The activity that was initiated by Gadi Habumugisha, a staff of Kigali Marriott, attracted volunteers from the hotel and the surrounding village. The photo capture event is part of The Global Photo Project that was founded by Daniel Kerzner and was supported by the hotel as part of the Serve 360, a platform created by Marriott International to give back to the community where the hotel chain operates.

The beneficiaries of the photo project were surprised to have professional photos of themselves taken. Due to their social status, photos are considered a luxury and are never a priority.

Mukantarindwa, a resident of Gitovu Cell, Kanazi Cell of Nyamata Sector, said she had no photo of herself or even of her family members.

“I am very happy to have been visited by these people. I had no pictures of myself or of my small children, and today, we took pictures and I did not pay a single cent. I am very happy”, she said.

Niyodusenga, a 64 old man says, “I would not get money to pay for the photos but I will keep this picture taken of me so that my grandchildren would be coming and find their grandfather’s picture. I am very grateful for these young men and women [Kigali Marriott Hotel staff members] who thought about me.”

The Human Resource, Senior Manager at Kigali Marriott Hotel, Mary Asiimwe told IGIHE that Kigali Marriott Hotel usually does activities like “Photo Project” which aim at helping the less privileged and creating an impact in the society.

“There are people who have no single picture of themselves and this is unfortunate especially if you cannot have a memory of the small progress that you make in your life. Everyone deserves to look back and remember how the past defined their present and that’s why we are here, to give them the memories for their future generations,” she said.

Kigali Marriott, a 5 star hotel that was officially opened in 2016 has given priority to corporate social responsibility activities in a bid to contribute to the development of the Rwandan society. Among the activities, Kigali Marriott Hotel gets involved in are, the monthly Umuganda, paying community insurance [Mituelle de Sante] fees for the poor and visiting the sick in hospitals.

Mukantarindwa, a resident of Gitovu Cell, Kanazi Cell of Nyamata Sector, said she was happy for the initiative since she had no photo of herself or even of her family members.