RWANDA

Contract duration : 23 July 1999 – 30 June 2004

Job description : After so many short-term consultancies for gtz during the years 1989 to 1999, the latter offered all of a sudden a long-term assignment in a “difficult country”. In 1999 hardly anyone was willing to take up jobs in that war-torn and genocide-stricken country. However, it was a thrilling challenge to take over the job from my predecessor, Armin Kehrer, who nicely prepared my intervention.

The “Fédération des Associations des Artisans de Butare” (FAAB) was a nucleus of a Chamber of Crafts, which saw the light of the day in April 1999, just six months before my arrival. All organisational processes were in a very embryonic stage, the elected artisans didn't really know what to do, but there were highly dedicated staff members. The political environment was favourable on provincial and national level.

The key focus was on organisational development of internal bureaucratic processes, of democratic processes of members and electorate, of networking and of an entrepreneurial spirit of the federation as such. As it was clear from the outset, government was not willing or able to subsidise such an undertaking as a single craftsmen federation, FAAB was bound to generate own income to guarantee long-time survival. The work comprises so many varying facets so that it's really difficult to mention them all in the few words
(for more details see: http://www.pab-faab.org.rw ).

The scope of different activities in a nutshell: