GlobalGiving.org: Help Rwandan Schoolchildren

CHF International Providing Books for Orphans

Natalie Taggart — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:35:09 GMT

As part of the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP), CHF spearheaded innovative work with orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs), including the successful formation of annual holiday camps for secondary school OVC.

During the 3-5 day camp, OVCs address such topics as responsible decision-making, child rights and responsibilities, civic duties towards peace and reconciliation, and self-confidence building, in addition to broader HIV and health-related topics. The program, known as “Haranira Kuba Indatwa” or “Strive for Excellence” uses anecdotes, poetry, skits and illustrations to articulate messages and was designed with input from the Government of Rwanda, local partners, and OVC themselves. A Teacher’s Guide and Manual was developed to assist in facilitating and replicating the process throughout Rwanda.

Congressional Staffers Visit CHF International in Rwanda

Erin Mote — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:28:49 GMT

Women celebrating the visit

On February 23rd, 2009, CHF International welcomed US congressional visitors Michele Sumilas, Professional Staff Member of the US House of Representatives’ House Appropriations Committee for Foreign Operations (HACFO) and Shannon Smith, Professional Staff Member of the US Senate’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee. US Ambassador, Stuart Symington, and staff from African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE) and Association des Eglises de Pentecotes au Rwanda (ADEPR) also participated in the visit.

The group met first with 17 child heads of household supported by ADEPR for vocational training in tailoring and welding. Ambassador Symington presented the visitors and Pastor Antoine Rutayisire, Executive Secretary of AEE, gathered testimonies from the students. During this visit, Pastor Antoine also thanked the visitors from the US, saying that “Sometimes at the end of the day, you go home tired, not because of the work you’ve done but because of the problems that you were unable to solve. We want to thank you for allowing us to solve (at least) these problems.” CHF/CHAMP currently supports more than 43,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) with a variety of services, such as, job skills training and the payment of school fees.

After saying goodbye to the students, the group proceeded to visit the cooperative “Humura Witinya,” located on the main road just outside of Gisenyi. The group became an association for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) which, in 2007, transformed into a business-oriented cooperative. Humura Witinya now includes 166 members and engages in several income-generating activities, including sewing, embroidery, and manufacturing crafts, while continuing to cultivate various crops. The group welcomed the visitors with a lively dance performance and the president explained the history of the cooperative to the guests. Afterwards, visitors had a chance to do some shopping among the many beautiful items on display in Humura Witinya’s shop.

CHF International would like to thank the guests for taking time to visit with these groups and would also like to thank all of the hosts for their warm reception. It is with the continued support from the Government of the United States and other donors that these excellent activities are made possible.

Breaking the Silence in Rwanda

Erin Mote — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:25:53 GMT

Jean Marie Edmund on the mic

In a country where sex education is virtually non-existent and discussions of sex are considered taboo, Jean Marie Edmund has deftly succeeded at getting Rwandans to open up.

Edmund is the co-host of the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program’s (CHAMP) groundbreaking radio show Zibukura, which targeted youth aged 15-24 and their parents with comprehensive information about HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care; reproductive health; and issues concerning sexual education and gender.

Roughly meaning ‘to dodge’ (as in avoiding HIV) in the local language of Kinyarwanda, Zibukura consisted of 30 hour-long programs that reached 90 percent of Rwanda’s population and even some listeners in neighboring Burundi. Along with co-host Rubens Mukunzi, a well known radio personality from the Kigali station Radio 10, the pair taped topical discussions with community members in advance of each show. Then, once back in the studio, they would continue discussing each topic with a panel of health specialists, youth and parents, while people across the country would pepper them with questions by phone, text message and email.

“With Zibukura, we were able to cross boundaries and broach issues no one had ever talked about before,” Edmund explained. He also claims to be the first Rwandan radio presenter to talk publically about HIV/AIDS, back in 1995. He recalled, “It was just one year after the genocide, but I knew that thousands of women had been sexually violated and infected with AIDS. They needed to find out about their status and a safe space in which to talk. The radio program helped make that happen.”

Zibukura was born out of awareness surveys conducted at the beginning of CHAMP, which evidenced how many Rwandans—particularly youth—failed to have accurate information about even the most basic aspects of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. “We first developed a design document that showed the risky behavior youth were engaging in, along with the behavior we wanted to promote. We were then able to develop key messages and elaborate on the subjects to be discussed in each radio program,” explained Edmund.

Many callers noted that the program taught them all the things their parents never told them, and they appreciated that nothing was off-limits. “I think the program was especially important for girls, many of whom didn’t even understand something as fundamental as menstruation,” recalled Mukunzi. But it wasn’t just youth who learned from the program, added Edmund. “Some parents told us that as a result of listening to Zibukura, they felt comfortable to open to their children and begin talking about sex.”

Not everyone appreciated the show’s frankness. Mukunzi relates, “One day we had a caller who said we should stop talking about rubbish like sex, and be more Christian. But we did our best to explain that he misunderstood what we were doing. We are not teaching people about sex, but educating them about their health.”

