Rwanda’s ambassador to the United States, Mathilde Mukantabana, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Books for Africa fundraising luncheon on Friday, May 10 in Roseville, Minn.
Books for Africa is the world’s largest shipper of donated books to Africa, and Ambassador Mukantabana’s address is the first major event for the organization since its 35th anniversary celebration last September.
Over 400 people are expected at the free sold-out luncheon that will be held at the Midland Hills Country Club. Although sold out, Books for Africa’s executive director, Dr. Patrick Plonski, said the organization has opened a waiting list for those wishing to attend.
Dr. Plonski said this is the largest attendance for the annual luncheon which “will be a great way to celebrate the shipment of over 60 million books to Africa over the past 36 years.”
The organization has shipped over 60 million donated text books to all African countries since its founding, with over 3 million of those being sent last year. Computers and e-readers are now also routinely sent alongside the text books with BFA pointing out the donated electronics it sent to the continent in 2023 were loaded with over one million digital books.
The multilingual ambassador was in academia, serving as a tenured professor of history in California, before being tapped as her country’s 12th ambassador to the United States in 2013 and the first woman in the role. She also serves as the deputy dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Washington and is only one of about 30 women that are ambassadors in Washington out of the 185 countries that have embassies in America’s capital.
The World Population Review reports that 9 out of 10 least literate countries in the world are in the African continent. Only 67% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa can read and write, according to the World Bank, issues the ambassador is expected to address in her much anticipated address on Friday.
Rwanda commemorated 30 years of the 1994 genocide last month in Kigali led by President Paul Kagame. The genocide that lasted over 100 days saw an estimated 800,000 people killed, but mass graves of victims were being discovered as recently as January 2024. The US delegation to the somber commemoration in April was led by former President Bill Clinton.
The post genocide outlook in Rwanda in terms of education has however been a positive one. UNICEF, the UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide describes the country as one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s top-performing countries in education, with 98% of children enrolled in elementary school.
Despite the gains made in education, a recent USAID report looking into the effects of the Covid pandemic on education in Rwanda, identified a lack of adequate instructional and learning materials such as books, as a significant drag on the educational milestones the country has made.
About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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