaca Court of appeals. There
  were 9013 cell courts, 1545 Sector courts and 1545 Courts of Appeal nationwide.
  According to the statistics given by National service of Gacaca Courts, the Gacaca
  Courts were able to try 1,958,634 cases of genocide within a short time (trials
  have begun on to 10/3/2005 in pilots sectors). This is on irrefutable evidence of
  the collective will and ability of Rwandans to overcome huge challenges of their
  country and work for its faster development basing on “Home grown solutions”.
  8.1.4 Girinka Munyarwanda- One Cow per Poor Family
  Programme
  The word girinka (gira inka) can be translated as “may you have a cow” and
  describes a centuries’ old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was
  given by one person to another, either as a sign of respect and gratitude or as a
  marriage dowry.
  Girinka was initiated in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood
  malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock
  and crop farming.
  The programme is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to poor
  households helps to improve their livelihood as a result of a more nutritious and
  balanced diet from milk, increased agricultural output through better soil fertility
  as well as greater incomes by commercializing dairy products.
  Since its introduction in 2006, more than 203,000 beneficiaries have received
  cows. Girinka has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda
  - especially milk products which have helped to reduce malnutrition and increase
  incomes. The program aimed at providing 350,000 cows to poor families by 2017.
  Traditional Girinka
  Two methods, described below, come under the cultural practice known as
  

  gutanga inka, from which Girinka is derived.

  

  Kugabira: Translated as “giving a cow”; such an act is often done as a sign of
  appreciation, expressing gratitude for a good deed or to establish a friendship.
  Ubuhake: This cultural practice was a way for a parent or family to help a son
  to obtain a dowry. If the family was not wealthy or did not own cattle, they could
  approach a community or family member who owned cows and requested him/
  her to accept the service of their son in exchange for the provision of the cows
  amounting to the dowry when the son marries. The aim of ubuhake was not only
  to get a cow but also protection of a cow owner. This practice established a
  relationship between the donor and beneficiary. An informal but highly valued
  social contract was established which was fulfilled through the exchange of
  services such as cultivating the farm of the donor, looking after the cattle or
  simply vowing loyalty.
  Contemporary Girinka
  Girinka was introduced in 2006 against a backdrop of alarmingly high levels of
  poverty and childhood malnutrition. The results of the Integrated Household
  Living Conditions Survey 2 (EICV 2) conducted in 2005 showed rural poverty at
  62.5%. The Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA)
  and Nutrition Survey showed that 28% of Rwanda’s rural population were foodinsecure
  and that 24% of the rural population were highly vulnerable to food
  insecurity.
  The objectives of the programme are as follows:
  • Reducing poverty through dairy cattle farming.
  • • Improving livelihoods through increased milk consumption and income
  generation.
  • Improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilizer.
  • Improving soil quality and reducing erosion through the planting of grasses
  and trees.
  Promoting unity and reconciliation among Rwandans based on the cultural
  principle that if a cow is given from one person to another, it establishes trust,
  respect and friendship between the donor and the beneficiary. While this was
  not an original goal of Girinka, it has evolved to become a significant aspect of the
  

  program.

  

  Girinka has been described as a culturally inspired social safety net program
  because of the way it introduces a productive asset (a dairy cow) which can
  provide long-term benefits to the recipient. Approved on 12 April 2006 by Cabinet
  decision, Girinka originally aimed to reach 257,000 beneficiaries; however,
  this target was revised upwards in 2010 to 350,000 beneficiaries by 2017. The
  Government of Rwanda was initially the sole funder of the Girinka program but
  development partners have since become involved in the program. This has led
  to an increase in the number of cows being distributed.
  Girinka is one of a number of programs under Rwanda’s Vision 2020, a set of
  development objectives and goals designed to move Rwanda to a middle income
  nation by the year 2020. By September 2014 close to 200,000 beneficiaries had
  received a cow.
  8.1.5. Ingando- solidarity camps
  The word Ingando comes from the verb kugandika, which means going to stay in
  a place far from one’s home, often with a group, for a specific reason.
  Traditionally, the term ingando was used in the war context. It represented a
  temporary resting place for warriors during their expeditions, or a place for the
  king and the people travelling with him to stay. In these times of war, ingando
  was the military camp or assembly area where troops received briefings on their
  organisation and mission in preparation for the battle. These men were reminded
  to put their differences behind them and focus on the goal of protecting their
  nation.
  The term Ingando has evolved in contemporary Rwanda to describe a place where
  a group of people gather to work towards a common goal. Ingando trainings served
  as think tanks where the sharing of ideas was encouraged. Ingando also included
  an aspect of Umuganda. The trainings created a framework for the re-evaluation
  of divisive ideologies present in Rwanda during the colonial and post-colonial
  periods. Thus, ingando was designed to provide a space mainly for the young
  people to prepare for a better future in which negative ideologies of the past
  would no longer influence them.
  The other aim of Ingando is to reduce fear and suspicion and encourage reconciliation
  between genocide survivors and those whose family members perpetrated the
  Genocide. Ingando trainings also serve to reduce the distance between some
  segments of the Rwandan population and the government. Through Ingando,
  participants learn about history, current development and reconciliation policies
  and are encouraged to play an active role in the rebuilding of their nation.
  8.1.6. Imihigo- performance contracts
  The word Imihigo is the plural Kinyarwanda word of umuhigo, which means to vow
  to deliver. Imihigo also include the concept of guhiganwa , which means to compete
  among one another. Imihigo practices existed in pre-colonial Rwanda and have
  been adapted to fit the current challenges of the Rwandan society.
  Traditional Imihigo
  Imihigo is a pre-colonial cultural practice in Rwanda where an individual sets
  targets or goals to be achieved within a specific period of time. The person must
  complete these objectives by following guiding principles and be determined to
  overcome any possible challenge that arises. Leaders and chiefs would publicly
  commit themselves to achieving certain goals. In the event that they failed, they
  would face shame and embarrassment from the community. Definitions however
  vary on what constitutes a traditional Imihigo. Some have recalled it as having a
  basis in war, where warriors would throw a spear into the ground while publicly
  proclaiming the feats they would accomplish in battle.
  Contemporary Imihigo
  Imihigo were re-initiated by Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, in March 2006.
  This was as a result of the concern about the speed and quality of execution of
  government programs and priorities. The government’s decentralisation policy
  required a greater accountability at the local level. Its main objective was to
  make public agencies and institutions more effective and accountable in their
  implementation of national programs and to accelerate the socio-economic
  development agenda as contained in the Vision 2020 and Economic Development
  and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) policies as well as the Millennium
  Development Goals (MDGs).
  Today, Imihigo are used across the government as performance contracts and
  to ensure accountability. All levels of government, from the local district level
  to ministries and embassies, are required to develop and have their Imihigo
  evaluated. Members of the public service also sign Imihigo with their managers or
  

  head of institution.

  

  8.1.7. Itorero: Civic education
  Traditionally Itorero was a traditional institution where Rwandans would learn
  rhetoric, patriotism, social relations, sports, dancing, songs and defence. This
  system was created so that young people could grow with an understanding
  of their culture. Participants were encouraged to discuss and explore Rwandan
  cultural values. Itorero was reintroduced in 2009 as a way to rebuild the nation’s
  social fabric and mobilise Rwandans to uphold important cultural values.
  Traditional Itorero
  As a traditional school, itorero trainers planned daily activities according to
  different priorities and every newcomer in itorero had to undergo initiation, known
  in Kinyarwanda as gukuramo ubunyamusozi. The common belief was that Intore
  were different from the rest of the community members, especially in matters of
  expression and behaviour because they were expected to be experts in social
  relations, quick thinkers and knowledgeable.
  Each Itorero included 40 to 100 participants of various age groups and had its
  own unique name. The best graduates would receive cows or land as rewards.
  The tradition of Itorero provided formative training for future leaders. These
  community leaders and fighters were selected from Intore (individuals who took
  part in Itorero) and were trained in military tactics, hand to hand combat, jumping,
  racing, javelin, shooting and endurance. They were also taught concepts of
  patriotism, the Rwandan spirit, wisdom, heroism, unity, taboos, eloquence,
  hunting and loyalty to the army.
  Itorero was found at three levels of traditional governance, the family, the chief,
  and the king’s court. At the family level, both girls and boys would be educated
  on how to fulfil their responsibilities as defined by the expectations of their
  communities. For example, the man was expected to protect his family and the
  country, while the woman was expected to provide a good home and environment
  for her family. Adults were also asked to treat every child as their own in order to
  promote good behavior among children.
  At the chief level, a teenage boy was selected by either his father or head of the
  extended family to be introduced to the chief so that he could join his Itorero.
  Selection was based on good behavior among the rest of his family and his
  community.
  8.1.8. Ubudehe - Social categorisation for collective action and
  mutual support
  Ubudehe refers to the long-standing Rwandan practice and culture of collective
  action and mutual support to solve problems within a community. It is one of
  Rwanda’s best known Home-Grown Solution because of its participatory
  development approach to poverty reduction. In 2008, the program won the United
  Nations Public Service Award for excellence in service delivery. Today Ubudehe
  

  is one of the country’s core development programs.

