From 1988 and in particular since 2010, AIC Rwanda members volunteered and engaged with charitable works to help others in our community. Since 2017, a formalised system was introduced where members joined teams to manage due diligence of assessment, monitoring, and follow-up of viable sustainably economic project applications. The funded projects included a variety of structural, teaching, coaching, and resourcing solutions to small projects all around Rwanda.

Sadly, the COVID 19 pandemic took its toll in 2020, with lockdowns affecting the whole nation and diminishing any opportunity to raise funds through social activities. As a result, grants given were substantially smaller and predominantly allocated for emergency needs and survival though food funding. AIC resources quickly expired and new ways to generate funds were explored. 

From this arose an idea for a ‘Taste of Kigali’ cookbook. This idea came into being by sheer hard work by a small group of volunteer members. They proceeded to engage former AIC Food Fair participants, restaurants and caterers, to agree to donate a recipe and allow it be photographed and published to create this book. This initiative took well over a year to compile and complete, and the book was published by a former AIC project recipient, Imagine We, to successfully bring it to market.

A print run of 500 books sold out during the months leading up to and during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings held in Kigali, June 2022 (CHOGM). These funds enabled the granting of new project funding for 2022.  

An overview of project names and their purpose to gain an insight into the valuable worthwhile work undertaken by volunteers from within AIC Rwanda, is provided below.

Briefly, since 2017, almost 120 small grants were given to local marginalized groups and co-operatives throughout Rwanda. A total of over 95,000,000K RWF (approx. 95K USD) was injected into the community through the Small Funds Committee during this 6 year timeframe.