RWANDA has taken a rare lead in the region with the launch and growth of the first ever children’s newspaper, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za.
The paper started as a trial project in June last year, has now hit a circulation of 3,000 copies, from an initial 500.
The newspaper, Tell Tell, aims to assist Rwandan children develop a reading culture. It is owned by former publicist-turned-journalist Henry Rugamba and former New Times journalists Mansur Kakimba and Immaculate Chaka.
The newspaper management now plans to go national and is already exploring a regional launch.
The name of the newspaper, Tell Tell, which can loosely be translated as ‘sema sema’ in Swahili, ‘vuga vuga’ in Kinyarwanda or gamba gamba in some of the languages in Western Uganda, is derived from children’s inquisitive nature, according to the Editor-in-Chief, Henry Rugamba.
It targets children between ages of six and 19 and this has already won the publication the admiration of local and international children and youth support organisations.
So far the publication has had five issues.