  

  The origin of the word Ubudehe comes from the practice of preparing fields
  before the rainy season
  and finishing the task in time for planting. A community would cultivate clear the
  fields together to make sure everyone was ready for the planting season. Once
  a community had completed Ubudehe for everyone involved, they would assist
  those who had not been able to take part, such as the very poor. After planting
  the partakers gathered and shared beer. Therefore, the focus of traditional
  Ubudehe was mostly on cultivation. It is not known exactly when Ubudehe was
  first practiced, but it is thought to date back more than a century.
  At the end of a successful harvest, the community would come together to
  celebrate at an event known as Umuganura. Everyone would bring something
  from his/her own harvest for the celebrations. This event would often take place
  once the community’s sorghum beer production was completed.
  Ubudehe was an inclusive cultural practice involving men, women and members
  of different social groups. As almost all members of the community took part, the
  practice often led to increased solidarity, social cohesion, mutual respect and
  trust.
  8.1.9. Umuganda: Community work
  In simple terms, the word Umuganda means community work. In traditional
  Rwandan culture, members of the community would call upon their family, friends
  and neighbors to help them complete a difficult task.
  Umuganda can be considered as a communal act of assistance and a sign of
  solidarity. In everyday use, the word ‘Umuganda’ refers to a pole used in the
  construction of a house. The pole typically supports the roof, thereby strengthening
  the house.
  In the period immediately after independence in 1962, Umuganda was only
  organised under special circumstances and was considered as an individual
  contribution to nation building. During this time, Umuganda was often referred to
  as umubyizi, meaning ‘a day set aside by friends and family to help each other’.
  On February 2, 1974, Umuganda became an official government programme
  and was organised on a more regular basis – usually once a week. The Ministry
  of District Development was in charge of overseeing the program. Local leaders
  at the district and village level were responsible for organisingUmuganda and
  citizens had little say in this process. Because penalties were imposed for nonparticipation,
  Umuganda was initially considered as forced labour.
  While Umuganda was not well received initially, the programme recorded
  significant achievements in erosion control and infrastructure improvement
  especially building primary schools, administrative offices of the sectors and
  villages and health centres.
  After the Genocide, Umuganda was reintroduced to Rwandan life in 1998 as part
  of efforts to rebuild the country. The programme was implemented nationwide
  though there was little institutional structure surrounding the programme. It was
  not until November 17, 2007 with the passing of Organic Law Number 53/2007
  Governing Community Works and later on August 24, 2009 with Prime Ministerial
  Order Number 58/03 (determining the attributions, organisation, and functioning
  of community work supervising committees and their relations with other organs)
  that Umuganda was institutionalised in Rwanda.
  Today, Umuganda takes place on the last Saturday of each month from 8:00
  a.m. and lasts for at least three hours. For Umuganda activities to contribute to
  the overall national development, supervising committees have been established
  from the village level to the national level. These committees are responsible
  for organising what work is undertaken as well as supervising, evaluating and
  

  reporting what is done

  

  Rwandans between 18 and 65 are obliged to participate in Umuganda. Those
  over 65 are welcome to participate if they are willing and able. Expatriates living
  in Rwanda are also encouraged to take part. Those who participate in Umuganda
  cannot be compensated for their work – either in cash or in kind.
  Today close to 80% of the Rwandans take part in monthly community work.
  Successful projects have been developed for example the building of schools,
  medical centres and hydro-electric plants as well as rehabilitating wetlands
  and creating highly productive agricultural plots. The value of Umuganda to the
  country’s development is very remarkable in many parts of the country.
  While the main purpose of Umuganda is to undertake community work, it also
  serves as a forum for leaders at each level of government (from the village up to
  the national level) to inform citizens about important news and announcements.
  Community members are also able to discuss any problems they or the community
  are facing and to propose solutions together. This time is also used for evaluating
  what they have achieved and for planning activities for the next Umuganda a
  month later.
  8.1.10. Umwiherero: National leadership retreat
  Umwiherero, translated as retreat, refers to a tradition in Rwandan culture where
  leaders convene in a secluded place in order to reflect on issues affecting their
  communities. Upon return from these retreats, the objective is to have identified
  solutions. On a smaller scale, this term also refers to the action of moving to a
  quieter place to discuss issues with a small group of people.
  For a few days every year, leaders from all arms of Government come under
  one roof to collectively look at the general trajectory the country is taking and
  seek remedies to outstanding problems. Initially, Umwiherero had been designed
  exclusively for senior public officials but it has evolved to include leaders from
  the private sector as well as civil society. Provided for under the constitution,
  Umwiherero is chaired by the Head of State and during this time, presentations
  and discussions centre on a broad range of development challenges including
  but not limited to the economy, governance, justice, infrastructure, health and
  education.
  Since its inception, organizers of Umwiherero have adopted numerous innovative
  initiatives to expedite the implementation of resolutions agreed upon at each
  retreat. Since then, the results are quantifiable. These efforts have resulted in
  noticeable improvements in planning, coordination, and accountability leading to
  clearer and more concise priorities.
  As discussions go deep in exposing matters affecting the well-being of the people
  of Rwanda, poor performers are reprimanded and those who delivered on their
  

  mandate are recognized.

  

