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Published: August 7th 2007
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Pre-school class
Did someone say 'Lunch' For those of you that didn’t know I’ve left life in London and taken a new job as the International Development Director for a small NGO, Children’s Care and Protection Rwanda and UK registered charity Unity of Children. CCPRWA was formed in 1998 following the genocide, by a group of Rwandan’s who had grown up as orphans in Uganda and with the support of a number of international organisations runs a number of different programmes in Rwanda, supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children across the country.
From the beginning of July I’ve been working with the charity in Rwanda formulating and implementing a strategy for the development and sustainability of all their activities. At the same time I am overseeing a major capital development at the Nsinda Centre, a vocational training school run by CCPRWA in Rwanda’s Eastern Province.
Despite a decade passing since the genocide, due to the loss of many thousands of skilled workers and teachers, Rwanda still suffers from a severe skills shortage amongst its adult population. On completion of the project at the Nsinda centre, students will learn invaluable skills including tailoring, construction and car mechanics, enabling them to find gainful employment for themselves and their
Tailoring Class
I only asked if they could make this seasons West Ham strip - a reasonable question I thought! families
The development project is designed to raise the standard of education and accommodation at the centre to a level that would qualify for Rwandan Government accreditation. This accreditation is essential for the school to attract the right blend of fee-paying and bursary scheme students (selected from street children and low income families, otherwise unable to gain any education and future employment), essential if the centre is to survive, become self-sustaining and give its community the valuable resource it so deserves.
Sadly despite offering high quality education, the development and sustainability of the centre are seriously threatened by limited, almost non-existent resources available to teachers and staff. The centre receives no government funding, relying on overseas grants and charitable donations. At present of the 55 students that attend and reside at the centre, 30 are from the local community, unable to attend the ‘costly’ government schools and vocational training centres. In addition, 40 pre-school children (under 5’s) receive free schooling and care at the centre on a daily basis.
The serious nature of the centre’s plight and the extent of Rwanda’s poverty is best demonstrated by the facilities available to some of their pre-schoolers. Lessons are conducted
James Brown 'gets down' in class
Hardest workin man in the tailoring business! in two small cobble floored, unlit rooms in a small brick out-house. There are no chairs or tables, pens, pencils or books and lunch on the day I arrived lunch was ‘sugar-water’. There wasn’t enough money to buy them all bananas. Even more shocking, when you discover bananas are grown locally and sell for around 12p a bunch. Of late they have had further problems many of their under 5s not attending classes, as they have been tasked with minding their ‘younger’ siblings or collect water and firewood whilst their mother works.
A recent bout of Malaria in the region has meant the teachers and staff have had to cover some the more disadvantaged children’s medical expenses, bills five times greater than they should have been because the students couldn’t afford the government’s annual medical insurance (1000 RFr or £0.85p).
After visiting the sick students the teachers took me to meet another girl admitted 2 days earlier with badly infected toes. Alice, a pretty 12-year-old, was singing and smiled at us as we walked into the ward. Sadly her blood tests had shown the infections to be gangerous and both feet were amputated before the infection spread to
her legs. Even more tragic when you discover the same blood tests showed Alice is HIV+.
Alice, an orphan, leaves hospital tomorrow, without the wheelchair, medicine and physiotherapy program you’d expect but with a large hospital bill for her treatment and stay in the hospital. ‘That’s Africa’, so I’m told.
Fortunately the staff and teachers at the centre are an amazing group of talented and selfless individuals. They have not only been able to keep it afloat with little or no resources, often unpaid for months at a time, but they have managed to create an appealing and highly respected local school. With the right investment and guidance this team almost certainly has the potential to run a very successful vocational training school able to help more than 200 children each year.
Fundraising for the development project began in January 2006 and the construction of the dormitories and washrooms should be complete in time for the government accreditation in September this year. But even with this accreditation we will only able to generate income from school fees for the new school year in January 2008.
In the meantime we are perilously close to falling at the
final hurdle, of what could best described as an eight year marathon, with literally no funds remaining for materials, equipment, salaries, food or the connection of a water supply.
Here lies my first challenge....Project No. 1
Whilst I fully understand if you or your company currently sponsor your own worthy causes, I would just ask for you to consider taking timeout to consider assisting one more. My role with CCPRWA allows me complete access and control over all financial and management decisions and I can assure you all donations and corporate sponsorships are managed in the most professional, transparent and cost effective manner, with little or no amount going into administration costs. I am in the unique position of being able to give detailed feedback on the positive impact of any contribution, either by e-mail, telephone, digital-photos or even a guided tour (Ironically Rwanda is one of the safest, friendliest and most idyllic countries in Africa). And trust me, even the smallest contributions make a massive difference here.
If you would be interested in finding out more about sponsoring any aspect of the projects, the pre-school, a child like Alice or if you would simply
The Dining Hall
or rather the boys dorm - currently. like to find out more about the Charity and my role here in Rwanda, please feel free to contact me. I can be reached relatively easily on najennings@btinternet.com or Telephone +(250) 08359779 (now working!) / +447903943990 and I would be happy to discuss anything you wish.
Full sponsorship info is detailed in the next but one journal.
We're also looking for additional volunteers if you fancy it.
Many thanks
Neil
International Development Director
CCPRWA
BP. 21 Rwamagana
Eastern Province
Rwanda
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