Opening Education Opportunities in Rwanda
Thirteen-year-old Aimante Mugwaneza, who goes by Margaritha, skips hand-in-hand with schoolmates as they head to class at the Nyirabashenyi Early Childhood Development Center in Gacyamo village, Nyabihu district, Rwanda. She is four times older than most of them, but age doesn’t matter here. Inside, she laughs as they take turns playing a small drum and skim through picture books.
A year ago, a scene like this would have been unimaginable, her mother Leonie says. Born with a disability that affects Margaritha’s cognitive abilites and social interactions, Margaritha was not allowed to attend school with other children her age.
Margaritha plays with fellow classmates at the Nyirabashenyi Early Childhood Development Center in Gacyamo village in Rwanda.
Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS
“Unable to communicate, she used to throw stones at the other children,” Leonie says. “She was frustrated. And they were afraid of her. She was all alone. It was heartbreaking.”
Then, in 2022, as part of the Inclusive Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Program, which is known locally as U.S. Agency for International Development Gikuriro Kuri Bose, the early childhood development center was opened. The goal is to provide a safe place for children to learn, play and grow up healthy.
Leonie was encouraged to enroll Margaritha at the center. While it caters to children of preschool age, it also is an inclusive center that welcomes children having a known developmental delay and other disabilities. Gikuriro Kuri Bose has trained caregivers at this center on how to care for children with disabilities and those with special needs.
Margaritha smiles with her mother, Leonie, outside the Nyirabashenyi Early Childhood Development Center in Rwanda.
Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS
“This changed everything,” Leonie says. “At first, she did not know how to get along with the other children. But the caregivers worked with her, and now she plays with them and can even speak a bit. She no longer shows aggression, as she has been accepted by them. All of her old habits have changed for the better.”
Leonie says things have also changed for the better at home. Coming to the early childhood development center is the highlight of Margaritha’s day.
“She cares for the other children; she plays with them; she sings with them; sometimes she even answers the teacher’s questions,” Leonie says. “She still has a way to go, but the improvement is enormous. I am so proud of her and so thankful for the caregivers. I know she will never be able to attend university, but if she can one day graduate primary school, I will be so happy. If she has some independence, I will be so happy.”
The Inclusive Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Program, or Gikuriro Kuri Bose, is a 5-year USAID-funded program to improve the health, functioning, nutritional status, and wellbeing of women of reproductive age and children under six years of age, with an emphasis on the child’s first 1,000-days. It strengthens inclusion of children and adults with disabilities, and improves positive parenting and child development. The program is implemented by a consortium led by Catholic Relief Services and operates in 10 districts of Rwanda reaching more than 2.17 million participants including more than 416,000 children under six.