  Umwiherero provides a platform for candid talk among senior officials. For
  example, an official raises a hand to mention his/her superior who is obstructing a
  shared development agenda. The said superior is then given a chance to explain
  to the meeting how he/she intends to resolve this deadlock.
  Application Activity 8.1
  1. Use your own words to explain the following concepts of homegrown
  solutions: umuganda, imihigo and ubudehe.
  2. Compare the traditional umuganda and contemporary umuganda.
  3. Discuss the reason why Rwanda adopted home-grown solutions
  to social and economic development.
  8.2 Contribution of the home grown solutions towards a good
  governance, self-reliance and dignity
  Learning activity 8.2
  “Akimuhana kaza imvura ihise” in English: help from neighbours
  never comes in the rain it comes after. Discuss this Kinyarwanda
  proverb in reference to the concepts of home-grown solutions
  As part of the efforts to reconstruct Rwanda and nurture a shared national
  identity, the Government of Rwanda drew on aspects of Rwandan culture
  and traditional practices to enrich and adapt its development programmes to
  the country’s needs and context. The result is a set of Governance and Home
  -Grown Initiatives (GHI) - culturally owned practices translated into sustainable
  development programmes.
  As the abunzi system gained more recognition as a successful method to resolve
  conflicts and deliver justice, the importance of providing more structure and
  formality to their work increased.
  During the fiscal year ending June 2017 for example, mediation committees
  received 51,016 cases. They were composed of 45,503 civil cases representing
  89.1% and 5,513 penal cases received before the amendment of the law
  determining organization, jurisdiction, and competence and functioning of
  mediation committees. A total of 49,138 cases equivalent to 96.3% were handled
  at both sector and cell levels. 38,777 (76.0%) cases received by mediation
  committees were handled at cell level, 10,361 (20.3%) cases were mediated
  at sector level whereas only 3.6% were undergoing at the end of the year. The
  number of cases received by mediation committees increased at the rate of
  30.9% over the past three years.
  The Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) conducted an investigation into public
  perceptions of some of the benefits of Abunzi in comparison to ordinary courts.
  Those surveyed highlighted the following positive attributes:
  • The reduction of time spent to settle cases (86.7%).
  • Reduction of economic costs of cases (84.2%);
  The cultural based policies have contributed a lot in helping getting some socioeconomic
  solutions that were not possible to get otherwise.
  8.2.1. Contribution of Gacaca courts
  Gacaca courts officially finished their work on June 18, 2012 and by that time
  a total of 1,958,634 genocide related cases were tried throughout the country.
  As earlier mentioned Gacaca is credited with laying the foundation for peace,
  reconciliation and unity in Rwanda.
  8.2.2 Impact of Girinka
  Girinka has led to a number of significant changes in the lives of the poorest
  Rwandans. The impact of the program can be divided into five categories including
  agricultural production, food security, livestock ownership, health outcomes, unity
  and reconciliation.
  Agricultural production
  Girinka has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda,
  especially milk products. Milk production has risen due to an increase in the
  number of cows in the country and because beneficiaries have received cross
  breeds with better productive capacity than local cattle species. Between 2000
  and 2011, milk production increased seven fold allowing the Government of
  Rwanda to start the One Cup of Milk per Child program in schools. Between 2009
  and 2011, national milk production increased by 11.3%, rising to 372.6 million
  litres from 334.7 million litres. Over the same period, meat production increased
  by 9.9%, according to the Government of Rwanda Annual Report 2010-2011.
  The construction of milk collection centres has also increased and by February
  2013, there were more than 61 centres operational nationwide with 25 more due
  to be completed by the end of 2013.
  Most of the beneficiaries produce enough milk to sell some at market, providing
  additional income generation. The manure produced by the cows increases
  crop productivity, allowing beneficiaries to plant crops offering sustenance and
  employment as well as a stable income. Girinka has also allowed beneficiaries to
  diversify and increase crop production, leading to greater food security.
  Food Security
  According to the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis and
  Nutrition Survey (CFSVA) conducted in March/April 2012, almost four in five
  have workspace reserved for them and must share space with the staff from
  cells and/or sectors offices; this sharing can sometimes result in the loss or mixup
  of case les.
  • Incentives: A number of mediators complained that the incentive promised
  to them and their families in the form of “mutuelle de santé” (health insurance)
  was not always forthcoming.
  • Transportation for field visits: According to a study conducted by RCN
  Justice & Démocratie in 2009, mediators complained about not always
  being able to afford transportation to perform site visits when reviewing
  cases. While each chairperson at the appeal level received a bicycle, it has
  been recognised that field visits for all mediators have been very difficult in
  some cases. This can result in delays in the mediation process.
  • Communication facilities: To perform their duties, mediators have to
  commu-nicate among themselves or with other institutions, but they are
  not given a communication allowance. This proves problematic at times
  and can lead to financial stress for some when they are obliged to use their
  own money to contact for instance litigants and institutions.
  8.2.3. Contribution of Imihigo
  Since its introduction, Imihigo has been credited with improving accountability
  and quickening the pace of citizen centred development in Rwanda. The practice
  of Imihigo has now been extended to the ministries, embassies and public service
  staff.
  Once the compilation of the report on Imihigo implementation has been completed,
  the local government entity presents it to stakeholders including citizens, civil
  society, donors and others. After reviewing the results, stakeholders are often
  asked to jointly develop a way forward and this can be done by utilising the Joint
  Action Development Forums (JADF).
  SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperatives) and payment of teachers’ salaries
  and arrears: Good progress was made in mobilising citizens to join SACCOs
  and reasonable funds were mobilised. Although most of the SACCOs obtained
  provisional licenses from the National Bank of Rwanda to operate as savings
  and credit cooperatives, they needed to mobilise more member subscriptions
  in order to realize the minimum amount required to obtain full licenses. Most of
  all SACCO at the sector level needed adequate offices. In addition great efforts
  were made to ensure that teachers were paid their monthly salaries on time.
  8.2.5. Impact of ingando
  Ingando has contributed significantly to the national unity and reconciliation in
  Rwanda. This is especially true for the early years of the programme(between
  1996-1999) when most participants were returning combatants or Rwandans
  afraid or unsure of their new government. Special attention was paid to social
  justice and helping participants understand government strategies to improve
  social welfare. This approach was key in ensuring that the progress made in
  reconciliation was sustainable.
  At a consultative forum in 2001, a number of observations were made that are
  indicative of the progress towards national unity, reconciliation and development.
  These included rejection of genocide ideology, a desire to be involved in
  safeguarding national security and having equal access to education as well as
  being part of the national army and the police force.
  This consultative forum also gathered strong and positive recommendations
  from Rwandans throughout the country on the necessity to teach love and
  truth denounce wrongdoing and encourage forgiveness among people, foster
  tolerance, promote the culture of peace and personal security, as well as
  promoting development and social welfare for all Rwandans.
  Between 1999 and 2010, more than 90,000 people took part in the Ingando
  trainings organised by the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.
  8.2.6 Contribution of Itorero
  The contribution of Itorero as a home-grown solution towards good governance,
  self-reliance and dignity is observed through Itorero activities described above.
  Capacity building for Itorero ry’Igihugu: structures of Intore were elected from
  villages up to sector levels in 2009. Later on in 2012, Itorero ry’Igihugu was
  officially launched in primary and secondary schools. From November 2007 up
  to the end of 2012, Itorero ry’ Igihugu had a total of 284,209 trained Intore. The
  number of Intore who have been trained at the Village level amounts to a total
  of 814 587. Those mentored at the national level are the ones who go down
  to mentor in villages, schools, and at various work places. In total, 1 098 599
  Rwandans have been mentored nationwide.
  Itorero ry’Igihugu was launched in all districts of the country. Each district’s
  regiment presented their performance contracts at that colour ful ceremony
  marked by cultural festivals. Each district’s Intore regiment publically announced
  its identification name. At the national level, all the 30 district Intore regiments
  comprised one national Itorero, but each district regiment has its identification
  

  name. Each district regiment can have an affiliate sub-division which can, in turn,

