In Bwishyura, women who have just given birth must return to work after a short period. Traditionally, the baby should always be with their mother, so women tie them with a cloth on their back. Thus, the children are together with their mothers throughout the work day. It is difficult for women to carry their children from infancy to toddler age on their backs all day. As the children grow older, they desire to run, play, and explore the world, but they are still too young to attend a local kindergarten.
To give mothers with children between the ages of 2-3 years old a job opportunity in the morning, our staff organized educational classes for their children; this is a huge help to families. At the moment, groups gather in 15 houses. Now we have 475 children that are a part of this project. Classes are held daily on weekdays from 8 am until noon. Children get a nutritious local porridge with several kinds of cereal for breakfast, called sosoma. Once a month, children have free lunch at the cafeteria. Once a month, parents organize lunch for their children. Developing classes are also conducted by the mothers of these children. The parents have an opportunity to continue learning development with their children in this way.
When I visited one of these groups to take a photo, the kids immediately ran out and greeted me in English, which surprised me. They quickly made contact, smiled at me, and also spoke to me in Rwanda.
In the future, with God’s help, we plan to organize home-based classes in other regions of Rwanda as well. We would love for you to participate in our projects, including this one.
Diana Sonina
