Teach 30 Rwandan Women to Read, Write & Calculate

Dear Sir/Madam,

It is a great pleasure at this moment to send you our sincere greetings. The year 2014 passed with twenty more women who are now literate thanks to everything you do to make our program succeed.

As a matter of fact, women continue to experience changes in our community since this program started. There is a remarkable transformation of lives; although there is still a long way to go.

As far as the students program is concerned, we are still in the process of registering new students and we expect to start the new term in April 2015.

In our previous report we mentioned the evaluation of our implementation that was done by our ex-students who gave us some useful advice in the field.  An interesting thing is that our former students have been sensitizing other women in the community to come and join this program and this is working.

Challenges we continue to face are as follows:

-       Every time we start a new year we require materials for the classroom and this requires funds to help support our illiteracy teaching.

-       The problem of paying our teachers remains unsettled.

Our plan for this first term is as follows:

-       Teach another 20 adult women from our community
-       Teach the alphabet
-       Teach reading, writing and simple counting
-       Sensitize women on the importance of literacy. We ask:

• Don’t you think that literate women can do more than a man can do?
• Don’t you share the idea that educating a woman is educating a community?
• Who plays great role in looking after children, a woman or a man?

Dear partners in womens development, we thank you once again for maintaining a relationship of high standard. It encourages us and brings us hope.

From our Team “LET US BUILD OURSELVES” we wish you all a forthcoming joyous Easter.

Thank you very much,

                        Sincerely yours,

                                                Innocent

Links:

• Global Grassroots

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please receive greetings from this side wishing you a peaceful completion of the year and beginning of New Year 2015. We continue to appreciate the partnership and cooperation from you, towards women development, thank you so much.

In our previous report we had mentioned that we were beginning the third term and it is pleasure to see that we have come to its end. Our students are now capable of reading, writing and calculating at reasonable standards. Moreover they have been equipped with business skills as well as their civic rights knowledge and now practice them.

One thing of great interest in this year’s group is that all women managed to send their girl-children to school and all of them had been able to open bank accounts in various banks. Furthermore, some of them have been elected in different leadership positions at the grassroot level. In fact they are doing different things such as Entrepreneurship and Cooperative formulation. Some of them have been trusted to be community health workers and they are doing well.

As far as testimony is concerned, we have one lady, Saidate, who told us that she is happy due to the impact this programme is having on her life.. She says:” I am now able to read signboards and I couldn’t do this before joining this literacy programme. I can read for myself different announcements, newspapers and letters, I have become an active participant in local meetings, I am now giving correct balance of money in my fruits business, while I do remember to have been doing it with doubt and difficulties, I am extremely happy my husband has promised that we are soon going for legal marriage at local government authorities.”

Here is an interesting story to share: we entered in a competition prepared by NGO called  “ RWANDA WOMEN NETWORK” focusing on GENDER BASED VIOLENCE. Our dancing troupe INZOVU (elephant), which is helping us in fundraising for literacy program, participated, and this was from the 16^th November 2014 to the 15^th December 2014 our troupe was awarded first prize after an outstanding performance.

The following are the challenges we have been encountering:

-       We are still unable to raise enough money for teachers’ salaries on a regular basis.

-       Although we have managed to add some equipment and costumes to our dancing troupe INZOVU (elephant) which is helping us in fundraising for literacy programme ;  we still need more to fully equip the troupe so that we can avoid rentals from other sources.

Our future plan for the coming year of 2015 is as follows:

• Register new students for our literacy class
• Teach twenty (20) women reading, writing and simple arithmetic, business skills and women rights
• Purchase teaching materials
• Evaluate the implementation by our ex-students and possible advice in the field.
• Plan for graduations ceremony for this year’s outgoing students.

In your country:

• Are there special Banks designated for women as it is here in Rwanda?
• Are women fully accessing credit facilities as is the case here in Rwanda?
• Are women having participation in country’s development positively?

Dear Partners in women development, we send much appreciation for everything you have made us achieve; and we believe we shall continue accordingly.  It is something unforgettable.

Thank you so much,

                                    Sincerely yours

                                    Innocent