{"id":3850,"date":"2021-11-04T10:29:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T10:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view"},"modified":"2021-11-04T10:56:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T10:56:25","slug":"moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view","title":{"rendered":"Moving abroad with children: One diasporan\u2019s point of view"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Isaac Mugabi, a senior editor at Deutsche Welle\u2014a German international broadcaster, left his home country (Rwanda) 15 years ago and settled in Germany in search for greener pastures.<\/p>\n

Being a husband and father to three toddlers at the time, moving abroad didn\u2019t come easy, because of course as a parent, uprooting your family from their home country, and hauling them halfway across the world, cannot be easy.<\/p>\n

A lot goes into considering whether one is making the right decision or not. But after the pros and cons were weighed, he finally made the move in 2006.<\/p>\n

Parenting, especially for an immigrant, came with challenges; there were of course the advantages of living in a developed country, however, dialogue about the less pleasant was in plenty too, and this was the most difficult side of living abroad with kids.<\/p>\n

Mugabi\u2019s three children who have been raised abroad.<\/b><\/p>\n

According to Mugabi, the culture abroad is to a large extent very different from Rwandan culture in many aspects. \u201cBack home, religion for example, plays an essential role in shaping our values. Unlike here, where you find most churchgoers are senior citizens (60 years and above). In Germany, you are most likely to bump into someone eating while heading to work or drinking a cold beer on the streets in the morning and no one cares, which is different from home,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The dressing style at office depends on an individual, and this varies too with the weather conditions. One can decide to come to the office in shorts and sandals. This is the same with school because they have no school uniform, he adds.<\/p>\n

This, however, Mugabi says, has not influenced his lifestyle, noting that he has held onto values that were instilled in him at a young age and that these are what shaped his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of this, western culture has not affected my parenting in any way. \u2018Spare the rod and spoil the child\u2019, I still subscribe to that old-school-style of parenting. Although, I leave leeway for some freedom because of the times that we live in,\u201d he says. His children are now grown; a 20-year old daughter and two boys aged 19 and 16.<\/p>\n

Foreign influence<\/b><\/p>\n

On a positive note, the father-of-three says foreign influence can also allow children to exploit their potential in ways that transcend a parent\u2019s expectations, particularly in the academic world.<\/p>\n

Like any parent, however, Mugabi was concerned about the importance of one\u2019s roots. He was worried about the path his children were bound to take living in a foreign country.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaising kids in a foreign land has never been easy, and if someone told you the opposite, they are not honest with themselves. For instance, children are taught at school about the extreme freedom they have at their disposal to do whatever they want. And they also give them sex education as early as 12 or 13, and more often, they go overboard which doesn\u2019t sit well with some cultures,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n

\u201cBesides, they meet many children with different backgrounds and upbringing, which can bring about problems, if not breakup of some families due to the stress of such situations. You are often worried that western influence might lead your child into certain mischievous acts like a gangster lifestyle or even shape the child\u2019s character into not taking life seriously, since everything is available to them without them hustling,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

As a way of ensuring that his children are raised right, Mugabi says he keeps all doors of communication open. \u201cMore often, kids may want privacy and would like to do things the way they want, but you have to ensure that your presence is felt physically, especially when they need any support and parental guidance. That way, you will have fewer troubles. It\u2019s not a one-size-fits-all approach, rather, individual needs and wants for every child,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n

At home, his family mostly speaks their mother tongue, Kinyarwanda, and not German. \u201cOf course, when the kids talk to each other, they do so in German because it is a reflex action, but we try as much as we can to speak Kinyarwanda. Way back before Covid-19, we had also started weekend language and cultural lessons for all Rwandan children living here in Bonn. But times quickly changed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Enforcing Rwandan roots for his children is something Mugabi embraces, believing that it\u2019s important to enforce it lest the child grows into an adult that knows nothing about their roots.<\/p>\n

He takes this relevance to the history and past of his country, where he ensures that his children learn and understand what happened during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many years, they have been taking part in the annual commemorations that we hold here in Germany as diasporans until everything came to a halt due to Covid-19. They know about \u2018Ndi umunyarwanda\u2019 and how the whole concept\/campaign came about. You can imagine how uneasy explaining that was due to the many questions surrounding ethnicity and the Genocide. For instance, they wanted to know why Hutus killed Tutsis, how the Rwandan Patriotic Front stopped the Genocide etc. I explained all that, albeit cautiously, lest I didn\u2019t get the desired results,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He recommends the same for parents living abroad but want their children to maintain their African roots. Mugabi ensures a constant supply of local resources to make sure that his children keep in touch with their roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get Kinyarwanda books from Rwanda whenever I travel back home. It would be easier if there was an online platform in Rwanda where children, not only those in the Diaspora, but also those back home, could sign up and get to know more about their roots,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Isaac Mugabi, a senior editor at Deutsche Welle\u2014a German international broadcaster, left his home country (Rwanda) 15 years ago and settled in Germany in search for greener pastures. Being a husband and father to three toddlers at the time, moving abroad didn\u2019t come easy, because of course as a parent, uprooting your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":3849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,28,31],"tags":[760,763,437,2424,758],"class_list":["post-3850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-children","tag-diasporans-point-of-view","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nMoving abroad with children: One diasporan\u2019s point of view - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Isaac Mugabi, a senior editor at Deutsche Welle\u2014a German international broadcaster, left his home country (Rwanda) 15 ye ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Moving abroad with children: One diasporan\u2019s point of view\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Isaac Mugabi, a senior editor at Deutsche Welle\u2014a German international broadcaster, left his home country (Rwanda) 15 ye ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-04T10:29:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-04T10:56:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-6183bc40ed5a8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"847\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"491\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Moving abroad with children: One diasporan\u2019s point of view\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-04T10:29:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-04T10:56:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view\"},\"wordCount\":981,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-6183bc40ed5a8.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"children\",\"diasporan\u2019s point of view\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"Miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/moving-abroad-with-children-one-diasporans-point-of-view\",\"name\":\"Moving abroad with children: One diasporan\u2019s point of view - 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