  also have a different identification name. There is also Itorero for Rwandans in
  Diaspora that has the authority to develop its affiliated sub-division.
  In order to enable each Intore to benefit and experience change of mindset,
  each group chooses its identification name and sets objectives it must achieve.
  Those projected objectives must be achieved during or after training, and this is
  confirmed by the performance contracts that necessarily have to be accomplished.
  With this obligation in mind, each individual also sets personal objective that in
  turn contributes to the success of the corporate objectives.
  8.2.6 The contribution of Ubudehe
  Ubudehe has been recognized internationally as a highly successful development
  program. In 2008, Ubudehe was awarded the United Nations “Better Management:
  Better Public Service” Award.
  One of the most significant impacts of Ubudehe is the way in which it has
  transformed citizens’ engagement with their own development. Much of the
  twentieth century in Rwanda was characterized by centralized planning and
  delivery of services with little or no involvement from local communities. Ubudehe
  has changed this and, coupled with decentralisation efforts, has changed the
  way Rwandans participate in decision making processes that affect their lives.
  Ubudehe has achieved almost nationwide coverage and communities across
  Rwanda are now actively involved in developing their own social maps, visual
  representations and collection of data to the extent of poverty in their village.
  This information is used to determine national development objectives against
  which the national government and its ministries are held accountable.
  The way in which Ubudehe has brought communities together for collective
  action based on their own priorities is also considered a major achievement of
  the programme. The provision of a bank account to each community has enabled
  thousands of community led actions such as purchasing livestock, undertaking
  agriculture activities, building clean water facilities, classrooms, terraces, health
  centres as well as silos for storing produce. In 2006-2007, 9,000 communities
  undertook different projects through Ubudehe and in 2007-2008 that number rose
  to 15,000. 2010 saw over 55,000 collective actions by communities with the
  assistance of 30,000 Ubudehe facilitators.
  At least 1.4 million people, around 20% of the population, have been direct
  beneficiaries of Ubudehe. Between 2005 and 2008, around 50,000 people were
  trained on Ubudehe concepts and procedures.
  This has resulted in a greater level of skills available to the community at the local
  level helping Ubudehe to be more effective.
  5.2.7 Contribution of Umuganda
  Umuganda is credited with contributing to Rwanda’s development, particularly in
  the areas of infrastructure development and environmental protection. Common
  infrastructure projects include roads (especially those connecting sectors),
  bridges, heath centres, classroom construction (to support the 9 and 12) Years
  of Basic Education programs), housing construction for poor and vulnerable
  Rwandans (often to replace grass-thatched housing) and the construction of
  local government offices and savings and credit cooperative buildings.
  8.2.9 Impact of Umwiherero
  For a few days every year, leaders from all arms of Government come under
  one roof to collectively look at the general trajectory the country is taking and
  seek remedies to outstanding problems. Initially, Umwiherero had been designed
  exclusively for senior public officials but it has evolved to include leaders from
  the private sector as well as civil society. Provided for under the constitution,
  Umwiherero is chaired by the Head of State and during this time, presentationsand
  discussions centre on a broad range of development challenges including but not
  limited to the economy, governance, justice, infrastructure, health and education.
  Since its inception, organizers of Umwiherero have adopted numerous innovative
  initiatives to expedite the implementation of resolutions agreed upon at each
  retreat. Since then, the results are quantifiable. These efforts have resulted in
  noticeable improvements in planning, coordination, and accountability leading to
  clearer and more concise priorities.
  As discussions go deep in exposing matters affecting the well-being of the people
  of Rwanda, poor performers are reprimanded and those who delivered on their
  mandate are recognized.
  Application activity 8.2
  1. Analyze the impact of Abunzi as a home-grown initiative.
  2. Discuss the contribution of home-grown initiatives to social and
  economic development of Rwanda.
  3. Analyze the contribution of home-grown initiatives to Unity and
  Reconciliation of Rwandans.
  8.3. Challenges encountered during the implementation of the home grown solutions.
  Learning activity 8.3
  Discuss in not more than 500 words challenges encountered in
  Girinka programme and how they can be handled.
  1. Analyse challenges encountered in the implementation of Gacaca
  courts.
  2. Using internet, reports, media and your own observation discuss
  the challenges met by abunzi.
  3. Discuss the key challenges in the Imihigo planning process and
  implementation
  4. Evaluate the role of umuganda as a home-grown solution.
  8.3.1. Challenges of Abunzi
  Some of the challenges encountered during the implementation of Abunzi
  are:
  • Inadequate legal knowledge: While most mediators acknowledged that
  they received training session on laws, they expressed a desire to receive
  additional training on a more regular basis to enhance their knowledge of
  relevant laws.
  • Insufficient mediation skills: Mediators also expressed a desire to
  receive additional training in professional mediation techniques in order to
  improve the quality and effectiveness of their work.
  • Lack of permanent offices: In some areas, mediation committees do not
  always have workspace reserved for them and must share space with the
  staff from cells and/or sectors offices; this sharing can sometimes result in
  the loss or mix-up of case
  • Incentives: A number of mediators complained that the incentive promised
  to them and their families in the form of “mutuelle de santé” (health
  insurance) was not always forthcoming.
  • Transportation for field visits: According to a study conducted by RCN
  Justice &Démocratie in 2009, mediators complained about not always
  being able to transportation to perform site visits when reviewing cases.
  While each chairperson at the appeal level received a bicycle, it has been
  recognised that field visits for all mediators have been very difficult in some
  cases. This can result in delays in the mediation process.
  • Communication facilities: To perform their duties, mediators have to
  communicate among themselves or with other institutions, but they are not
  given a communication allowance. This proves problematic at times and can lead to financial stress for some when they are obliged to use their own
  money to contact for instance litigants and institutions.
  8.3.2. Challenges of Gacaca courts
  Below are challenges faced during implementation of Gacaca.
  • At the beginning of the data collection phase at the national level, 46,000
  Inyangamugayo representing 27.1% of the total number of judges, were
  accused of genocide. This led to their dismissal from Gacaca courts.
  • Leaders, especially in the local government, were accused of participating in
  genocide constituting a serious obstacle to the smooth running of Gacaca.
  • In some cases there was violence against genocide survivors, witnesses
  and Inyangamugayo.
  • Serious trauma among survivors and witnesses manifested during Gacaca
  proceedings.
  • In some cases there was a problem of suspects eeing their communities
  and claiming that they were threatened because of Gacaca.
  • In some cases there was corruption and favouritism in decision making.
  8.3.3. Challenges of Girinka
  The following are the major challenges faced by the Girinka programme:
  In some cases, the distribution of cows has not been transparent and people
  with the financial capacity to buy cows themselves were among the beneficiaries.
  This issue was raised at the National Dialogue Council. (Umushyikirano) in 2009
  and eventually resolved through the cow recovery programme. This program
  resulted in 20,123 cows given to unqualified beneficiaries (out of a total of 20,532
  wrongly given) redistributed to poor families.
  8.3.4. Challenges of Ingando
  Ingando has contributed significantly to national unity and reconciliation in
  Rwanda. But when the programme was established, it faced significant challenges
  including a lack of trust between participants and facilitators as well as low quality
  facilities. These issues were slowly overcome as more resources were dedicated
  to the programme. 
  8.3.5. Challenges of Ubudehe
  The major challenges of Ubudehe can be divided into categorisation and project
  implementation:
  Categorisation
  In some cases, village members have preferred to be classified into lower poverty
  levels as a way to receive support from social security programs such as health
  insurance and Girinka.
  To overcome this, household poverty level categorisation takes place publically
  with all heads of households and must be validated by the village itself.
  In the event that community members dispute the decision made by their village,
  they are entitled to lodge a complaint and appeal in the first instance to the
  sector level. The Ubudehe Committee at the sector level conducts a visit to the
  household and either upholds or issues a new decision. If community members
  remain unhappy with the decision they can appeal in the second instance to the
  district level. The final level of appeal is to the Office of the Ombudsman at the
  central government level.
  8.3.6. Challenges of Imihigo
  While Imihigo has provided the Government of Rwanda and citizens with a way
  to hold leaders to account, some challenges listed below have been identified
  from the 2010-2011 evaluation report:
  • There is a planning gap especially on setting and maintaining logic and
  consistency: objectives, baseline, output/targets and indicators
  • Setting unrealistic and over-ambitious targets by districts was common.
  Some targets were not easily achievable in 12 months. For example,
  construction of a 30 km road when no feasibility study had been conducted
  or reducing crime by 100%.
  • In some districts low targets were established that would require little e ort
  to implement.
  • The practice of consistent tracking of implementation progress, reporting
  and ling is generally still weak.
  • Some targets were not achieved because of district partners who did
  not fulfill their commitments in disbursing funds - especially the central
  government institutions and development partners.
  • There is a weakness of not setting targets based on uniqueness of rural
  and urban settings. Setting targets that are beyond districts’ full control was observed: For example,
  construction of stadiums and development of master plans whose implementation
  is fully managed by the central government.
  There was general lack of communication and reporting of challenges faced that
  hindered implementation of the committed targets.
  8.3.7. Challenges of Itorero
  During its implementation, Itorero faced a series of challenges including:
  • Inadequate staff and insufficient logistics for the monitoring and evaluation
  of Itorero activities;
  • Low level of understanding the important role of Itorerory’ Igihugu on the
  part of partners;
  • Districts lack sufficient training facilities;
  • Some Itorero mentors lack sufficient capacity to train other people;
  • The National Itorero Commission does not get adequate information on
  partners’
  • commitment to Volunteer Services;
  • A number of various institutions in the country have not yet started
  considering voluntary and national service activities in their planning.
  • Low understanding of the role of Itorero especially at the village level;
  • Existence of some partners who have not yet included activities.
  8.3.8. Challenges of Umuganda
  The challenges faced by Umuganda fall into two broad categories: planning and
  participation. In some areas of the country, poor planning has led to unrealistic
  targets and projects that would be difficult to achieve without additional financing.
  In urban areas, participation in Umuganda has been lower than in rural areas.
  To address these challenges, the team responsible for Umuganda at the Ministry
  of Local Government has run trainings for the committees that oversee Umuganda
  at the local level.
  These trainings include lessons on monitoring and evaluation, how to report
  achievements, the laws, orders and guidelines governing Umuganda as well as
  responsibilities of the committee.
  To overcome the issues of low participation rates in some areas of the country,
  especially in urban areas, an awareness raising campaign is conducted through
  documentaries, TV and radio shows to inform Rwandans about the role Umuganda
  plays in society and its importance.
  8.3.9. Challenges of Umwiherero
  The first four years of Umwiherero saw questionable results. The organisation
  of the retreat was often rushed, objectives were poorly defined and few tangible
  results could be measured.
  This led President Paul Kagame to establish the Strategy and Policy Unit in
  the Office of the President and the Coordination Unit in the Office of the Prime
  Minister. At the same time, the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs was set up to improve
  the functioning of the Cabinet. These two newly formed units were tasked with
  working together to implement Umwiherero.
  While the first retreat organised by the two new teams suffered from similar
  problems to previous retreats, improvement was noticeable.
  Following Umwiherero in 2009, Minister of Cabinet Affairs served as head of
  the newly formed steering committee tasked with overseeing the retreat. The
  steering committee was comprised of 14 team members. Alongside the steering
  committee, working groups were set up to define the priorities to be included on
  the retreat agenda. This process was overseen by the Strategy and Policy Unit
  who developed a concept paper with eleven priority areas to be approved by the
  Prime Minister and the President.
  Since that time the organisation, implementation and outcomes of Umwiherero
  have vastly improved and significant achievements have been recorded.
  The focus on a small number of key priorities has made it easier for meaningful
  discussions to be had and for effective implementation to take place. For example,
  the number of national priorities agreed upon by participants fell from 174 in 2009
  to 11 in 2010 and to six in 2011. The retreats are also credited with significantly
  improving coordination and cooperation between government ministries and
  agencies.
  Application activity 8.3
  1. Analyze challenges encountered in the implementation of Gacaca
  courts.
  2. Using internet, reports, media and your own observation discuss
  the challenges met by abunzi.
  3. Discuss the key challenges in the Imihigo planning process and
  

  implementation.

