World Vision continues to build upon a strong relationship with local churches, civil society organisations, the Government of Rwanda, and other partners to implement programmes that serve the vulnerable children and their communities in the country.
Our 2020 Rwanda Annual Report highlights World Vision's key achievements that we realised together with partners in a year of unusual circumstances.
Victoire and her seven children were not having it all rosy; life was tough for them. Her husband was imprisoned for over 12 years, and she had to single-handedly care for and provide for her family for over a decade.
With the help of World Vision community trainings, she was able to realise her potential and life began to change.
In partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH), World Vision has inaugurated 49 modern hand-washing facilities set up at hospitals and health centres, to ensure communities are equipped with prevention measures against COVID-19. Earlier this year, we also partnered with the MoH in the construction of improved hand-washing facilities at 47 hospitals and two health centres in different parts of the country, through a RWF 290,000,000 (approximately $300,000) joint project.
Behind every aspect of World Vision's work throughout the last 70 years, Hidden Heroes –ordinary people making extraordinary impact– have risen up in every season. Among them is Rose; a young adult formerly registered under World Vision's child sponsorship programme who is now a youth volunteer on the front line of COVID-19 prevention in Rwanda.
Click below to read her inspiring story!
Sometimes we feel like giving up, even when we are in the winning lane. But the story of World Vision Rwanda’s only female driver shows how it is never too late to rebuild your life. Having lost her husband just six years into their marriage, the mother of two went through various challenges in trying to make ends meet. Read her inspiring story to learn how she overcame challenges and despair, and now playing a part in transforming lives.
Andrew Morley urged staff to strive for excellence, stressing that excellence honors God. “Aim for excellence not because of self-pride, but because you’re doing things to the best of our ability in the work that God has called us to do, we honor God. Through honoring God, we are blessed. Challenge each other to excellence and do not allow each other to be second-best, strive for excellence,” he said.
We have been working in Rwanda since 1994. For the first six years, the key focus of our interventions was relief and rehabilitation for the close to 3 million people that were displaced because of the genocide. In the year 2000, we began long-term, child-focused area development programmes in different parts of the country, targeting vulnerable children and their families with interventions in the areas of education and child sponsorship; health and nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene; and the economic empowerment of households.
Our more than 300 staff in Rwanda currently work in 23 out of 30 Districts, supporting more than 1.5 million people –especially children–through 26 area development programmes.
See how our programmes are improving the well-being of children, their families and their communities across Rwanda.
Our teams are working hard to make sure every child is not only attending school, but that they have the tools they need to succeed. In 2018, 84,413 students received learning materials (including starter kits and book). Also, some 100 community libraries were stoked with more than 10,000 new books, to help children fall in love with learning.
Access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities are foundational for children to be healthy and enjoy their lives. We are working to make sure there piped water and/or rainwater harvesting systems in all communities so that children and their families can enjoy better health. As access to water and proper sanitation facilities has increased, reports of disease and illness have gone down proportionately.
Our interventions in this sector intentionally target families with very low incomes and/or those whose production is not providing enough food/resources to meet a family's basic needs. We work with families by offering training in modern agricultural methods and new skills (such as breeding animals or sewing). Their new skills are multiplied through access to savings groups and/or microfinance institutions.
Working Together
More than 250,000 children continue to be victims of child labour and sexual abuse in Rwanda. Join us as we work to change this situation.
