Rwanda
Although largely at peace with a stable and growing economy, life for many Rwandans remains a struggle. Six out of ten people live in poverty, on less than US$1 a day. Four out of ten children are stunted due to malnutrition and one out ten dies before their fifth birthday. Life expectancy is just 46 years.
What we’re doing
- We're protecting 36,000 children from abuse and exploitation through community-based child protection networks
- We're improving access to good quality healthcare for 700,000 people
- We’re providing Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) opportunities for 2,200 children in 22 specialist centres
Save the Children in Rwanda
We started work in Rwanda in 1994, helping trace parents or relatives of children who had become separated from their families in the genocide. We successfully reunited 40,000 children with family members.
Since then, working with local government and community-based organisations, we’ve helped thousands of former child soldiers return to their villages and provided them with education and training so they can earn a living.
We're helping communities protect their children
Many children lack the protection afforded by living with their families, and they’re at greater risk of abuse, violence and exploitation. We’ve developed networks of adults and children trained in children’s rights who know how to take action against those who mistreat children.
In 2009, we reached 35,000 people through our child protection activities and we’re supporting 3,429 children who run their households in the absence of parents or older siblings.
We’re improving the quality of early childhood
Although all children between the ages of three and six are expected to attend Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centres, the government has only allocated a tiny amount of its education budget to this work.
Many young children are often left home alone or taken by their parents to work, exposing them to potential abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Working with communities and local authorities, we are rehabilitating 22 centres providing access to quality learning, protection, and care to 2,200 children aged three to six.
The centres also ensure children who are unwell are referred to health centres nearby and provide mid-morning porridge to children to complement their nutrition intake.
We’re also lobbying the Rwandan government and international donors to increase budgets for ECCD in Rwanda to ensure access to quality education for all children aged three to six years.
We’re providing healthcare for poor and vulnerable children
Working with the Ministry of Health, we’re providing basic and affordable healthcare for 123,024 children under five and 160,770 women in the Burera and Gicumbi districts. We are working with government and other partners to ensure healthcare is inclusive and affordable to all.
Find out more
- Download the Rwanda country brief (PDF 81KB)
- Edith Bowman visited Rwanda with Save the Children. Read more about our celebrity supporters.
- Téléchargez le sommaire du pays complet en français (PDF 99KB)
