REAP hosts members of the Rwandan Parliament

Recently, three members of the Rwandan Parliament, the vice-mayor of Rwamagana District and a dozen of various governmental officials visited REAP as one of the main partners of the Rwamagana District in education and community development. The members of the parliament selected INEZA Community Learning Center and Library as the Musha community hub and visited the center to learn more about the services and programs it offers.

The visitors were particularly impressed by REAP’s integration of technology in education and various self-help groups we host and train to improve lives as well as our integrated approach to education and community development. Ihuriro (our newly renovated center) was selected as a meeting venue where the three members of the parliament, the vice-mayor of Rwamagana District and other various staff met with about 300 community members.  Government officials talked to the community about  the pressing issues including family conflicts, hygiene, and sanitation as well as micro-savings. The vice-mayor honored REAP for renovating the Ihuriro center and for revitalizing economic development through the formation of a tailoring cooperative which will  be producing sustainable sanitary napkins and school uniforms.

INEZA Outdoor Learning Area Opened



REAP recently completed our outdoor learning area for children in our early childhood program. The playground aligns with internationally research and play-based early childhood development standards.  The playground comprises:

1.      The creativity center used by children and teachers for such activities as role play and family center.

2.      A tire dome for fun, challenge and strategy to develop gross motor skills.

3.      A balance beam for physical development.

4.      A cozy corner (mat and movable logs) for literacy, meditation, storytelling and one-to-one conversations.

5.      A plastered wall surface for children's art and preliminary writing.

6. A sandbox for art, measuring, pottery, rivers, cooking, and construction.

REAP presents at the 2021 International Social Work Conference

 The 2021 International Social Work Conference brought together over 80 international participants and organizations from different backgrounds including researchers, academicians, policymakers, social work practitioners and civil society organizations.

REAP was invited by the organizers of the conference to present at the conference. Jean Paulin Mutatsineza, REAP Country Director presented REAP’s COVID-19 campaign with the title “Equity, Public Health Education, and Community Development in the face of Covid19: Utilizing the Creative Power of Children's Artwork”. Participants were engaged by REAP’s bottom-up approach to community development and expressed interest in how our project might be replicated in other areas of Rwanda.

REAP awarded the 2021 US Embassy Annual Program Statement Grant for the SEED Project (Strengthen Entrepreneurship, Equity and Dignity)

To support the first year of the SEED Project (Strengthening Entrepreneurship, Equity and Dignity), the Embassy grant will enable REAP to renovate Ihuriro Community Center and initiate a community led sewing cooperative.  An abandoned building about 100 meters from REAP’s Community Learning Center and Library,  the Ihuriro Community Center will serve as a site for the SEED Project in which a community led sewing cooperative, under guidance from REAP, will meet the essential needs of the community by producing reusable sanitary napkins and school uniforms. Additionally, REAP plans to open a tailoring vocational training school in 2023/24 for unemployed high school graduates in the community.

Our two-student health and reproductive health clubs from the Duha School will lead a five-month reproductive health campaign at three schools and many other public venues throughout the Musha Community. The SEED Project employs youths, women and men in the community to promote entrepreneurship, sexual and reproductive health, as well as employment and income generation.

The Fran Bowman Multisensory Reading Program

We are pleased to announce that we are renaming our Ogstar Reading Program in honor of Fran Bowman for her contributions to fostering literacy in Rwanda. 

The Ogstar Reading app, developed by Fran Bowman, Ed.D. and Stephanie Nislow, M.Ed, is a researched-based methodology for teaching reading based on the principles of Orton-Gillingham. Designed to help children to learn to read English at their own pace with minimum teacher support, this gamified, self-paced app makes learning fun and engaging for children. The multisensory app focuses on the language skills of learning and organizing sounds and symbols and developing fluency.

The Kigali Christian School, our new partner school along with select second graders at our primary partner, Duha School are participating in a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of this new methodology in rural Rwanda. Most teachers in Rwanda are not trained in teaching reading, and large class sizes prevent individualized and differentiated instruction.

We extend our gratitude to Fran and Stephanie for partnering with REAP to introduce an extraordinarily innovative and researched-based technology to address the literacy needs of children in rural Rwanda.

Saturday tutoring boosts enrolment to schools of excellence

In Rwanda, students take a national exam in grade nine. The score in the national exam determines the student’s major and the quality of school they move to for the rest of high school. In addition, a higher test score enables students to go to boarding schools (schools of excellence) which open more opportunities for further education and/or employment.

REAP started the Tutoring Program in 2014 to provide extra time on Saturdays for students to understand and review curriculum content as well as to practice and learn test taking strategies under guidance of the best teachers from the local schools.

This past year, the outcome was outstanding whereby all 140 students who participated in the program passed the national exam, 72 of whom went to boarding school. This is Duha school’s highest number of students going to boarding schools in its history.  

