Meet Credia Umuhire Ruzigana CEO and Founder of Imanzi Creations. Imanzi Creations, a company that deals in writing and publishing children’s books, has decided to spice up Rwandan traditional stories through animations.
Credia Ruzigana Umuhire, the CEO of Imanzi Creations, notes that changing the reading format would appeal to the young generation to apprehend their history easier and in a fun way. This is because it’s difficult to find the old books that were available then. But she has no doubt that if they translate that information in a way or style that children can understand, it will be better for them (children) to find themselves connected to such stories.
Imanzi Creations started with a publishing studio where they created stories that inspire children of Rwanda and the youth in general, by giving them the characters and Rwandan people they can relate with. The creative company does art and entertainment. Most of the books created are comics or graphic novels from which they make puzzles for children.
For those that can’t read, they can at least play with the characters. These characters are printed on wood boards. She considers that reading should start at a young age to inspire the little ones to read as they grow. She says the books they create are more pictures than words because children are more attracted to pictures. But they consider all age groups. For instance, teenagers about 14 years of age are able to read comics though are more intrigued by graphic novels. These have fewer pictures and more wording.
Imanzi Creations long-term goal is to have a brand which is the children of a thousand hills and be one of the marks of Rwanda. Rwanda is known to have gorillas, the Kigali Convention Center and a country of a thousand hills. But we want it to be known as one that has heroic characters like Ndoli and Ndabaga. We want to bring the version that people have never seen was always there. We want to inspire other African countries to bring to life their own characters. We need to hear their tales and pass them on to generations and generations so that they don’t fade. Also, with time, we want to be able to have products on the market where children will be requesting school bags with Rwandan characters that will have made a mark in the lives of those children.