  8.4. End Unit Assessment
  End Unit Assessment
  1. Assess the achievements and challenges of Umuganda in
  social and economic sector and propose what can be done to
  improve it.
  2. Explain the contribution and challenges of Umwiherero on
  economic development and good governance and what can be
  done to improve it.
  3. Discuss the contribution of Ubudehe to dignity and self-reliance.
  4. Analyse the contribution of Girinka to poverty reduction.
  5. Discuss the social impact of Abunzi and its contribution to unity
  

  and reconciliation.

• UNIT 9 FAIR OPERATING PRACTICES

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to analyze critically fair operating practices.
  Introductory activity
  One day, a villager went to the office of a Sector to ask for a construction
  permit. He was refused this service. Instead, the land office invited
  him to offer him some money so that he could help him get it.
  Read the above case study then after discuss the reasons why the
  aforementioned villager was not given the service he was asking for.
  What kind of offence the land officer was about to commit?
  9.1. Concept and forms of corruption
  Learning activity 9.1
  Using internet and/or other reference books, carry out a research and
  write the meaning of corruption and explain its forms. Afterwards,
  share your findings in pairs with one of your classmates.
  9.1.1. Concept of corruption
  Corruption refers to a very broad range of behaviour that particularly has
  something to do with power misuse. Corruption is an ill that is eating away most
  societies of the world, especially in the African continent.
  It involves the abuse of a position in order to gain an unmerited advantage through
  means that are illegitimate, immoral or unethical. It can be for personal gains or in
  favour of certain groups of people. It is mostly associated with bribery.
  9.1.2. Forms of corruption
  Acts of corruption may be petty or grand depending on the magnitude ofthe
  resources misappropriated or the measure of the injustice undertaken. Corruption
  takes many forms depending on the nature of the dishonest behavior practiced.
  The forms can be analyzed as follows:
  • Bribery: It is arguably the most common form of corruption. Bribery involves
  two parties: the give rand taker of the bribe. A bribe is an illegal payment
  given to a person either directly or indirectly for him/her to act in a certain
  way, or refrain from acting in his/her official capacity. This can be to allow
  illegal businesses such as smuggling of goods or to be exempted from
  

  legal procedures such as taxes or licenses.

  

  • Embezzlement: This is theft or misappropriation of money and other resources
  put under one’s responsibility but belonging to someone else. Embezzlement of
  funds is common in political situations where public money meant to be used in
  improving the standards of living of the citizens is misappropriated and used in
  personal projects by government officials. Apart from funds, human resource and
  public facilities can also be embezzled by being used to serve purposes other than
  the legitimate ones.
  • Nepotism: This is the practice of unfair distribution of resources or treatment
  of people that involves favouring closely related people in performance
  of one’s official duties. It can be giving individuals or groups of individuals
  jobs, promotions, or even salary increment based on the fact that they are
  related to you.
  • Patronage: This is where by a public officer gives favours such as employment
  in return for political support. For example, an aspiring politician may use
  his/her influence to illegally help people acquire positions in public offices
  in exchange for support in his/her political ambitions.
  • Theft and fraud: Some officials steal state assets kept under their watch
  or those assets made available to them by virtue of their positions in
  government. Fraud involves using deception to convince the owner of
  funds or assets to give them up to an unauthorized party. A good example
  is where a person in authority misdirects company funds into non-existent
  companies and then later transfers them into a personal account. Acquiring
  publicly owned assets such as money through illegal means is the most
  common form of corruption.
  • Institutional corruption: This form of corruption can happen where conflicts
  of interest are not managed. Institutional corruption takes place when those
  who are in charge of a project make decisions about those projects in their
  own favour, not considering other people who are in dire need and depend
  on those projects. For example, if an official is foreseeing a water project to
  help people in a dry locality have piped water, that official may make the
  decision to have fewer pipes so that he can spend less in the project and
  reserve more finances for him/herself.
  • Extortion and blackmail: Extortion and blackmail involve the use of threats
  to gain access to another person’s information or property. This can be
  the threat of violence or false imprisonment as well as exposure of an
  individual’s secrets or prior crimes. A good example is where an influential
  person threatens to go to the media if they do not receive speedy medical
  treatment or where a person demands money in exchange for continued
  secrecy.
  • Abuse of office/ discretion: This refers to the misuse of one’s powers and
  decision-making facilities. Examples include a judge dismissing a criminal
  case unjustly or a customs official using their position to allow a banned
  substance such as drugs to be imported or exported with the intention of
  gaining financially from it.
  Application activity9.1
  1. Basing on the definition of the concept of the corruption, identify
  any corrupt practices in your community. Refer to any of them that
  you witnessed and say how it was handled by the authority.
  2. Discuss different ways in which corruption is practiced in most
  African countries
  3. In about two paragraphs, write about four forms of corruption and
  

  mention African examples where it is possible.

  9.2. Causes and effects of corruption
  Learning activity 9.2
  In groups, brainstorm and account for the causes and effects of
  corruption. Afterwards, present your findings to the whole class.
  9.2.1. Causes of corruption
  Corruption starts within a person. The desire to make money or acquire certain
  privileges lures people to accept bribes or do certain things for their own gain and
  so they become corrupt.
  The following are the major causes of corruption:
  Ambiguity of laws: Most constitutional laws are not clear on matters of corruption
  and this creates loopholes for people to get away with corruption cases.
  In most cases, corruption begins from the top officials and people in positions of
  authority. This makes people feel secure in corruption deals. Bribing provides an
  alternative to following long procedures. People who can afford these alternatives
  would not take the trouble to follow these procedures.
  • Poor enforcement of law on property rights leads to a misconception that
  violation of these rights has little or no consequences.
  • Poor governance: The overall system of governance that has no place for
  moral and ethical values kills any spirit of justice that would help overcome
  corruption.
  • Personal greed and desire for money or wealth with no regard for morality.
  • The desire to serve personal interests rather than public interest at workplace.
  This may be due to weak supervision in the public sector.
  • Lack of awareness on matters of law and the justice system in the wider
  population. This renders people incapable of reporting incidents of
  corruption. This is because if someone does not recognize a crime oran
  act of injustice committed against them, then it is hard for them to act or
  resist it.
  • Fear of victimization. If one really needs a service and his/ her request for
  the service is met by demands for a bribe, this person may fail to resist offering
  the bribe out of the fear that resistance may cause difficulties in achieving his/
  her goals.
  • Some slogans encourage self–centeredness and therefore inspire
  corruption. For example: ‘take advantage while you can’; ‘everyone does
  it’ etc.
  • Systems that do not emphasize on accountability and transparency also
  cause corruption.
  • Slow and unreliable judicial processes such that even when one gathers
  enough courage to report corruption, the procedures involved take long
  and may actually not be effective enough to discourage the crime. The
  procedures are also costly to follow through.
  • There is lack of moral criteria in promotions. Promotion should be based
  on proven integrity and responsibility but this is not always the case.
  Promotions are at times based on corruption and this creates a system
  built on the vice of corruption.
  • Lack of will to prosecute those in power. Most of the times reports on
  corruption point at influential public figures whose cases are down played as
  those in charge often feel like they have less power to penalize them.
  In conclusion, the causes of corruption can be said to be built around personal,
  cultural, institutional and organizational factors.
  9.2.2 Effects of corruption
  Corruption is all about taking advantage of someone else’s condition and the
  possibility of gaining from it. It becomes a social issue when it becomes an
  assumed culture whereby people in a society cannot access public services and
  resources without bribing those in authority. The result of this is that the poor
  suffer more as they lack the social networks and funds to access these services.
  National resources and opportunities therefore end up being owned by those in
  power and those with the means. The gap between the rich and the poor widens
  and oppression and exploitation become rampant. What results is a society
  whose economic development is crippled as there venues supposed to develop
  the nation are misappropriated and unequal distribution of resources denying a
  high percentage of the population an opportunity to develop.
  Corruption has far reaching negative effects from the individual level, community
  level, national level, all the way to the international level. These effects are:
  Corruption undermines economic development, distorts political systems and halts
  infrastructural development. It kills a person’s sense of morality. Every act of
  corruption leads to oppression of one party to benefit another. It is therefore an
  act of immorality.
  A system of corruption enhances social inequality as resources are utilized by those
  in power and the rich. It leads to political instability as leaders are not elected out of
  integrity but through corrupt means. Corruption undermines human rights. A society
  where people are deprived of their rights lacks in peace and people are always in a
  struggle for a dignified life.
  At the community and national level, corruption slows down development as
  resources meant to drive development projects are pocketed by the ruling class.
  Corruption encourages illegal activities and crime as criminals and law breakers
  are able to bribe their way out. The rule of law is compromised.
  The authority and integrity of public administration structures is undermined.
  Corruption leads to depletion of national wealth. Selfish individuals use the
  national resources for personal advancement. They convert public wealth to
  private property. It also causes inflation. It is responsible for increased costs of
  foods and services as the revenue that would have been used to subsidize these
  necessities is misappropriated.
  Corruption leads to unequal allocation of resources which leads to imbalance
  in economic development. Some regions are improved while others remain
  marginalized. It discourages people from working together for the common good.
  This may lead to frustration and general apathy among the public which can
  create a weak civil society that is not unified.
  Corruption results in social inequality and widens the gap between the rich and
  the poor, causes civil strife, increased poverty and lack of basic needs like food,
  water and drugs.
  It also causes jealousy, hatred and insecurity. Corruption is therefore a bad
  practice. It undermines the legitimacy of a government, weakens state structures,
  reduces productivity and hinders national development.
  Application activity9.2
  1. Explain two causes of corruption.
  2. How does corruption affect the society? What do you think should
  be done to corrupt officers in your country?
  9.3 Fair competition
  Learning activity 9.2
  Using internet and/or other reference books, carry out a research
  and organize a debate on the following motion: “Fair competition and
  respect are unattainable in modern society.”
  Fair competition means that the same rules and conditions are applied to all
  participants and that the actions of some do not affect the ability of others
  to compete. People can only compete fairly when all the advantages and
  

