GlobalGiving.org: Feeding & Educating 50,000 Orphans in Rwanda

Abahizi Clubs Builds Resilience for Rwandan Youth

Natalie Taggart — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:32:03 GMT

Within the USAID/Higa Ubeho program, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Rwanda are receiving education support in the form of tuition and learning materials. In addition, the program helps to build life skills through peer-to-peer approaches such as Abahizi Clubs.

Abahizi is a Kinyarwanda word used to describe people who set goals and achieve their goals through hard work and honest effort. Through the clubs, members are encouraged to set personal goals that are linked to the broader themes of ‘higa ubeho’ – another Kinyarwanda word that emphasizes ‘living with determination’. Abahizi Clubs offer participants coping tools and provide a safe place for youth, especially vulnerable adolescents, to share their hopes for the future, to discover their talents, and to exchange information and ideas for achieving a better life.

Abahizi Clubs are a new initiative in Rwanda, building on the lessons from the school-based clubs introduced by the Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Since May 2011, Rwandan Partner Organizations (RPOS) in USAID/Higa Ubeho have worked with OVC enrolled in secondary schools in 10 Districts: Gicumbi, Rulindo, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Nyamagabe, Nyaruguru, Nyarugenge, Gasabo, Busegesera and Gatsibo to establish 80 clubs. During meetings within Abahizi Club members, and school administrators, the program has learned about changes in self-esteem, more positive outlooks for the future, and more supportive relationships being established among young people.

In the photo above, members of an Abahizi Club at Bon Conseil Secondary School in Byumba in Gicumbi district are planting a fruit tree as a reminder to take care of themselves in order to achieve a future that bears fruits. These groups to help participants realize their potential and gain crucial life skills. Bon Conseil’s Abahizi Club, formed in May 2011, has an active membership of 80 students who help each other in academic matters through group discussions, debates, and peer support. The students explain that their performance in school is improving as a result of the support they receive and provide to each other in their Club. Members enforce discipline amongst themselves, feel able to speak out about day-to-day school problems, and they refer bigger problems to teachers or the school administration. The Director of Bon Conseil has seen improvement in academic performance and attitude among members; and Club members are sometimes called to mentor other students.

Over 700 Students Complete Holiday Camp

Dan Ngabonziza — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:02:45 GMT

712 students drawn from various schools in Nyagatare District have completed a four-day youth camp.

The annual youth camp was organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and CHF, an international development and humanitarian aid organisation, under the ‘Higa Ubeho’ project.

According to USAID officials, this year’s camp targeted 16,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in secondary schools across the country. The camp brought together school children aged between 12-18 years.

“The camp supports young people to build skills in resilience, helping them develop self-confidence and gain knowledge and skills to plan for a better future,” said Jane Mutoni, an official from USAID-Rwanda.

She added that 30-day camps will be organised in 20 districts across the country with the aim of empowering OVC’s with skills to create a better future for themselves, their families and the entire community.

Speaking at the closure of the camp, on Sunday, Innocent Sebagira from USAID, told the students to practise the skills acquired in their daily lives.

“This camp is meaningful to you. You should effectively apply the skills you gained here,” he advised.

During the training camp held at SOPEM Rukomo Secondary School in Rukomo sector, participants were given opportunity to share achievements and challenges related to personal goals.

They also discussed issues related to relationships, gaining practical skills in school and future employment.

“I learned how to contribute to the development of my country. I got to know that development begins from the family,” one of the students, Diane Keza, said.

Fostering Savings for Vulnerable Families

Natalie Taggart — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:16:15 GMT

CHF and its USAID/Higa Ubeho program partners African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE0 and Association des Eglises de Pentecotes au Rwanda (ADEPR) joined the Government of Rwanda to celebrate World Savings Day.

World Savings Day is designed to encourage savings by all, particularly among poor households. Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Development organized a week of events across the country in honor of World Savings Day, from October 31st (the actual World Savings Day) through November 7th. The series of events aims to promote a culture of savings, in line with Rwanda’s Internal Savings and Mobilization strategy. This year’s theme is “Saving Today for a Better Future.”

