Tackling Energy Poverty
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Lifelines for Orphans and Vulnerable Children - Rwanda
Focus Areas: Information, Education, Health
Partner: CARE Rwanda
Beneficiaries: Child-Headed Households
Project Launched: 2007
As a result of the 1994 genocide Rwanda gained one million orphans. According to official government statistics, children currently head 101,000 households and one in three children is orphaned. The youngest survivors of the genocide remain vulnerable to their surroundings without the protection of an adult and are open to further neglect, abuse and exploitation. They are also at risk from HIV/AIDS and other diseases such as cholera, malaria and tuberculosis.
Providing Lifeline radios for the orphans of Rwanda has been one of our major priorities and our goal is to provide a Lifeline radio to every child-led household in Rwanda. Our long standing partnership with CARE, one of the world’s top aid agencies, has been key in progressing towards achieving our aims. The Rwanda Radio for Orphans initiative provided Lifeline radios, funded by the Netri Foundation, to support CARE’s Nkundabana (Godparent) programme.
Nkundabanas (who are chosen by the children themselves) are mentors and other community leaders trained by CARE to provide guidance, counsel and support to child-headed households. Each Nkundabana supports five child-headed households and visits them on a weekly basis, or whenever there is an urgent need. Lifeline radios were distributed to child heads of households in the care of a Nkundabana. Children benefit from hearing news, agricultural programmes and learning about a wide range of social issues addressed by the locally produced soap opera drama Urunana.
The project takes an innovative approach to address the most pressing needs of orphaned children, helping them to become economically productive and able to contribute positively to peace and reconciliation in Rwanda.
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