This is why we create content in Kinyarwanda.

In June 2020, the first article was posted on Techinika. blog. It was called Nigute then. Nigute means How in Kinyarwanda and by starting it, I was hoping to help people understand how different tech tools work and how they can use them themselves. I had witnessed many people who struggled with doing simple things themselves like recharging airtime from MoMo, sending money, changing their phone's settings, or even requesting online services themselves. Whenever someone came to me asking me to do something for them, I wished there could be a place where I would send them to read and be able to do it themselves.

Because I couldn't find a place like that, I started Techinika. By then, I was working as an MTN Mobile Money Agent, before I worked as an Irembo agent. I made a sticker and fixed it on the table I was using, and people would pass by and look at it. I started writing about things I was working on like transferring money, using mobile phones, and more and people started visiting and reading.

My primary language was Kinyarwanda and still today, we post in Kinyarwanda. Today, we have transformed this into a community and a business, but I face a challenge when I tell people that we use Kinyarwanda. People like to ask me, why did you choose Kinyarwanda? In this article, I will tell you why.

The majority of Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda...

When the environments we are in change, we are inclined to behave according to the new environment we are in. Sometimes, we forget that it didn't change for everyone. A long time ago, I remember how we used to speak nonsense trying to mimic people who speak foreign languages. This time, I didn't have a clue about any foreign language. It didn't occur to me that many people are still living without any concern for any foreign language until I met a lot of people who can not understand basic English even after going through school.

Not only that, in 2022, the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda did a population census and they found that more than 50% of Rwandans speak only Kinyarwanda, while others mix Kinyarwanda with other languages like French, English, Swahili, and other dialects. That is more than 7,128,000 people in Rwanda who don't have access to information that is not in Kinyarwanda.

This is the first reason why our courses and contents are directed to them. With Burundi also in mind because their language is like Kinyarwanda.

We start with the basics...

People say, how can you teach people programming in Kinyarwanda when there is no programming language in Kinyarwanda? For this, I remember when I started learning HTML in 2017, I found myself doing things I didn't understand why, so every time I was going to do something, I had to find a tutorial. In 2020, that's when I started to read language specifications and I started understanding things that made me fast and learn new things very fast.

My point here is, that when you are starting, you need to understand the basics (will talk more about it), and not just know things. This proves to be very helpful when you get to the level of doing more great things and you start building on the basics you got. Learning the basics from a language you don't understand is a challenge, and hinders the growth you can achieve. As we have seen, more than 80% of Rwandans speak only Kinyarwanda.

Technology grows every day, and not everyone needs to learn programming or more technical stuff, we recognize that some people need to understand the basics and just go with it. Our usage of Kinyarwanda targets people like that who want to understand this.

Understanding is key to learning...

Do you remember in school when they had to put a lock on your neck because you were not speaking English? I remember that and I remember how in those times teachers would come into class and teach in English from the beginning to the end. At the end of the class, I didn't get anything and as a matter of fact, most of these I forgot. When it was time for an exam, I would memorize everything, and after the exam, it would all go away.

I wish, at least the teacher helped me understand. When we hear something, we don't understand. When we understand, we can be able to explain easily and apply it easily, but most students don't understand. Some quit school because they think they are unsuccessful when in fact, it was because they never understood what they were told. They simply memorize hoping that their teachers will ask about what they memorized.

If people are taught in languages they understand very well, we can see excellence rising in the most unexpected individuals. And at Techinika. , we want to give people knowledge that will help them solve problems. To do this, we must talk to them. I think religions understand the power of native languages and that's why they have translators in the church and they even translate prayers.

There are no contents in Kinyarwanda...

We are forced to learn English before we can be able to create anything useful. By the time we are able to understand the foreign language, we think we have a very short time. If we had books on science and technology in Kinyarwanda, our children would grow up understanding things and be able to create amazing projects at a young age. Sometimes I think that this is an advantage native English speakers have. Chinese got the knowledge and they used it to create programs in Mandarin. I believe that as Rwandans are taught in a way that they understand what they learn to a high extent, we can have people creating amazing stuff.

Information you have access to equals opportunities you have access to...

When your access to information is limited, the opportunities you can have access to are also limited. And this is the case for most people in underserved communities.

We want to reach a large number of Rwandans and bridge the gap in digital skills. We call on you to come collaborate with us to create a better future for Rwandans and Burundians, reach out if you need more info. By educating them on how and why the technology works and how it can help them, the market for tech products we create will grow.

Cheers!