But overall, their efforts met with great success. One day, they received a live call mid-show from the Minister of Education, who said she appreciated their efforts. Another caller really touched Edmund when he called to say, “Don’t even think of stopping the show. You are truly brave and special.”

CHF Conference in Rwanda

Erin Mote — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:22:55 GMT

CHF International will be hosting an international conference in Kigali, Rwanda on March 12th and 13th, focusing attention to the role of grassroots cooperatives in improving the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable groups in Rwanda. The conference will bring together representatives of Rwandan government ministries, the private sector, Rwandan NGOs, international practitioners, donors and grassroots cooperative leaders to share and disseminate successes, challenges, and approaches in supporting cooperatives assisting vulnerable populations. The outcomes of the conference will help leaders and practitioners implement effective approaches within Rwanda and around the world. They will be published in a learning document and posted on CHF’s website. Details of the Conference: Practical Approaches to Strengthening Rwanda’s Cooperative Sector and Developing Opportunities for People Living with HIV/AIDs and other Vulnerable Groups. March 12-13, 2009.at the Serena Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. About CHF International in Rwanda CHF International, an international development and humanitarian aid organization, leads the USAID/PEPFAR-funded Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP). Through this program, CHF International works through Rwanda's community and faith-based organizations to build their capacity to support, treat and care for tens of thousands of Rwandans living with HIV and AIDS and hundreds of thousands of others affected by the epidemic. Among its priority activities, CHAMP partners with CHF’s Improving, Measuring and Promoting Poverty Alleviation through Cooperatives in Transition Societies (IMPPACTS) Program to provide capacity building and market linkages support to around 120 cooperatives of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Success Story: Cooperative Development Mushrooms in Rwanda

chf — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:54:37 GMT

A picture of the mushrooms

Supported by CHF International and CHAMP through the Society of Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA), Asovenya is one of thousands of grassroots organizations in Rwanda comprised of community members who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. Asovenya was originally established as an association of 82 people in 2005, and its members earned money by weaving traditional baskets. Although they took substantial time and effort to produce, members only earned about $5.50 a month for their beautiful baskets. But later, through a $2,800 grant and technical assistance provided by CHF and SWAA, Asovenya transformed into a cooperative, and switched their members from basket weaving to rearing goats and cultivating mushrooms, which were more lucrative sources of income. As a result, the monthly earnings for the cooperative’s members have tripled to about $15 a month.

Their goats have grown in number from 25 to 76, and the cooperative already has over $1,800 in assets, which continues to grow. These funds are being used to pay school fees and insurance for the children of Asovenya’s members, they have distributed insecticide-treated bed nets to all members to prevent malaria, and even organized mobile HIV voluntary counseling and testing services to come directly into their community. Asovenya’s members have found that their new efforts are not only improving their economic conditions, but some anecdotally report that eating the mushrooms has prevented some of the sight deterioration common among people living with HIV, while decreasing the incidence of them contracting opportunistic infections. Looking towards the future, Asovenya’s members are now researching avenues to obtain microfinance loans so that they can purchase additional land, with room for large-scale cultivation, and even purchase some labor-saving machinery.

Goats eating the mushrooms

Over 34,000 orphans given school supplies

PATRICK BUHIGIRO — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:53:12 GMT

CHF International, a non-profit humanitarian aid organisation, has donated school materials to at least 34,000 orphans and vulnerable children ahead of the beginning of the academic year.

The handover of the materials took place at Stella Matutina Secondary School in Rulindo District, Northern Province and was presided over by the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Dr Jeanne D’Arc Mujawamariya.

The handover was coupled with the awarding of certificates to 250 youths who had completed a ten-month vocational training in different fields under the sponsorship of USAID/PEPFAR.

PEPFAR is the President’s Emergency Plan for Aid Relief and is championed by US President, George W. Bush.

Those who received certificates are part of the 1,217 youths who underwent the training under the same programme countrywide.

The materials supplied to the youth both in primary and secondary schools will enable them start their studies with sufficient equipment.

Those in primary school were each given at least fourteen exercise books, pens, pencils, a mathematical set, a pair of shoes and school uniforms while those in secondary school were given all school requirements including calculators, books, washing and bathing soap, body lotion, pens and pencils, school uniforms and school fees.

Speaking at the function, Mujawamariya told the beneficiaries that they should work hard in school to acquire sufficient knowledge and skills that will enable them to be self reliant.

“From the vocational training, you have got required knowledge to create jobs for yourselves without relying on aid,” Mujawamariya said.

“You should use skills acquired from here to develop yourselves and help the government to achieve its goals towards economic growth,” added Mujawamariya.

The CHF/Champ assistant Coordinator, Pierre Munyura, listed the achievements of his organisation saying that the NGO through Champ project supported 39,000 orphans and vulnerable children and their target in 2009 is to increase their support to 43,000.