Celebrating the International Day of Girl at REAP

On the occasion of the International Day of Girl, girls in the GLOW Club celebrated girls' achievements and addressed ways to lessen challenges facing girls and women in the Musha community. In line with this year's theme "Digital Generation," girls brainstormed how they can benefit from the current available technological opportunities in the community to promote equity between men and women in accesing technology. Ideas included making use of the free tech hub at the local government office and encouraging their parents to borrow children's laptops from school to extend learning at home.

REAP elected to co-chair a working group under Rwanda Education NGOs Coordination Platform

Vedaste from Wellspring Foundation, one of the NGO members engages with REAP Community Board members

With over 150 national and international NGO members, the Rwanda Education NGOs Coordination Platform is the largest NGO union in the country. This NGO platform liaises with the ministry of education around various education policy matters. The union also serves as a platform for NGOs to connect, collaborate and share experience and resources.

Following the opening of our Community Learning Center and Library in 2018, we hosted a learning trip for various NGO members. As a result of our leadership, and innovative programming, REAP was voted to serve as a co-chair for the community development committee for the next two years.

For REAP, chairing this working group opens more visibility and partnership opportunities. We will be actively participating in policy-level meetings with the central government, other partners in the education sector as well as international NGOs.

REAP represents Rwamagana District in a countrywide Early Childhood Conference

On May 12, 2021, Rwanda Education Board (an executive agency of the Ministry of Education) and UNICEF Rwanda called for a consultative conference on Rwanda's Early Childhood Development and Education. Only ten organizations (one of whom was REAP) from different parts of the country were selected to participate in this conference. Selection was determined by criterria that identified the highest quality early childhood programs in the country. The conference's purpose was to assess the implementation of the early childhood curriculum and propose any necessary changes for improvement. REAP's INEZA Academy represented Rwamagana District. Elisaphane Bikorimana, REAP's Early Childhood Specialist, represented REAP in the two-day conference.

REAP starts the Saturday Tutoring to help improve national exam scores

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, public schools were closed for 8 months across Rwanda. This caused an instructional and learning gap which has left children unprepared for the upcoming national exams in July 2021. In the Rwandan Education System, national exams are important and critical in determining a child's future. Scoring with distinction on national exams allows students to go to schools of excellence which opens more opportunities for tertiary education and/or jobs.

To address the instructional gap, REAP started a Saturday Tutoring program for 120 ninth graders in Musha Sector. Every Saturday for 4 hours, students in small classes of 20, are tutored by the best teachers selected from Musha and neighboring Sectors. Tutoring is focused on the six most challenging subjects, math, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and English.

A joyous celebration of children’s work!



Grace, one of our teachers hands a school report file to moria, one of our studentS

In the Rwandan education system, students receive end-of-semester school reports every three months. This marks the time parents learn about their children’s academic progress. Usually, parents gather at school and anxiously wait for their children to be called up front to receive their school reports before going home

At REAP’s INEZA Academy last Friday, we created a new learning ritual by showcasing children’s skills and as well as demonstrating home-based storytelling between parents and their children. One parent volunteered to tell a story to all children as a model for promoting literacy at home

 Parents sat in classrooms watching their children recite poems,  sing Kinyarwanda songs,  demonstrate spelling, and practice counting real-life objects. 

 Through our partnership with Teach Rwanda, our end-of-semester evaluation covers six research-based early childhood learning areas: Language and Literacy, Discovery of the World, Numeracy, Creative Arts and Culture, Physical and Health Development, and Social and Emotional development.

PARENTS POSE OUTSIDE THE LEARNING CENTER WITH THEIR CHILDREN

grace umuziranenge poses with her children in the classroom

REAP joins the Musha Community in the commemoration of 1994 Genocide against Tutsi

Every year from April 7 to 13, Rwanda commemorates the 1994 tragedy that cost lives of over 1,000,000 Rwandans. The trauma of the Genocide still haunts the lives of survivors and their families. In line with this year's theme "Kwibuka Twiyubaka" which literally translates "Reconstructive Remembrance", REAP visited and supported a family of three who survived the genocide. The family, recommended by the local government, received food supplies, beddings, school materials for the children and hygiene supplies to help prevent the coronavirus. REAP is also looking to enroll these children in our enrichment program at the Learning Center in order to help build their future.

Girls Leading Our World (GLOW CLUB) resumes

Last year just before the pandemic, REAP entered an agreement with Ready for Reading and Global G.L.O.W (Girls Leading Our World) to launch a a GLOW Club at REAP's Community Learning Center and Library in Musha Club. The club comprises 30 girls from two rural schools in Musha, Eastern Rwanda. As per the agreement, Global Glow provides all needed supplies and hires a staff to mentor the girls for a year in order to help them build their self-advocacy skills, strenghten their academic engagement, and enhance their social emotional competencies to prepare for a promising future. Upon completion of their yearlong mentorship program in 2022, another cohort of 30 girls will be enrolled.

