Faculty Research and Publications

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Gambian Fiction: An Analytical Study
(Africa World Press, 2013) Barry, Cherno
Reflections on the singularity of Gambian Fiction in relations to other West African states with English as the official language have been made by several scholars and researchers. When African literature pierced through the silence to voice out the horrors of colonialism, engage in the search for identity, promote African cultural values and advocate for independence, the fervour in which this was carried out was not proportionate in every country. Colonial Gambia emerged within a shaky period in the history of the Senegambia region. From early to late 19th century, ethnic and religious wars were raging in the interior, the French and the British were arguing over the piece of stretched land meandering around the river, and the liberated Africans were being sent from Sierra Leone to settle in The Gambia. Bathurst was born and the colonial powers settled there. The Gambia will for long remain governed from Sierra Leone and so the Christian missionaries were the ones who had the most share in the colonial setup for propagating their laws and beliefs. Gambia’s resistance to colonialism took several forms but literature played a much lesser role. Could this be the reason why Gambian Fiction is not represented in anthologies and other literary fora? Early Gambian fiction took quite a different angle in relation to the realities of the times and only in the midst of another form of domination, the Senegambia confederation, would writers emerge strong and united for one purpose: liberate Gambia from Senegal. This chapter traces the itinerary of Gambian fiction and tries to define the stages and periods when the stories take a different tone and feeling. This chapter also introduces a comparative study with those of Anglophone Africa, especially West Africa
Discovering African Literature in the New Practical English and the Gambia English Language Textbooks
(SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021) Barry, Cherno
Once the African child is registered in school, at kindergarten or primary, he or she encounters an alien language, in a more formal setting and with a different approach. Much younger children spent a greater part of their time chanting nursery rhymes and songs. It is at primary school that children are introduced to the songs and rhymes. As the child discovers the written text, fables and folktales become the first form of literature they enjoy. By the end of the primary education, several texts, such as extracts of the translation of Charles Perrault’s collection of stories, are accessible to the child. The system of exploitation differ depending on the approach used but by the time the child arrives at secondary level, some knowledge of literary texts is already acquired in preparation for a more elaborate study of the text. In the English language textbooks however, most of the texts are extracts from complete works. The choice of an extract is quite a challenging experience (except the poems surely). Novels, plays, poems as well as news stories are created for a different public other than for pedagogical
The Child in the Story: Depicting the Child in Selected Works of Gambian Authors
(International Journal of African Studies, 2022) Barry, Cherno
Issues affecting the common people or related to marginal lives constitute the greater part of the novellas and novels published in The Gambia. Several authors use the child as a hero and with the child, built themes around the school, travel, adventure, crime, city life, sexuality, and several other issues. Other themes touch on politics and socio-cultural issues. Many youths of colonial and post-independent Gambia would remember the didactic tales in the Aesop’s fables, the tales of Charles Perrault, the Fontaine tales, and other works of children literature. These are stories that consciously emphasizes role-model qualities to the intended child-reader. The coming of western education to West Africa and particularly to The Gambia brought with it the tales of the colonizers. Books such as the works of Charles Dickens (David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist), Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Adventures of Tow Sawyer) have been used for decades in the African schools. However, the socio-cultural realities of the African child were never captured in those tales. In this article, we intend to give an overview on how the child is depicted in the works of a selected works of Gambian writers. The school story, either set within or around the school, remained a dominant theme in the early works of Gambian writers, particularly in the early 20th Century. It is an environment where most children grow and develop and it is an appropriate setting where authors explore issues such as rural-urban migration, the education of the girl child, early marriage, and early pregnancy, as well as social-cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and violence against women, among others.
Social Innovations in an Emergency Setting: Opportunities and Challenges for Youth Volunteers in Curbing the Spread of COVID-19 in Huye District, Rwanda
(Revista de Gestao Social e Ambiental, 2024) Bimenyimana, P. C.; Rutembesa, E.; Synness, R. M.; Josiane, U. K. N.; Gerard, B., & Bukuluki, P.
Following COVID-19 at the close of 2019, countries have been in an emergency to contain the improvised danger to their citizens; Rwanda was no exception. The Government of Rwanda (GoR) turned to investing in different mechanisms to deal with the pandemic, including community-based interventions by youth volunteers, which is considered a social innovation to deal with the improvised societal challenge. This study investigated the motives, opportunities, challenges, and lessons that youth volunteers encountered while curbing the spread of the pandemic at the community level. Theoretical Concept: Social innovation concepts contribute to social change and provide actors with the means to meet societal challenges. The social innovation concepts were adopted as the theoretical concepts underpinning the study. Method: The study followed a descriptive qualitative design. Using key informants and in-depth interview techniques (KIIs), data were collected from 13 interviews with youth volunteers and opinion leaders among citizens of the Huye District of Rwanda who were selected using network and purposive sampling techniques. Interviews were uploaded in MAXQDA 2022 to visualize and map the data. Results: The results indicate that youth volunteers have encountered various challenges where a poor mindset had a big occurrence, followed by aggressive attitudes from beneficiaries of their interventions. However, despite the challenges, there were opportunities whereby youth volunteers showed a high level of patriotism for their country and learned new skills like public speaking. Implications: The study suggests that in similar future interventions, the government should mitigate the identified challenges and enhance the highlighted opportunities for the intervention to be more impactful.
