At sunrise in Akagera, the savannah wakes first. The zebras stretch in the morning light, fishermen push their canoes onto Lake Ihema, and children on the hills walk to school as antelopes graze below.
Here, nature and people breathe the same air. They survive together. They grow together.
So when the communities that live shoulder-to-shoulder with Akagera received Rwf1.2 billion through the Tourism Revenue Sharing programme, it was not just a financial announcement.
It was recognition. It was gratitude.
It was the country saying: We see you. And we grow because you protect this land.
How the gift is shared
The funds flowed where the daily heartbeat of conservation is strongest:
- Kayonza: Rwf857 million
- Nyagatare: Rwf285 million
- Gatsibo: Rwf142 million
Together: Rwf1.286 billion for the 2025–2026 fiscal year.
Kayonza carries the biggest weight of the park. It also receives the biggest reward.
Proof that conservation has a human face
Between 2019 and 2024, Nyagatare alone received Rwf686.2 million.
It turned into:
- Solar water systems that ended long painful walks for water
- ECD centres that gave young minds a safe start
- Mobile markets that helped mothers and youth earn with dignity
- Science equipment that turned curiosity into possibility
- Livestock and cooperatives that restored income and hope to families
These were not just projects.
They were second chances.
What the people are crying out for
When the cheques were handed over, the community did not clap quietly.
They spoke with honesty, because living next to wildlife is both beautiful and demanding.
In Kabare, Rwinkwavu, and Ndego, the youth asked for a centre where they can feel seen and safe. A place where dreams are not shut down by early pregnancies, peer pressure, or despair. A place where talent is not wasted, where young people can build skills, creativity, and purpose.
Others called for clean water. Not as a luxury. As dignity.
Tourism operator Jean-Claude Habihirwe dreamed out loud of a solar-powered system that would take water to more than a thousand homes.
For him, clean water is the beginning of everything.
The truth about conservation that the world forgets
Wildlife did not survive in Akagera because fences were built.
It survived because communities chose protection over poaching, coexistence over conflict.
Today:
- 326 full-time workers
- over 200 freelancers paid more than 400,000 dollars every year
- 70% of them youth
These are not just jobs.
They are stories of pride. Stories of survival.
When a young guide stands before a tourist and narrates the history of the park, he is not only sharing information.
He is rewriting the destiny of his family.
A national model that is rewriting history
Since the Tourism Revenue Sharing scheme began:
- Akagera has channelled Rwf6.8 billion into community development
- Rwanda’s national parks combined have supported over 1,000 community projects, worth more than Rwf10 billion
This country did not choose the old narrative where wildlife prospers while communities suffer. Rwanda chose a better story.
One where conservation uplifts families rather than displacing them.
A future held in both hands
This Rwf1.2 billion does not just build infrastructure or fund activities.
It builds trust. It builds belonging.
It tells every family living along the border of Akagera:
You are not living here by accident.
You are part of this mission.
Your wellbeing matters as much as the animals you protect.
And when a child grows up seeing that a lion sighting can fund a school, that a boat safari can pay for a health centre, that protecting a wetland can put food on the table, the next generation becomes conservationists not by persuasion, but by identity.
Akagera is not just a park anymore.
It is a pact between land and people.
A reminder that nature thrives only when the people who guard it thrive too.
Credits: The New Times
