DCEC Employee Travels with NRECA International to Rwanda to Explore Rural Electrification Opportunities
(Delaware County Electric Cooperative (DCEC), October 16, 2008)

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Alain Harelimana, a Delaware County Electric Cooperative (DCEC) employee and a native Rwandan, joined NRECA International (NRECA) on a fact-finding mission to Rwanda to explore potential collaboration with the Government of Rwanda in the design and implementation of their ambitious rural electrification program.  

The Republic of Rwanda is a small but densely populated country in East Africa.   The country is known to many people as the home of the mighty mountain gorilla, as depicted in the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist, but also for the 1994 Genocide, in which over 800,000 Rwandans were killed in a period of 100 days. 

Today, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, the Government of Rwanda has made tremendous progress in reuniting the country and laying the groundwork for economic development.  However, Rwanda’s electricity infrastructure is limited to the capital of Kigali and other sizeable towns and is a major impediment to the country’s future economic progress. Prior regimes did not make improving electricity infrastructure and increasing electricity access a priority. In a country of nearly two million households, the government utility serves less than 100,000 consumers—or less than 5% of the total population.  The Government of Rwanda has made it a priority to increase electricity access to 16% of the total population by 2012 and 35% by 2020.  Significant funding from the Government of Rwanda and international donors for capital construction and technical assistance will be required to achieve these ambitious goals.

Alain Harelimana came to the United States in 1996 and attended Bainbridge-Guilford H.S. and Hartwick College before joining DCEC in 2005 as a Financial Analyst.  His interest in supporting Rwanda’s development was borne out of his own personal experience.  Growing up in a small village in rural Rwanda, Alain did not have access to electricity or running water, and to this day, Alain’s family home still does not have access to electricity even though distribution lines are visible across the valley.   “As a child, I always heard promises that electricity was coming, and we could see the lights from a nearby town on the horizon at night, but it never arrived. As I learned about the history of the electric cooperative’s role in transforming the rural areas of the United States decades ago, I began dreaming of introducing the same concept in Rwanda, in the hopes that my home community might also benefit someday.” 

When Greg Starheim, CEO of DCEC provided Alain with information on NRECA’s International Programs Division, he realized they were the right organization to assist in the Government of Rwanda in achieving their ambitious rural electrification goals.  He began speaking with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure about opportunities to partner with NRECA. Following preliminary discussions, an initial exploratory trip was planned and undertaken in early October.

During the trip, Mr. Harelimana accompanied Eric Gibbs, Senior Program Manager at NRECA International and Laban Kariuki, an NRECA consultant who is managing a rural electrification technical assistance project in Juba, Sudan.

“We met with Minister Butare and his staff at the Ministry of Infrastructure, as well as international development funding agencies and key US Embassy staff, including the new US Ambassador to Rwanda, Stewart Symmington.   The Government of Rwanda appears highly committed to increasing electricity access throughout the country, and there is significant funding for various aspects of the rural electrification program. The key will be developing sustainable institutions at both the national and local level to manage the overall program and provide reliable electric service” said Mr. Gibbs.  “Based on everything we learned and the receptivity shown by the Government, we certainly believe that NRECA can play a constructive role in the rural electrification program in Rwanda.”

The Government’s interest in a partnership was underscored by Minister Butare, who stated, “We value the work and experiences of NRECA and express an interest in working together, as soon as possible, to help Rwanda expand access to electricity in its rural areas.”

Alain volunteered his time under the NRECA International Foundation, the charitable arm of NRECA.  The Foundation supports NRECA International in its overseas electrification efforts by recruiting co-op professionals to volunteer to help, plan, construct and maintain electric distribution systems and train local utility staff. In addition to recruiting volunteers, the Foundation pays for their travel and lodging costs, thanks to cooperative, individual and corporate donations.  

“People like Alain are what makes our program so successful,” said Ingrid Hunsicker, NRECA International Foundation Manager. “Dedicated and passionate people like him make it easier for us to get projects up and running. We thank him for his hard work – and so do the people of Rwanda.”

For Alain, this is the beginning of what he hopes will be a productive partnership between NRECA and the Government of Rwanda that will provide a real benefit to his home country.  “Having experienced Rwanda’s devastation in 1994, and having received the opportunity to live and study in the United States, I feel that it is a privilege to try to help Rwanda move from its past and into a more positive future of healing and progress”.

If you would like more information about this topic or on NRECA International please contact Alain Harelimana at 607-746-9281.