Factors associated with neonatal sepsis among neonates admitted in Kibungo Referral Hospital, Rwanda
(Scientific Reports, 2024) Niyoyita, J. C.; Ndayisenga, J.; Omolo, J.; Niyompano, H.; Bimenyimana, P. C.; Dzinamarira, T.
More than one million neonatal deaths occur every year worldwide, of which 99% take place in low-income countries. In Rwanda, nearly 71% of neonatal deaths are preventable and among these, 10% are due to neonatal sepsis. Nevertheless, limited information exists on neonatal sepsis and its associated factors in Rwanda. The objectives of the study were to find prevalence and factors associated with neonatal sepsis among neonates admitted in Kibungo Referral Hospital, Ngoma District, Rwanda. We used a retrospective cross-sectional study design reviewing a subset of neonatal, maternal and laboratory records from Kibungo Hospital in 2017. Data were reviewed and collected from March to May, 2018. Logistic regression and odds ratios were calculated to identify the factors associated with neonatal sepsis at 95% CI, p < 0.05. Of the 972 total neonates' medical records from 2017, we randomly selected 422 of which 12.8% (n = 54) had neonatal sepsis. When blood cultures were positive, 62% grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. Among neonates with sepsis, 38 (70%) recovered while 16 (30%) died. Neonatal sepsis was strongly associated with neonatal age less than or equal to three days (aOR: 2.769, 95% CI 1.312-5.843; p = 0.008); and gestational age less than 37 weeks (aOR: 4.149; CI 1.1878-9.167; p ≤ 0.001). Increased use of blood cultures including sensitivity testing, routine surface cultures of the neonatology and maternity wards facilities, and systematic ward cleaning are all important approaches to prevent and treat neonatal infections in additional to regular neonatal sepsis evaluations.
Social Work Community Practice from a Government Discourse Perspective: Motives for Youth Volunteers in Controlling COVID-19 in Rwanda
(Journal of Social Work in Developing Societies, 2024) Bimenyimana, P. C.; Bukuluki, P.; Rutembesa, E.; Synness, R. M.; Byungura, J. C.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries were in emergencies to contain the envisioned danger. Rwanda was no exception. Among strategies adopted by the country to control the pandemic were community interventions by youth volunteers. Using social movement and self-determination theories, the paper investigated the policy perspective of the motives for the voluntary engagement of these youths in controlling the pandemic so that these motives could be documented for future emergencies. A qualitative approach was adopted to explore what motivated these youths by analysing government discourses, where data were collected from six government policy documents. The content analysis was done after grouping the data into two categories and subcategories using MAXQDA 22, a qualitative data analysis software, for data mapping and visualization. The results indicate that youth volunteers have been mainly motivated by institutional-level motives, whereby government leadership mobilisation and coordination had a high occurrence, and under the individual-level motives category, civic-mindedness behaviour occurred high. The paper argues that conducive policies are a key motivation for social work community practices. Social workers should advocate for conducive policies to increase the productivity of voluntary activities. Another study involving talking to youth volunteers may complement the current findings.
Implementing e-Learning in Low Resourced University Settings: Institutional Experiences and Perspectives at the University of Gondar (UoG) and University of Rwanda (UR)
(Mastercard Foundation e-Learning Initiative Working Paper Series, 2023) Abera, Mikyas; Jean Claude Byungura; Raymond Ndikumana; Solomon Mekonnen Abebe; Bimenyimana, P. C.; Rediet Gizaw.
This working paper was produced through a Small Research Grant program under the Mastercard Foundation e-Learning Initiative. The e-Learning Initiative aims to support institutions in the Scholars Program network to develop capabilities and resilience to deliver high-quality and inclusive e-Learning and related supports so as to enable all students, including those who face additional barriers, to successfully pursue their studies from anywhere. Use and dissemination of this working paper is encouraged. Further usage is permitted under the terms of the Creative Commons License. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this Working Paper are entirely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Mastercard Foundation, its Staff or Board of Directors, the e-Learning Initiative, or the authors' respective organizations.