Building upon the extensive package of economic strengthening services it provides to vulnerable Rwandan households, CHF and its USAID/Higa Ubeho program partners joined MINECOFIN, Local District Authorities and the private sector to showcase the successes of the Internal Savings and Lending Groups (ISLGs) and conduct outreach to vulnerable communities. CHF assisted ISLG members in emphasizing the importance of savings, and provided critical information and tools on how to foster a culture of savings. During the four hour event, nearly 30 community members opened accounts with a local savings bank, and over 1,200 local residents attended.

Additionally, World Savings Day was also recognized this year by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who pledged $500 million to programs encouraging people worldwide to save. “Saving doesn’t just help people mitigate the risks posed by a medical emergency or a bad crop,” said Ms. Gates in her announcement. “It also gives them the ability to marshal resources to build something better for their children.”

The USAID/Higa Ubeho program aims to increase vulnerable households’ – including people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, orphans and other vulnerable children—access to quality health and social services, improve household response to health and financial obstacles through economic, nutritional and educational support; and strengthen local government and civil society capacity to provide quality health and social services to those in need. The program began providing services in April 2010. Since its inception, USAID/Higa Ubeho has helped over 40,000 families across 20 districts to create over 2,000 Internal Savings and Lending Groups (ISLGs) and entry level economic strengthening activity that helps families build financial safety nets for emergencies and enables them to begin longer-term savings for items such as school fees and entrepreneurial activities.

Links:

CHF Rwanda

Holiday Camps Change Youth's Lives in Rwanda

Natalie Taggart — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:01:01 GMT

Holiday Camps Changing Young People’s Lives in Rwanda In Rwanda, more than 12,000 high school students participated in the 19 holiday camps held during the months of July and August. The goal of these four-day-long camps is to support vulnerable young people in high school by building their skills in resilience and empowering them to develop self-confidence and gain knowledge and abilities to plan for a better future.

“The holiday camp enabled me to realize that I can be a good mentor to my peers and that I am also good when it comes to advocating for others,” says Nduwayezu JMV, a 21-year-old student who attended the camp.

JMV, who is finishing high school this year, has one big goal: pass the final national exams to gain entrance into one of the country’s universities. He says that the camp also taught him to put his goals in writing and set strategies to achieve them.

Josiane Mukamukwiye has also learned to set goals for herself. The 17-year-old high school student says that the camp help her broaden her horizons. “The camp helped me to have another vision for my life. I have confidence that I can do things. I had an idea in my heart to help other people and here I learned that I can also help other people even though I need help too. I also learned I have to contribute to the development of my country. The development of my country begins in my family. I have to work hard and do it with spirit,” she explains.

The 19 holiday camps that took place in Rwanda were part of CHF’s USAID/PEPFAR-funded health program “Higa Ubeho” which means “be determined to live” in the local kinyarwandan language.

Building Resilience, Addressing Vulnerability

Natalie Taggart — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:17:10 GMT

CHF's Higa Ubeho Program is building on our past success in providing assistance to orphans in Rwanda by continuing to work with them and other vulnerable populations. To date, * More than 170,000 people have been reached through HIV/AIDS prevention messages

* Nearly 40,000 orphans and vulnerable children have received health and nutrition education, clinical services, and school supplies and uniforms so that they can continue their education

* Over 26,500 people received palliative care services, including counseling, nutrition, home care and hospital-related support, and

* Over 1,000 child-headed households received vocational training and donations of basic necessities

Links:

http://www.chfinternational.org/node/34165

CHF Empowers Children Affected by HIV/AIDS

Natalie Taggart — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:20:54 GMT

Globally, 33.2 million people live with HIV or AIDS. In just the past year, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of an estimated 1.5 million people, leaving more than 11 million children orphaned by the disease. In Rwanda, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the lingering effects of the 1994 genocide have forced many children to take on the role of their deceased parents, creating a significant number of child-headed households, who typically lack adequate access to education, employment and health resources.

One young Rwandan has experienced this firsthand. Monique lost both of her parents to AIDS. By being the oldest, she had to quit school to care for her younger siblings. Thanks to CHF International (CHF), she was given training to start her own business.

Based in Silver Spring, MD, CHF is an international development and humanitarian assistance organization working to educate and sustain this vulnerable population through an integrated approach to health programming. CHF recognizes that good health improves productivity and contributes to economic growth, therefore, increasing resilience against the societal effects of HIV/AIDS.