  opportunities are equally provided to all competitors.

  

  In trade, fair competition means a situation where business people compete on
  balanced factors such as price, quality and service. This means that there is no
  monopoly of business; rather, there is opportunity for all who are interested in the
  business. Healthy competition can improve a country’s economic performance.
  Open business opportunities reduce the cost of goods and services and therefore
  contributes to improving the economy.
  9.3.1. Advantages of fair competition
  – It leads to friendship among competitors.
  – Respect for one another.
  – It promotes honesty and fairness in business transactions.
  – It encourages teamwork.
  – It promotes economic growth and poverty reduction. It can lead to significant
  reforms in the business world due to increased competition.
  – Fair competition helps consumers to get a good deal and contentment for what
  they spend. It ensures that good quality products are produced.
  – Fair competition leads to the urge of being better in the market. It encourages
  competitors to innovate. This reduces pressure on costs and produces
  more returns due to efficiency in production.
  – It lowers prices for consumers
  – It enhances technological advancement.
  – Consumers have a wider variety to choose from; hence they become more
  informed on different qualities of products that can be available.
  – There is availability of products in different prices, and therefore all classes
  of people are catered for.
  9.3.2 Justification for fair competition
  If there was only one airline that was offering international transport, no matter
  the quality of the services that it would offer, travelers would have no option but
  to use it. This kind of airline can be said to be a monopoly. However, if the market
  was open and there were many other options for air travel, this airline would
  be forced to ensure that its services are of good quality for it to survive in the
  transport industry. This would ensure that consumers get value for their money.
  1. Discuss with your partner the ways in which your society tries to
  be fair to everybody.
  2. What are the advantages of fair competition?
  9.4 Respect of property rights
  Learning activity 9.4
  By watching a documentary film or using internet and/or other
  reference books, carry out a research and explain the consequences
  of the cultural dilution and the principles of inclusion. Afterwards,
  present your findings to the whole class.
  In most cases, disagreement over who owns property or how property ought to
  be used leads to strife and at times violence. These disagreements arise from
  disrespect for property rights or unclear definition of ownership. Property rights
  determine how source or property is owned and used. A property can be owned by
  an individual, a group of individuals, an association or the government.
  Property rights are made necessary by the fact that many people live together either
  in a family, a community or the wider society. If each person lived alone, then
  there wouldn’t be a need for property rights. In essence, property rights help to
  ensure a peaceful coexistence among members of a family or community as they
  ensure that ownership to property is defined.
  Apart from ownership, property rights also determine the relationship of other
  parties linked to the property. Violation of these rights is punishable and this
  reduces incidents of disrespecting others property rights.
  A person’s property rights can be said to have been violated when:
  • Someone destroys the property
  • Someone uses it without permission from the owner
  • Property such as land can also be infringed upon when:
  • Someone grabs the property (such as land)
  Property rights enable a property owner to have control over the property in
  the following ways:
  • The right to use the property - this means that a property owner has the right
  to decide whether and how to use the property. For example, if someone
  owns a piece of land, it is within their right to decide whether to put the land
  to use or not and how to use it.
  • The right to earn income from the property-an owner of a property may decide
  to hire it out or put it to personal use.
  • The right to transfer the property to others - this is where someone decides to
  sell his/her property to someone else or even give it without any financial
  returns.
  • The right to enforcement of property rights - this means that one who owns a
  property has the right to exercise all the rights pertaining ownership of that
  property
  Advantages of property rights
  • Property rights provide security for the future. This is in matters of inheritance
  of his/her property. When someone is the owner of a property, he/ she has
  the right to transfer ownership to an individual of choice. Once ownership
  has been transferred, the property rights protect the new owner such that
  no one else can claim the property.
  • Property rights also act as a catalyst for socio- economic progress as people
  want to work hard to own their own property. If all property were communally
  owned, people would not find much prestige in owning property.
  • The boundaries of how a property should be used also enhance peace and
  harmony in the society.
  • It is a source of prestige and gives one a higher social status.
  • However, property rights may lead to greed for property, capitalism, inequality
  

  and corruption.

  Application activity 9.4
  1. In which way the property rights enable a property owner to have
  control over the property?
  2. What are the advantages of property rights?
  9.5 End Unit Assessment
  End unit assessment
  1. What are different strategies that have been adopted in your
  country to fight against corruption?
  2. Discuss with your partner the ways in which your society tries
  to be fair to everybody.
  3. Explain the advantages of fair competition.
  4. Evaluate the different ways in which the property rights enable a
  

  property owner to have control over his or her the property

• UNIT 10 FINANCIAL SCAMS

  Key Unit Competence:
  To be able to protect oneself against financial scams and identity fraud.
  Introductory activity
  1. Explain difffferent ways in which people are conned of their money
  by fraudsters or criminals worldwide.
  2. Describe ways people can use to protect themselves from such
  people.
  10.1. Concept and types of financial scam in the world today
  and identity fraud
  Learning activity 10.1
  Answer the following questions.
  1. Research and find out examples of financial scams that are on
  the rise in the country since the introduction of mobile and online
  banking.
  2. Visit a bank near your school. Ask a resource person at the bank
  the following questions:
  a). Have they witnessed cases of financial scams at the bank?
  b). What methods were used by fraudsters to steal money from
  innocent people?
  c). How can individuals protect themselves from fraudsters?
  Financial scams are deceptive schemes used by fraudsters to rob people and
  business organisations off their money. Fraudsters are also called financial
  scammers. Financial scams do not involve documentation since most of the
  information they provide is falsified. Financial scams are treated as serious
  crimes and a violation of civil law. Financial scamming is also called white collar
  crime because of the non-violent means used to rob victims off their money.
  
  In the world, there are numerous financial fraudsters who have robbed people and
  organisations of billions of dollars’ worth of money. Financial scams characterise
  every economy in the world today. World governments are increasingly concerned
  about the catastrophic effects of fraudulent activities carried out by numerous
  financial scammers and fraudsters.
  