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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Calendar Distribution

Our Kalendari Ineza project culminated in the distribution of calendars to 2050 families in

our Musha Community. On December 17, an inaugural ceremony was held at REAP’s Community

Learning Center and Library where 50 selected families received their calendars. The event was attended

by local government leaders, REAP staff and members of our Community Board.

In compliance with Covid-19 prevention guidelines, the remaining 2,000 families have been

collecting their calendars one at a time at the CLCL.

Our Community Organizers will be visiting the 100 most at-risk families to dissect the

public health messages on the calendars and discuss ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Kinyarwanda Literacy Project

Research by the UNESCO encourages use of the pupil’s first language to teach beginning reading and writing skills and bolster future academic success.

(Source: The Importance of Mother Tongue Based Schooling for Educational Quality, Carole Benson 2004).

Last year, Rwanda’s Ministry of Education announced the mandatory use of English as a language of instruction for grades 1-12, beginning in 2021.

Our Kinyarwanda Literacy Project seeks to equip students in grades 1-3 with strong literacy skills in their mother tongue, which will lay a foundation for future English language literacy. The project unofficially started in December 2019 with a professional development training in the Soma Umenye curriculum and teaching methodologies. The Soma Umenye method was developed by USAID in partnership with Rwanda Education Board. Starting in December 2020, we will pilot the project with three classes of 20 children.

Community Learning Center and Library reopens after COVID-19 closure

As one of the measures to alleviate the spread of COVID-19, the government of Rwanda ordered closure of public venues such as schools, libraries and community centers. Our Center had also been closed for seven months until recently approved to reopen. We did so on November 30.

To fulfill requirements for reopening, we put in place a range of prevention measures including:

• A COVID-19 task force composed of three employees trained on COVID-19 during our Kalendari INEZA project. The task force ensures we are in compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures on a daily basis.

• An isolation room equipped with a bed and emergency supplies in the event that a COVID-19 case is detected.

• Banners with COVID-19 information placed at all doors, tables, on the front facade of the main building and on the community bulletin board.

• A hand washing station installed at the entrance of the main building. Every person visiting the center washes their hands before entering.

• COVID-19 prevention kit with an infrared thermometer, hand sanitizer, gloves, masks and other supplies were purchased.

• Maximum class-size. All seats are marked in all classrooms and the maximum capacity in every classroom is 15 persons.

The Awakening Creativity Children's Drawing Event

One of the main objectives of the Kalendari Ineza grant is to produce calendars with public messages created by the local community in an effort to mobilize the participation of all levels of the community. Since 72.9% of the population have never attended school, we wanted to ensure a multisensory approach to literacy by using children's drawings to illustrate the public health messages. Forty children attended our Awakening Creativity Day at our center, learned public health messages, and then drew pictures to enhance these messages for each calendar month.

REAP implements a grant to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Under the leadership of Isabel Taswell, a REAP volunteer and a teacher at Bank Street School for Children, and Jean Paulin Mutatsineza, REAP’s country director, REAP has been designated the grant implementer for our project, Kalendari Ineza.  

The grant is from the US Department’s Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund Rapid Response program and features a public health campaign to raise the community’s awareness of COVID-19, curb its spread, and fortify community resiliency in the face of extreme poverty. 

The grant officially opened on October 7, 2020 with a COVID-19 training to 56 representatives of the Musha Community in all areas (government officials, teachers from the local public school, business leaders, self-help group leaders, health center nurses, girl leaders, and community board members).

As an outcome of the training, community members will produce calendars with public health messages illustrated  by community children. Calendars will then be distributed to homes and public venues in Musha. 

Afterwards, Girl Scouts will perform monthly sketches in the community and at the Duha Complex School about COVID-19 prevention. Concurrently, designated self-help groups will conduct home visits to 100 of the most at-risk families to practice the calendar messages. Under the guidance of trained self-help group leaders and government leaders, families will then demonstrate the practice of the messages at weekly community meetings to consolidate sustainability.

BRAVE, THE HEAD OF MUSHA HEALTH CENTER LEADING A TRAINING ON COVID-19

MEDIATRICE, A NURSE AT MUSHA HEALTH CENTER DEMONSTRATING PROPER HAND WASHING

A COMMUNITY MEMBER ASKING A QUESTION DURING THE TRAINING

A COMMUNITY MEMBER WRITING DOWN A CALENDAR MESSAGE

SMALL GROUPS BRAINSTORMING CALENDAR MESSAGES

Providing health insurance for needy families is our priority as we face the aftermath of COVID-19

As the world suffers the consequences of the novel coronavirus, impoverished communities such as Musha are the most at-risk with food and health services at the top of the long list of needs. 

In addition to providing food supplies from our community farm to starving families, REAP’s Community Learning Center and Library has been selected by the local government to serve as a meeting space for community savings groups that primarily aim to collect health insurance for families.

Every Thursday and Friday, our Community organizer leads groups of around 50 people for two hours to address issues in households such as health, nutrition and hygiene. Thanks to the savings groups, this year, 178 families were able to provide yearlong health insurance, beddings and kitchen utensils for their families.