In Rwanda, CHF’s USAID/PEPFAR-funded program called Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP) aims to build the economic capacity of child-headed households through entrepreneurial opportunities. The most vulnerable young adults are selected by community members based on the youths’ lack of housing, food security and funds to send their younger siblings to school. The selected young adults are enrolled in local vocational training centers, which provide a progressive entrepreneurship education. Over a period of nine months, basic business skill development and hands-on entrepreneurial experience is gained.

“I didn’t get the chance to continue my formal studies because of the huge responsibility of taking care of my five siblings,” said 19-year-old Monique, a graduate of the program. “But when the opportunity of studying in a vocational training center appeared, I seized it to enable me [to] get a tangible activity to rely on and generate income to continually support my siblings to a better future.”

A Postcard from Educating 50,000 Orphans in Rwanda

Alexis Nadin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:40:20 GMT

Alexis at CHF International

Alexis Nadin is a student at American University and former intern at GlobalGiving. This summer, she is travelling through Africa and visiting a number of GlobalGiving projects. Alexis visited this project on June 3, 2009. She writes:

Feeding and Educating 50,000 Orphans in Rwanda, run by CHF International, empowers Rwanda’s unsung heroes, the men and women that better the lives of the country’s many orphaned and vulnerable children, by providing them with financial resources and skills training. Theogere, a 26-year old, who has been caring for his two younger brothers since his parents passed away almost a decade ago, is one of these unsung heroes. Because of the free vocational training he received (now funded by CHF), Theogere and seven other child heads of households now run a restaurant and catering business. Prior to receiving skills training, Theogere, like his fellow business-owners, was barely scraping by, doing any odd job to pay rent and send his siblings to school. Today, having been empowered by CHF, and its local partner, AEE (one of twelve partner organizations), this already amazing older brother can be a superhero for Eric and Jean-Paul, his two little brothers. Aside from helping their older brother, Eric and Jean-Paul benefit from CHF’s school sponsorship program, making it possible for them to buy school uniforms and scholastic materials.

During our visit to CHF we met another unsung hero, this compassionate woman runs an orphanage called Village of Peace, for 88 children, ages 1 day old to 18 years. CHF supports her mission to improve the lives of these children by sponsoring each to go to school. Village of Peace had been struggling to provide milk for its babies and pay for cooking feul. They approached CHF with a very innovative solution: cows. With the financial support of CHF, and the technical help of a local university, Village of Peace purchased 4 cows (which have now multiplied into 14), whose milk feeds the babies and whose dung (that’s right, poop!), now fuels the stoves to cook the children’s meals, using a sanitary, cutting edge biogas system.

It is because of these unsung heroes, and the support of GlobalGiving donors, that CHF is able to assist 43,000 orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda, each year.

Alexis said she would tell her friends this project was: "Incredible: You need to see this!"

GlobalGiving is committed to incorporating many viewpoints on our 600+ projects. We feel that more information, especially from eyewitnesses helps donors like you continue to support organizations doing great work in the community.

Links:

Brian and Alexis in the Field

Rwanda

Jennifer Hyman — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:18:07 GMT

Among the poorest countries in the world, with over 60% of the population living below the poverty line, Rwanda is fighting to make headway against the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the social consequences of the epidemic, while grappling with other public health crises, chronic food insecurity, and the psychological impact of the 1994 genocide that left hundreds of thousands dead and many more displaced. HIV/AIDS has wiped out a large number of Rwanda's productive workforce, leaving behind orphans, widows and other vulnerable populations who now shoulder the burden to serve as primary caregivers and breadwinners.

Despite the challenges facing this small, central African nation, Rwanda benefits from an engaged government, and a dense and active network of grassroots community-based, faith-based, and non-governmental organizations.

Community Mobilization to Fight HIV/AIDS:

The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP) program is working side-by-side with these organizations to build their capacity to support, treat and care for tens of thousands of Rwandans living with HIV/AIDS and hundreds of thousands of others affected by the epidemic.

Like our work in Kenya, CHAMP is empowering them with the resources they need to fight the epidemic and to support their communities. At the same time, CHF is providing its partners with extensive skills-building assistance that is strengthening their capacity to mobilize communities, manage volunteers, administer programs and grow institutionally.