The dust of sensitive mass lynching incident is yet to settle and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi made news of gifting cows to the villagers in Rwanda. India wondered what made him gift this unusual present to the beef-eating nation Rwanda. PM Modi too expected Indians to be pleasantly surprised seeing him giving such importance to cows for the economic empowerment of villages in Rwanda. He also said that this is a gesture to appreciate Rwanda government’s initiated ‘Girinka Programme’.
The Girinka Programme is helping transform the lives of people across rural Rwanda.
I also told President @PaulKagame about the initiatives we are taking in India for the development of our villages. pic.twitter.com/po4fH6X5df
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 24, 2018
The External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj in a tweet that Prime Minister Modi donated 200 cows to the poor families in villages of Rwanda under Girinka’s One Cow per Poor Family Programme. She also admired the ambitious project that aims to provide both nutritional and financial security to the poor.
Being part of a transformative project towards economic development of Rwanda! PM @narendramodi donates 200 cows under #Girinka – One Cow per Poor Family Programme at Rweru village. Girinka is an ambitious projects that provides both nutritional & financial security to the poor. pic.twitter.com/bXOKbOnd9g
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 24, 2018
Girinka is a centuries old cultural practice in Rwanda in which a cow is presented by a person to another as a sign of respect and gratitude, explains Prime Minister’s Office. The literal meaning of Girinka is ‘may you have a cow’. This was introduced by Rwandan President Paul Kagame in 2006 to deal with issues related to poverty and childhood malnutrition. It also aims to increase household incomes of poor farmers.
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Prime Minister Modi believes this project will help Rwanda transform its villages and is able to provide nutritional and financial security. He also suggested the Rwanda government work on honeybees since it can be produced along with milk and both businesses can be run together resulting in additional economic benefits.
