Notes from the Field: IFLI in Rwanda

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Day 4

Ngororero is the project site where IFLI partner Umuhuza has been working to strengthen families. We met with 15 trained practitioners to hear their successes and struggles with the project. We met with local officials to hear their impressions of the work. We visited several homes to hear from parents how the program has benefited them. Yesterday, we celebrated with 100 families who have completed the parent training sessions. Umuhuza chose to go to remote Ngororero with the IFLI early learning curriculum because the first genocidal massacres took place in this region back in the 1950s. Umuhuza is an agency focused on creating a culture of peace in Rwanda. They believe that the IFLI curriculum is a way to create peace within families that can then have a bigger effect on society. We heard many testimonies from parents, practitioners and local officials about the reduction in domestic violence.

Comments

  1. LornaJuly 15, 2010 at 6:44 PM

    I do believe that by strengthening families has a factor in creating peace. Environmental factors play an important part in creating peace. As such, what about education and support from the local government?

    ReplyDelete
  2. KrisJuly 13, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    This is an amazing project. What does professional development look like for the staff? What are their stated needs?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmyEMSJuly 20, 2011 at 8:54 AM

    Thanks for your comments! You may be interested to know that with this project, ProLiteracy provided training on developmental learning between mothers/caregivers and children ages 0-4. As well,
    • 533 home visits and 342 parent sessions were conducted within the time frame of two and a half years.
    • Nineteen local practitioners, selected by the district government carried out the 4 month program in 43 villages.
    • in each of the 43 villages, parents who graduated from the program formed self-help cooperatives focused on economic development with the concern of generating additional income.

    So the project was supported by the community and district government. ProLiteracy's work in Rwanda continues with SEVOTA, a network of support groups for widows and orphans that provides educational, health, financial, legal, and advocacy support.

    Amy Schmitz/ProLiteracy director of communications

    ReplyDelete

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