Assessing the effects of family conflicts on children's development in the Huye district of Rwanda and the need for social work interventions
(Journal of Social Work in Developing Societies, 2024) Bimenyimana, P. C.; Batakariza, I. N.; Hakizamungu, A.; Ngabonziza, I.; Joseph, H.
The study aimed to investigate the effects of family conflicts on children's development and the implications for the social work profession. The qualitative study guided by the conflict theory was conducted in the Huye district of Rwanda and adopted the narrative analysis of 16 interviews with families experiencing conflicts, Inshuti Z’Umuryango (IZU, Friends of Family), and local leaders who were selected on a purposive sampling basis considering that the representatives of others have more information. The study found that many children are affected by family conflicts in this district due to issues between the parents. The study also demonstrated that the main cause of family conflicts is the lack of effective communication between spouses. But there are other identified causes of family conflicts such as poverty, aggressive behaviors, infidelity, bad advice from peers, and bad leadership. Thus, the problems between partners negatively impact the children being the weaker part of the family and they drop out of school and girls may be impregnated. Social Workers in collaboration with Government Leaders are recommended to do their best to initiate more innovative programs that can be helpful for these families struggling with conflicts.
Role of social factors in developing addictive behavior among youth in Rwanda: Reality from the Isange Rehabilitation Center
(NG Journal of Social Development, 2024) Pierre, B., Isaac, K.; Gerard, B., Issa, N.; Umuhoza, K.,; Jeanne, M., ... & Safari, K.
An addiction refers to a drug or substance that an individual partakes in and derives from its short-term pleasure, and long-term negative consequences. This paper aims to assess the role of social factors in developing addictive behaviors among youth in Huye district-Rwanda. The theory of attunement, psychoanalysis, and the social learning theory were used in this assessment. The specific objectives were (1) to identify the role of social factors in developing addictive behaviors among the youths, (2) to identify the addictive behaviors that are prevalent among the youth, and (3) to analyze the effects of addictive behavior on the individual lives of addicts. Qualitative and quantitative designs were used to attain these objectives, and interviews, observations, and questionnaires were used to collect data. Tabulation was used to analyze quantitative data to identify the frequency within which an idea was held in common regard. Narrative analysis was used to derive meanings from the participants' stories. The findings revealed that our social environments could lead to the development of addictive behaviors. The government, social workers, and parents should be mindful of the physical, emotional, and mental state of youth from a young age.
Employee Retention and Organizational Performance in Higher Learning Institutions: Case of the University of Rwanda
(African Journal of Economic and Business Research, 2024) Bimenyimana, P. C.; Rusagara, J. B.; Harorimana, A.; Hakizayezu, . M.; Bikorimana, . G.; Umuhoza Karemera, N. J.; Ngabonziza, I.
The study aims to analyze the influence of employee retention on an organization's performance at the University of Rwanda. The study used quantitative design, and a survey questionnaire was administered among a sample of employees. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentage, analysis of variance and correlation. Independent variables such as attractive remuneration packages (0.882), training and development (0.782), and rewards and recognition (0.811) have strong relationship with the organizational performance. Thus, employee retention remains one of the biggest challenges for the sustenance of organization and the leaders as well. The survey has identified the key factors that lead to the retention of employees in Higher Learning Institutions.
Effect of Gender Based-Violence on the Social Well-being of Women in Rwanda. Case Study of Ngoma Sector, Huye District
(Journal of Policy and Development Studies, 2024) Bikorimana G.; Bimenyimana, P. C.; Niyoyavuze E.; BAHIZI M.; KAMBANDA S.; Hahirwa G. J.
This study examines the impact of gender-based violence (GBV) on the social well-being of women in Rwanda, focusing on the Ngoma Sector in Huye District. Guided by three main objectives, it explores how GBV affects women's social well-being, identifies prevalent forms and causes of GBV, and proposes strategies to address the issue. Using a mixed-methods approach with data collected from 40 women through questionnaires and interviews, the study uncovers various forms of GBV, including intimate partner violence and discriminatory societal norms. Root causes are linked to cultural traditions, economic hardships, and systemic barriers. The research highlights strategies for combating GBV, such as community awareness programs, legal reforms, and economic empowerment initiatives. These measures aim to reduce GBV and improve women's social and economic status. The study concludes by emphasizing the critical link between GBV and women's social well-being, providing a basis for interventions that promote gender equality, protect women's rights, and enhance their overall welfare in Rwanda. It offers insights to guide efforts in mitigating GBV in the Ngoma Sector and beyond.
Perceptions on Drug Use and Behavioural Change Approach: Kanyanga in Rwanda
(East African Journal of Health and Science, 2023) Bimenyimana, P. C.; Bikorimana, G.; Josiane, U. K. N.; Ndayisenga, J.; Bugingo, J. P.