  In terms of types, financial scams have been characterised according to the
  methods or ways used by scammers. Some of the common types of financial
  scams include the following:
  1) Advance fee scams
  Scammers communicate with their target victims informing them that they have
  won prize money from a lottery, sweepstake or other competitions in which the
  target victims did not participate. They inform their intended victims that they
  need to pay some advance fees to a specified account before the prize money is
  released. Once the money is deposited in the specified account, the prize money
  is not released. The scammers then vanish by switching off their communication
  

  channels. The victims end up losing their money to the scammers.

  

  Alternatively, scammers call their target victims and trick them into entering a
  non-existent lottery or sweepstake competition. They are lured into buying fake
  lottery, sweepstake or gambling competition tickets. The victims are then informed
  that they have won huge sums of money in the lottery or sweepstake competition
  they entered. The victims will then be told that they need to pay a prize fee to a
  specific account before the money is released to them. Once the prize fee paid,
  scammers switch off communication, having conned the victims
  2) Investment scams
  Scammers use investment scams to con people who want to invest their money
  in highly profitable ventures. Some of the investment scams that scammers use
  to con their victims are:
  a) Ponzi investment scams or pyramid schemes
  Scammers establish fake companies to target wealthy investors. These
  companies trick their victims by offering very high rates of return on investors’
  money in the form of share capital. The victims invest in buying shares in fake
  companies and become ‘shareholders’. The scheme collapses when money
  from new investors is not enough to pay the original initial investors. The new and
  initial investors lose their money once the scheme collapses. Investors are also
  tricked into marketing schemes that appear to be real, for example, marketing
  of products. Investors are promised large profits based on the number of people
  they recruit in the marketing scheme. Profits are not based on the actual sale of
  products but rather the number of recruits.
  (Sources: The Little Book of Big Scams (Third Edition) (2014) pages 1-40, and The
  Little Black Book on Scams (2012), pages 4 –30)
  b) Pump and dump stock scam
  This is where the price of stocks in a specific company are promoted based on
  false and misleading information. The stock prices rise to high levels on the stock
  exchange markets. This overvalues the actual price of the stocks in the market.
  Promoters sell their stock at an overvalued price and stop promoting the stock.
  The stock prices then fall to low levels. Investors end up losing the value of their
  capital.
  c) Offshore investment scams
  Financial scammers promote non-existent offshore investments. These are
  investments made in fake foreign companies and sold to investors. The scammers
  benefit from high rates of return and avoid paying government taxes. These fake
  companies will then vanish making it impossible for investors to trace or recover
  their money in the foreign company.
  d) Foreign exchange (forex) scams
  Scammers lure investors into trading in foreign currencies in a forex market.
  An unsuspecting investor is lured into wiring money to an offshore account as
  a requirement before being accepted to trade in foreign currencies. Financial
  scammers then disappear with the investor’s money.
  e) Purchase of precious minerals scams
  Financial scammers target victims promising them a sale of precious minerals,
  for example, diamonds. They persuade their victims that the sale of precious
  minerals is a lifetime opportunity to grow wealthy. The unsuspecting victims then
  buy these precious minerals only to realize later that they are not worth the money
  invested. By this time, the financial scammers have vanished.
  f) Door- to- door sale scams
  Door-to-door sales scammers use this method to scam their target victims by
  selling them poor quality products at high prices. Such scammers pretend to sell
  or promote goods of very high quality. Financial scammers carry out a survey
  in advance to obtain personal details of their intended victims. They use this
  information to scam their victims. They also con people out of their household
  goods.
  g) Dating and romance scams
  Many people, especially the young, use online dating websites and applications
  such as Facebook in search of companions. Financial scammers take advantage
  of these online dating sites to scam innocent people. Scammers use fictitious
  names to conceal their identities and target people. They play with the emotions
  of the target victims by establishing close relationships. They also send the
  victims gifts, personal photos and greeting cards. Scammers then ask for
  personal information which may be used to scam a victim. After the victims have
  sent information or money, the scammers vanish and block their communication
  

  channels.

  

  h) Banking and online payment scams
  Internet and mobile banking are the latest business technologies in today’s
  electronic age. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is revolutionizing the way
  people do business across the globe. Financial scammers have encroached on
  the new banking technologies to steal money. There are three main categories of
  banking and online payment scams. They include the following:
  i) Phishing
  Scammers email their victims pretending they are from the victims’ banks. They
  inform the victim that they want to rectify a problem that has occurred in the
  victims’ accounts. They ask their victims to give them their bank account details
  such as account name and number. If the victims respond, scammers use the
  details to send information electronically to manipulate personal identification
  details such as passwords and fraudulently transact business on the victims’
  behalf.
  j) Vishing
  This is similar to phishing. However, instead of emailing, scammers call the victims
  purporting to be working for a bank, police unit or fraud investigation agency. They
  inform their intended victims that they need their bank account details such as
  account name and number, passwords or debit/credit card details. They inform
  victims that their accounts are at risk and that they are likely to lose their money.
  The victims may respond by giving out their account details. Scammers then use
  the details to access funds from victim accounts and transfer them to another or
  other accounts. The victims may lose their money through this method.
  k) Card skimming
  Scammers steal information from credit cards and ATM cards during a
  legitimate transaction. They use skimming devices to store information on
  a magnetic strip. This information is used to access victims’ accounts and
  steal money from them.
  l) Card fraud
  Scammers use stolen credit or debit cards to make unauthorized transactions
  from the victims’ accounts. They can also use information from unsuspecting
  victims to make fake cards. The fake cards are then used to make transactions
  and steal money from a victim.
  m) Online shopping scams
  E-commerce involves buying and selling of goods and services online. Many
  online businesses are legitimate. However, financial scammers use e-commerce
  to con unsuspecting shoppers. They use the following financial scams.
  i. Online-classified scams
  Financial scammers create online-classified websites that provide an opportunity
  for would-be sellers and buyers of online goods to transact business. Scammers
  also use genuine websites pretending to be genuine sellers or buyers of goods
  to con unsuspecting members of the public. Thus, they create an opportunity to
  scam their victims, for example, by giving out bouncing cheques.
  ii. Online auction scams
  Financial scammers take advantage of websites that auction products online.
  They send messages to their targets claiming that they are winners in an auction
  for a specified product. They ask for advance payment as commitment to buy the
  product. The excited victim promptly pays the advance payment. After receiving
  the advance payment, the financial scammers vanish from the auction sites. The
  victims end up losing their money.
  iii. Fake retailer’s scams
  Financial scammers create fake retailer websites. They ask unsuspecting buyers
  to pay for items through online money transfers. Once the victims pay, the
  scammers vanish and never communicate again.
  6) Job and employment scams
  With the high rates of unemployment, financial scammers promise unemployed
  people’s job placements with high salaries. This scam is promoted by
  advertisements on fake websites or the use of the Short Message Service
  (SMS). The scammers lure their victims to pay a certain amount of money to
  a specified account for processing of documentation and a commission fee.
  Once unsuspecting victims have paid the money, the websites are closed and
  scammers cut-off all communication.
  7) Charity scams
  Scammers create fake websites where they target victims of charity scams. They
  are most prevalent when there are national disasters in certain countries. Victims
  are requested to make donations to assist the people affected by the disaster.
  Once the victims deposit money in the scammers’ account, the scammers
  disappear and the websites are closed down.
  Concerning identity fraud, this one is the unauthorized use of another person’s
  identity to deceive or defraud someone else. Identify fraudsters use other people’s
  personal details to operate bank accounts, order goods and services, take over
  bank accounts, use mobile phone contacts and obtain personal identification
  documents to commit crimes.
  The victims, whose identities are used, may receive loan statements, service
  bills, invoices or statement of accounts for transactions they did not carry out.
  Identity fraud is a growing problem in the world today. Most of the organised
  crimes witnessed such as illegal immigration, drug trafficking, money laundering,
  terrorism and human trafficking are linked to identity fraud. These are types of
  identity fraud:
  – Identity theft
  This is the fraudulent use of another person’s identity or information to commit
  fraud without his or her knowledge. Imposters (identity fraudsters) create new
  accounts and obtain new debit or credit cards using the personal details of the
  victims. The new card that carries similar information to an original one is used to
  transact illegal transactions. The Internet is used to facilitate fraudulent activities
  of identity thieves.
  – Phishing
  Fraudsters create fake bank websites that look like genuine websites of known
  banks. The fraudsters then send emails to bank customers and lure them to the
  fake bank websites where they provide personal details. With such information,
  they access the customers’ bank accounts to withdraw money without their
  knowledge. This type of identity fraud usually affects customers who use online
  banking.
  – Hacking
  Fraudsters may hack into the website of a financial institution and access
  details of customers’ e-banking transactions. They steal the password or PIN
  to access the bank’s computerised software system. They may then lure the
  bank’s customers into fake websites that look similar to the bank’s real websites.
  The fraudsters then use such information to steal money from the unsuspecting
  customers’ accounts.
  Fraudsters use personal information stolen from innocent people to process
  licenses, identity cards and passports to carry out fraudulent business transactions.
  – ATMs and credit cards skimming
  The credit and ATM cards’ information are captured or copied using electronic
  means when customers are carrying out genuine transactions. Fraudsters can
  steal vital information by looking over the shoulder of a customer when he or she
  

  is performing business transactions.

