REAP's CLCL selected as the only community gathering venue in Musha community

The local government leadership has recently approved our Community Learning Center and Library as the only up-to code venue to host community self-help groups in the Musha community. Everyday, a separate self-help group meets for a different goal. The group leader and a REAP designated staff ensure the compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures. REAP's CLCL now hosts a total of 7 groups with 255 members. The groups have various goals including savings, cow farming, health insurance, household utensils and addressing family-based violence. REAP's Community Learning Center and Library has truly became the hub of community life during a time of disconnection.

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Coping with the COVID-19: supporting our staff and our community

Amidst the novel coronavirus outbreak that is shaking the world, people all over the world are standing in solidarity with their neighbors and exploring new ways of being.
However, the outbreak is having a disproportionately devastating effect on middle and low-income populations—especially in countries such as Rwanda— where the unemployment rate is already 18.8% and 49.2% of the labor force are engaged in casual occupations (those that pay hourly or per diem at best).
We don’t need to reiterate the fact that the closure of all non-essential businesses and organizations, with the aim of slowing the spread of the virus, has had many unintended economic consequences.

As an organization, we value our human resources above all else and commitment to our community is at
the core of our operations. In order to support our staff during this lockdown, REAP has committed to continue paying our team members their full salaries, even those who cannot work from home. We have also mobilized to donate the produce from our farm to families with the greatest need in Musha. Last Monday, 16 families from Musha received vegetables from our farm and we hope to donate to at least 20 more with the next harvest.

In the pictures:

Our Community Organizers, Briget and Jerome, and Emmanuel Karemera (President of our Community Board) collect the food supplies and deliver them to Musha Sector Office.

Internet for the CLCL

In July 2018, Rwanda Education Assistance Project opened a new Community Learning Center and Library in Musha, Rwanda. The CLCL offers free educational programming for children, as well as free programming for parents. Our programs encompass:

English and Kinyarwanda Literacy
Basic health services
A community garden that supports our nutrition program
A Library Server (digital encyclopedia downloaded at the time of construction)

Since opening, attendance at the CLCL has soared and we are operating at full capacity each day. REAP's goal is to provide the community with access to current information and to support positive and intentional engagement in a democratic society. Our belief is that true enrichment is obtained through equitable access to various points of view, community service (known as Umuganda), and hands-on learning.

That is why we are raising money to bring Internet access to the CLCL! Internet access will enrich learning for students and offer greater research opportunities for our teachers, and for educators at the local Duha Complex School.

Additionally, it would facilitate better communication between the REAP team in Rwanda and in the US.

This campaign is designed to raise enough money to provide the Community Learning Center and Library with three years of Internet access.

- Purchase of a router ($300)
- Installation fee ($57)
- Internet access fee ($2,400/year)
- Three laptops for use at the CLCL ($3,000)

We want to raise these funds by June 2019, and we need your help to reach our goal. Donate today!

Thank you for your commitment to Rwanda Education Assistance Project and to equitable access to education.

Families that read together...

On the International Day of Families, REAP joins the Musha community and other stakeholders - our local government, nearby schools and other educational NGOs - in celebration. REAP uses the holiday to promote literacy as a catalyst for the socio-economic development of families, and thus, of the nation at large. We use interactive components, such as storytelling, community readings, and games illustrating Rwandan proverbs, to illustrate how family literacy activities can be fun and create stronger family bonds.

This year, to build the motivation of the community and to promote the International Day of Families, REAP organized a reading and read-aloud competition. Community members came to the library to practice reading and then gathered children in their neighborhoods to read stories to them. Winners of the competition received literacy-based prizes (such as a copy of their favorite book) and were able to demonstrate their reading before the live audience on May 15.

Remembering in Musha

In April 1994, Rwanda was devastated by the world’s most brutal genocide where, in under three months, over a million Tutsis were brutally put to death by Hutu extremists. Even 25 years after the genocide, the scars of survivors are physical and psychological.

Every year in April, Rwanda commemorates the tragedy with community building activities and events like walks of remembrance, community-wide discussions, commemoration nights, and the provision of socio-economic support to survivors.

As a member of the Musha Community, REAP of course took part in the 25th Tutsi Genocide commemoration. On April 12, the REAP team walked from the INEZA Community Learning Center and Library and joined the entire community in a walk down to the Musha mines, a site where an estimated 5,200 Tutsis were killed and buried — all of them from Musha area.

After talks and testimonies at the site, the REAP team joined the District officials and the larger community at Musha Genocide memorial for a commemoration night.

The 25th Commemoration emphasized the mantra “Remember, Unite, Renew”, which summarizes the need for continued reconstruction of the country through its community-oriented socio-economic programming, with a special focus on family union and wellbeing as the foundation of a peaceful society. This is also at the core of REAP’s beliefs and practices and our staff are honored to represent this mission each day.

REAP Hosts a Learning Consortium!

REAP, as a member of the Rwanda Education NGOs Coordination Platform (RENCP), was selected to host a learning visit for the other community-oriented NGOs of the coalition. Eight NGOs, including Save the Children and Wellspring Foundation, spent the day observing and learning from REAP’s stellar educational programming. 

Our Community Learning Center and Library was selected to host this consortium though we have only been open seven months! We are extremely flattered and proud of the effort that our educators pour into the programs.

Amongst other commendations, the group appreciated REAP's integrated model of community education and development as well as strong collaboration with the government and other NGOs. One of the member organizations was particularly interested in collaborating with REAP through our garden project. We are looking forward to creating a mutually beneficial relationship with another one of our neighbors and will be sure to share updates!