Project implemented during the 2019–2020 academic year
Rwanda has had to overcome one of the most tragic episodes in recent history: the 1994 genocide. On the night of April 6, the present and future of the Rwandan people changed forever. Violence erupted across the country, leading to the deaths of thousands of people from both Tutsi and Hutu communities in towns and villages. Those who managed to flee to Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, faced the consequences of war, including hunger and outbreaks of diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and meningitis in overcrowded refugee camps. Rwanda borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, and Burundi to the south.
With limited natural resources, Rwanda has traditionally based its development on an agricultural economy. Its fertile land supports a thriving agricultural sector that remains highly dependent on fluctuations in international commodity prices.
Rwanda has had to overcome one of the most tragic episodes in recent history: the 1994 genocide. On the night of April 6, the present and future of the Rwandan people changed forever. Violence erupted across the country, leading to the deaths of thousands of people from both Tutsi and Hutu communities in towns and villages. Those who managed to flee to Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, faced the consequences of war, including hunger and outbreaks of diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and meningitis in overcrowded refugee camps.
Rwanda ranks 157th on the Human Development Index (HDI), placing it among the lowest-ranked countries globally. Despite ongoing efforts to strengthen and rehabilitate the economy, 38.2% of the population continues to live below the poverty line (World Bank, 2016).
The project
The Ruli Technical School, known as the Rural Girls’ School, was founded in 1974 by the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation in the community of Ruli, within the Archdiocese of Kigali.
In January 2020, the school was expected to receive State Accreditation and become part of the national Technical Schools Program. Enrollment had increased from fifty to ninety students. Thirty-five students lived on campus as boarders, while fifty-five attended as day students. The students come from vulnerable families with limited financial means and are often unable to support their daughters’ secondary education.
The school offers training in agriculture, cooking, English, biology, religious education, and dressmaking and tailoring. These skills open doors to future opportunities, improve access to the labor market, and provide a strong educational foundation for a variety of career paths.
El desarrollo familiar en los sectores rurales depende en gran medida del rol de la mujer, por esta razón, la labor de esta escuela cobra especial relevancia en entornos con las características de Ruli. Las mujeres jóvenes, serán las formadoras de la sociedad del mañana.
Objective
To strengthen the technical and holistic education of young women in vulnerable situations in the rural community of Ruli by providing daily meals, academic, ethical, and spiritual formation, and the equipment needed for practical training in dressmaking and tailoring.
Direct beneficiaries: 90 students.
15 members of the school staff and educational team.
Total project budget: €7,500.00