  Application activity 10.1
  1. Identify other types of online financial scams prevalent in the world.
  2. Discuss how people lose their money to financial scammers
  through the seven types of financial scams identified above.
  3. Explain reasons why people in Rwanda are vulnerable to the types
  of financial scams identified in question (1) above
  10.2. Impact of financial scams on individuals and families
  Learning activity 10.2.
  Carry out a survey on the impact of financial scams on individuals
  and families in Rwanda
  Some of the major impacts of financial scams on individuals and their
  families include the following:
  Financial loss
  Financial loss harms individuals and their families. Many people lose large sums
  of money to scammers. As a result, victims find it difficult to fulfill their financial
  obligations, as they may be bankrupt. They have trouble providing for their basic
  needs such as food, clothing, shelter and health. Some of the affected persons
  may be too old to start building wealth afresh.
  Loss of employment
  If individuals affected by financial scams are self-employed and experience
  bankruptcy, their businesses may close down. Similarly, if the organisations
  where individuals are employed are victims of financial scams, it also leads to
  loss of employment. This happens when the organisations become bankrupt and
  are forced to close down or lay off workers. Their families also suffer as there is
  no money to satisfy their needs.
  Mental health problems
  Victims who are scammed by fraudsters become shocked, anxious, embarrassed,
  worried, upset and angry. This may lead to depression among individuals and
  family members. A prolonged period of depression results in health problems that
  make it difficult for them to carry out their day-to-day activities.
  Psychological, sociological and emotional problems
  Victims blame themselves for being scammed. They feel ashamed and
  embarrassed to report incidences of financial fraud to their spouses, close friends,
  family members and colleagues because they fear being criticized. There is a
  tendency for relationships to break down between the affected victims and their
  friends, relatives and family members.
  A large number of victims lose their self-esteem because of feelings of guilt,
  embarrassment and shame. Some victims suffer in silence and may develop
  undesirable temperamental behaviour. Other victims may resort to substance use
  and abuse or attempt suicide. Victims who are in business develop an extreme
  fear of transacting business or trusting people. Victims of online dating scams
  

  develop a fear of other potential partners.

  Application activities 10.2
  Carry out a survey on the impact of financial scams on individuals
  and families in Rwanda.
  10.3. Steps to take when you are a victim of financial scams
  Learning activity 10.3
  With the help of your teacher, visit the nearest bank or mobile banking
  customer service agent. Ask the relevant person to provide you with
  information on what to do to avoid being a victim of financial scam.
  They are some steps you can take when you are a victim of financial scams. In
  fact, it is not easy for victims of financial scams and identity fraud to recover from
  the impact of such fraudulent schemes. There are steps that one should take if
  scammed by fraudsters. The steps to be taken include the following:
  The first step a victim should take to is report to the respective authorities. Detailed
  information should be provided about how one has been scammed. This will help
  to prevent and warn others of such scams. For fake online scams, one should
  

  report to the genuine online websites.

  

  Most victims blame themselves for being scammed. However, we should not
  blame ourselves. Victims should accept the reality and stop brooding over it. One
  should recover as quickly as possible in order to lead a normal life.
  Care should be taken not to fall victim of financial scams. You should always be
  extra careful and cautious of people who might be attempting to lure you into
  financial scams.
  If you realise that you are being scammed, stop contact immediately with
  the scammers. You should not respond to further communication from the
  scammers and contact the relevant authorities. You should educate yourself
  comprehensively about financial literacy and knowledge of financial scams and
  identify frauds. Knowledge prepares you to protect yourself from future possible
  scams and frauds. If the financial scam involves your banking transactions,
  report immediately to the bank. Cancel all other pending transactions. Get new
  ATM and credit or debit cards and change your PIN number.
  Be on the lookout for possible scams such as miracle cures, fake weight-loss
  pills, deceptive lotteries, fake charities, gambling or sweepstake tickets and
  pyramid schemes.
  Never provide personal identification details or information to suspicious people.
  If one calls or emails asking for personal information, always confirm with the
  relevant agencies that the caller is genuine.
  Application activity 10.2
  Design a poster educating the public about measures they can take to
  avoid being victims of financial scams and identity fraud do to avoid
  being a victim of financial scam.
  10.4. Methods of protecting oneself from financial scams and
  identity fraud.
  Learning activity
  

  Supposing your friend receives a short message service (SMS) or
  

  email from an unknown number and has the following message:
  

  You have won Rwf 250,000 in the National Lottery Draw. Call
  

  +255012345 for further details on how to get your cash prize.
  How would you treat such a text message or email?
  Supposing your friend is excited and would like to call that number
  to enquire how they can get the prize money, what recommendations
  would you give him or her?
  Supposing your friend called the number and was asked to send
  Rwf 20,000 for processing the prize money and they sent the money,
  suggest ways in which you will assist him or her.
  You should do a thorough investigation of investment companies that offer huge
  returns on invested capital. You should check whether the company is real,
  registered and licensed to do business.
  Do not rush to invest in shares or stocks of companies which unprecedentedly
  rise one day. You may lose your investment if the stock or share prices of these
  companies tumble to very low levels.
  If you operate an e-banking account and receive suspicious emails, you should
  not open them. They may contain a virus which corrupts files in your computer.
  You should always update your anti-virus or have the latest anti-virus for your
  computer. Remember to change your email password regularly.
  Do not be lured into wiring money into an offshore account or assist a stranger
  to buy foreign currencies. Always buy foreign currencies from a reputable foreign
  exchange dealer. Scammers may lure an innocent person into money laundering
  schemes.
  Do not give your personal details or photographs to strangers you meet online.
  Neither should you send money to them.
  Your personal identification documents should be kept secure. If such documents
  are stolen or misplaced, report immediately to the relevant authorities.
  If you are withdrawing money from an ATM machine, be conscious of people
  around you. You should shield your transactions in the ATM keypad from those
  who may be checking your transactions over your shoulder.
  After making transactions, safely keep your personal identification documents.
  Do not leave behind your receipts, mini statements or balance enquiries. If your
  card is retained in the ATM machine, report immediately to your bank or the
  issuing company.
  Do not buy goods online from unfamiliar websites. Always buy goods from
  genuine websites. When accessing social media sites such as Facebook
  and Twitter using public computers, ensure you log out after you are
  

  through. Before doing anything online, stop, think and click.

  Application activity 10.4
  1. Describe measures you would use to ensure you do not fall victim
  to online identity theft on social media networks such as Facebook,
  WhatsApp, Instagram or Twitter.
  10.5 End Unit Assessment
  End unit assessment
  1. Distinguish the meaning of the terms financial fraud and identity
  theft.
  2. Identity financial scams and identity frauds most common in
  Rwanda.
  3. Explain common types of identity theft found in the digital world
  today.
  4. Discuss reasons why victims of financial scams and identity
  frauds rarely report incidents to state security agents or their
  relatives.
  5. Examine reasons why security agents in your country may not
  fully contain the activities of financial scams and identity frauds.
  6. State reasons why pyramid schemes usually go on for a very
  long time before being uncovered.
  7. Suggest steps that can be used in helping victims of financial
  scams and identity fraud to recover quickly.
  8. Assess strategies one may use to protect oneself against
  financial scams and identity fraud.
  9. Describe how you would help someone if you witnessed an act
  of identify fraud happening.
  10. is it possible to recognise persuasive messages of scamming
  intent in the current era of sophisticated information and
  

  communication technology?

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• Topic 11
• Topic 12