The newspapers and media as well as scientific papers reveal that alcohol and illicit drug abuse is of major concern in rural and urban areas of Rwanda. Especially in the areas nearing the borders of the country, the illicit gin known as Kanyanga is being consumed. The government of Rwanda has tried to take various measures to stop its use but seems to need more efforts because the local population has not stopped its use, and its smugglers and users increase day to day. The use of Kanyanga was found to bring some consequences that can even lead to death. With this background, the research was conducted to investigate people�s perceptions of its use and how a behavioural approach can be used to change them. To achieve the objective of the paper, a quantitative exploratory study was conducted where data were collected via an online survey, and respondents were citizens of Rwanda from six districts of the northern part where the gin is common. The data analysis was done through visualisation and explained using the prospect theory. The findings have shown that what people expect to get from the use of Kanyanga is the opposite of what they get from it because of bad consequences including death, poverty, and domestic conflicts. From these findings, the paper recommended counselling services along with nudging a behavioural perspective to deal sustainably with this illicit gin
Testing Citizen Satisfaction with Vision 2020 Umurenge Program in the Local Government of Rwanda: Using the Expectancy Disconfirmation Model of Citizen Satisfaction
(Generis Publishing, 2023) Bimenyimana, P. C.
The newspapers and media as well as scientific papers reveal that alcohol and illicit drug abuse is of major concern in rural and urban areas of Rwanda. Especially in the areas nearing the borders of the country, the illicit gin known as Kanyanga is being consumed. The government of Rwanda has tried to take various measures to stop its use but seems to need more efforts because the local population has not stopped its use, and its smugglers and users increase day to day. The use of Kanyanga was found to bring some consequences that can even lead to death. With this background, the research was conducted to investigate people's perceptions of its use and how a behavioural approach can be used to change them. To achieve the objective of the paper, a quantitative exploratory study was conducted where data were collected via an online survey, and respondents were citizens of Rwanda from six districts of the northern part where the gin is common. The data analysis was done through visualisation and explained using the prospect theory. The findings have shown that what people expect to get from the use of Kanyanga is the opposite of what they get from it because of bad consequences including death, poverty, and domestic conflicts. From these findings, the paper recommended counselling services along with nudging a behavioural perspective to deal sustainably with this illicit gin.
Impact of school feeding program on students' performance in Nyamasheke District of Rwanda
(African Journal of Social Issues, 2024) Bikorimana G.; Bimenyimana, P. C.; Umuhoza KNJ; Dusabirema T; Mukunde F, Kambanda S.
The study investigated the impact of the school feeding program on students' performance in twelve years of basic education in the Nyamasheke District of Rwanda. It specifically examined the influence of the school feeding program on the student's performance, explored the level of effectiveness of the program, examined the contribution of the policy to learners' social cohesion and determined the level of students' academic performance. To reach the above objectives, a descriptive study was designed. The quantitative approach was adopted and structured questionnaires were administered to 100 respondents selected using purposive and network sampling techniques. The study found that the program is generally appreciable. It also found that the program contributes to students' cohesion, cooperation, and communication, thus helping them improve their performance. However, the study suggests several challenges to the program, including a lack of proper implementation. The study recommends that some issues must be tackled, including reviewing the investment in the program, hence proper implementation.
Assessment of Life Satisfaction Among Retired Kwara State Civil Servants Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown
(QUALITY OF LIFE (BANJA LUKA)-APEIRON, 2022) Muraina, K. O.; HA Adeyinka
The rule and status of women in the indigenous Igala religion
(Indonesian Gender and Society Journal, 2024) Yusufu, O. Y.; Ameh, A. S.; Muraina, K. O.
Taking the historical development of womanhood among the Igala people into account, this paper examines the rule and status of indigenous Igala women within the context of traditional religious practices in Nigeria. The Igala ethnic group, situated in the central part of Nigeria, has a rich cultural heritage deeply intertwined with traditional religious beliefs and rituals. Central to this culture is the intricate role and status that Igala women hold within their traditional religious practices. Adopting an analytical method, this paper delves into the historical background of Igala society, highlighting the pivotal roles women have played in maintaining cultural norms and spiritual traditions. It explores the multifaceted contributions of Igala women in various aspects of religious ceremonies, including the preservation of sacred knowledge, participation in rituals, and leadership roles within religious gatherings. Through a combination of ethnographic research, historical analysis, and interviews with community members, the study elucidates how indigenous Igala women have been both custodians and practitioners of traditional religious knowledge. This paper concludes that, the complexities of the gender dynamics within the Igala traditional religion. intersections between gender, power, and spirituality, which creates a dynamic that has evolved and continues to shape the roles and status of Igala women within religious contexts, exploring the challenges and opportunities that Igala women encounter as they navigate their roles in the face of modernization and changing social dynamics.

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