Rwanda National Police

Members of the national committee and district coordinators of Rwanda Youth Volunteers in Community Policing (RYVCP) met at Rwanda National Police (RNP) General Headquarters in Kacyiru on Friday, February 3, to lay further strategies to support the national security and development activities.

The youth, among others, discussed the role of their organization in community policing and working relations with the District Police Units and local leaders.

While officially opening the meeting, Commissioner of Police (CP) Bruce Munyambo, the Commissioner for Community Policing at the RNP, said that every generation must fulfill its mission to sustain and continue to build on what has been achieved.

"We have a generation of those who sacrificed and put their lives on the line to liberate this country and to lay a foundation for transformation, so you have a mission to sustain the achievements and build on that," CP Munyambo said.

He added that although the youth volunteers have contributed on the country's security and development programmes, there are other concerns that still require immediate attention.

"There is still a lot to do to fight stunting and malnutrition, early pregnancy, drugs and school dropout," he said.

Youth Volunteers in Community Policing, a group formed in 2013, has been credited for their volunteerism work valued in billions of money, including construction and renovation of houses for the disadvantaged families, roads, organic gardens, planting trees and supporting other human security and community development activities.

Eric Twahirwa Bayisenge, the RYVCP executive secretary, said that the focus has been on fighting stunting and malnutrition, promoting sanitation and hygiene, donating health insurance and heifer as well as awareness against crime, especially drugs.

"Currently, members are about 500,000 but we want this number to grow to at least one million. This is largely because having such a big number of young generation with the same mindset and purpose, knowing that they are not engaged in any crime; that itself is a big achievement," said Bayisenge.