Our last visit was to the Murama 'Catch Up' program that is located in the primary school in the Bugesera District about 40km east of Kigali. The goal is to provide a basic education to all children even though they may have missed a grade or two. The program began in 2005 and is currently at an enrollment of 179 children - 112 boys and 67 girls. They are distributed into levels that lead them to prepare for the leaving exam so they advance to the mainstream school system. The rest of the children have classes as usual. The Ministry of Education developed a curriculum for this program that includes language, math, science and technology, and social sciences - including HIV/AIDS and peace education. Eventually, they aim to have at least 1 catch up school in each district of the country, for a total of 30.
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| © U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Rusanganwa |
UNICEF is assisting these schools as they focus the programming on human rights. Capacity building empowers the communities to reach a self-sustaining level and grants them ownership of their own progress. Two agricultural cooperatives were created to add to their success. A school garden and animal husbandry system have been integrated into the program which is managed by the parents. (Again, parents are involved in the food program by preparing porridge for breakfast and a lunch as well.) Pigs are housed behind the schools and they are sold and also used in the school feeding program. Proceeds from the sales are distributed among families who participate and help. The fertilizer that the pigs produce is used in the gardens of beans, corn, pineapple to name a few.
The involvement of the parents is increasing annually and is helping tremendously and I have mentioned it several times through this blog. The elements that contribute to this concept include involving parents in the school's programs, creating what we call a child friendly school, was a pilot project for the Murama school. Their success is spreading throughout the country.
The concept of child friendly includes implementing psychosocial support through activities such as sports and peer clubs. Water tanks that provide clean running water were also installed and included teaching children about sanitation. Latrines are separate, when they were previously together. All of these components make the schools more amenable for children to attend school and the girls are more likely to stay when they are more friendly to them as well.
The grand conclusion was an incredible celebration presented by some of the children in the school. They danced traditional dances outside under a tree. The rain came and suddenly we were rushed into a small classroom where two groups of girls danced for us and had us join them. Their graceful rhythm entertained us with great interest and we learned about the symbolic movements and stories they told with their motions.
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| © U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Rusanganwa |
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| © U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Rusanganwa |
This country is beautiful, as are the Rwandans, and we have been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to meet every single person we encountered on this trip. From the travellers from the States, to the UNICEF staff who led us through the projects, to the drivers who took us all over the country, to our traveling photographer, Laurent, whose pictures will be downloaded soon, and to the wonderful people leading the projects on the ground who should be extremely proud of the success they are achieving. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who made our trip so pleasant. We appreciate it immensely and we are thinking of you always and wishing you continued tremendous success!
All the best from all of us, Linda