Support People with Down Syndrome in Rwanda

There has been more excellent work happening in Rwanda since our last report, with COVID-19 restrictions being lifted and the Rwanda Down Syndrome Organisation (RDSO) able to meet in person again.

RDSO shared a success story of someone who has benefited from their work:

This is Joshua (above right), a 5-year-old boy with Down Syndrome from Kigali, Rwanda. When his mother first brought him to the RDSO office he could not walk and the physiotherapy sessions needed to help him learn were unaffordable. The RDSO team advocated for the local government authority to assist the family and last year he received a month of physiotherapy sessions. Now he can walk independently and RDSO staff are working with the family to find an adequate school and financial assistance to allow him to start attending.

RDSO received a visit from Simon, our Programme Fellow who is based in Uganda. While in Kigali, Simon met with RDSO's self-advocacy group for people with Down syndrome and delivered some training for them, focusing on the right to be included in the community and the right to employment.

Simon also met with RDSO staff and discussed the challenges they are facing as an organisation. One key challenge identified is fundraising, so we are planning to do some training for them and support them to produce a fundraising strategy.

Thank you to everyone who has generously supported this project! We will send you another update soon.

The Rwanda Down Syndrome Organisation (RDSO) has been very busy since our last update, despite various different COVID-19 restrictions being in place.

The group has met 5 times in the past few motnhs, covering topics including an introduction to human rights, the right to education, and the right to employment. The group also picked a name for their group, 'Hirwa', meaning 'Blesses'.

The next step for the group will be to develop an advocacy plan for advocating for employment opportunities, with support from RDSO. People with Down syndrome make excellent employees but are not yet being given opportunities in Rwanda, due to discrimination and underestimations of their abilities. We believe that people with Down syndrome themselves make the best advocates, as they can speak from the heart of their aspirations and the barriers they experience.

One of the group members, Eric, is working with us to develop a webinar on employment in Rwanda. He will be interviewing other people with Down syndrome in Rwanda to understand their work aspirations and obstacles they face. They will develop a webinar which will be delivered to employers, policy makers, family members, and other key stakeholders when trying to promote the employment of people with Down syndrome.

We would like to say a big thank you to all of you who have donated to this project! Your generous donations enable RDSO to continue this important work empowering people with Down syndrome in Rwanda, with support from us.