When Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes to Rwanda for the first-ever Prime Minister-level visit on Monday, he will have an interesting gift for his hosts — 200 cows, all sourced locally in the small, land-locked east African country. Modi will travel to Rweru model village in Rwanda’s eastern province and gift the cows as India’s contribution to Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s flagship “Girinka” programme. Officials said the cattle will be sourced locally since they are adapted to the natural surroundings of the region.
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In the year 2006, the government of Rwanda launched the Girinka programme that is “one cow for one poor family”. This programme has benefitted some 3.5 lakh families to date.
As a part of the programme, underprivileged families are given one dairy cows by the government. The first female calf of that cow is gifted to the neighbour in order to promote brotherhood in the community.
Modi, who will also visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, will express India’s gratitude to the Rwandan people, and acknowledge that during the genocide of 1994, no Indian was killed or injured. “The gifting of cows is not just an economic contribution, but also an expression of India’s gratitude to Rwanda for treating Indian community well,” an official said.
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