Education Rwanda Project #10392

Helping Rwandan Children out of Poverty

by HANDS AROUND THE WORLD

Project Report | Feb 4, 2026
Evaluating the impact of our Ubumwe Project

By Mike Haden | Chairman, Jersey branch of Hands Around The World

Mike and Simon at Bugarama Cite

In September David Musendo and his team from Lifetime Consulting spent a week in Bugarama carrying out surveys, focus group discussions, interviews and observation to evaluate the impact of our three-year Ubumwe Project. Their report highlighted that the success of the project was down to the collective approach of the Bugarama schools:

Positive changes were driven primarily by strong local leadership, active community participation and a shared sense of ownership. While HATWJ and JOA provided critical seed funding, the project’s effectiveness depended on the commitment of teachers, parents, learners, local leaders and faith-based institutions.

Validation Workshop As a follow-up, a two-day workshop was held in Bugarama in November led by David Musendo of Lifetime Consulting and attended by over 30 representatives of school leaders, teachers, parents, sector authorities and project partners. Mike Haden, HATWJ Chairman, and Dr Simon Mbarushimana, founder of RSVP, our original contact with Bugarama schools, also attended. The purpose of the Workshop was twofold:

assess the resonance of the findings with the local reality
explore priorities and strategic directions for a potential Ubumwe II.

Future priorities Three key priorities emerged from discussions:

Vocational training: Ubumwe II was seen as an opportunity to strengthen education-to-livelihood pathways, particularly for over-aged learners, former street-connected children, learners with disabilities and youth who do not transition to formal secondary education.

Inclusion of learners with disabilities: While Ubumwe has made progress in supporting vulnerable learners, participants identified persistent gaps in specialized learning facilities, trained teachers and support staff, assistive learning materials and early identification and referral systems.

Family Economic Empowerment: Participants were clear that sustainable education outcomes cannot be achieved without addressing family-level constraints that directly affect learners. Areas for strengthening in Ubumwe II include income generating activities linked to education outcomes and parent engagement particularly around disability and inclusion.

Potential way forward.

The Diocese has purchased a plot of land on the outskirts of Bugarama where they will relocate the church currently occupying the centre of St Paul Muko, freeing up much-needed space with in the school. They will offer part of this new land for a combined Vocational Training and Disability Inclusion centre. The Mayor and the Director of Education have both pledged support and collaboration.

It is clear that the development of such a Centre would be beyond the scope of any single grant from JOA but we hope to explore this collaboration and the possibility of a contribution towards this objective.

The Evaluation Report and the report of the Validation Workshop are available on our website at www.hatwj.org.uk.

Celebrating the new security wall at Kibangira

One of the new girls rooms

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Oct 15, 2025
Progress on Inclusion Programme

By Mike Haden | Chairman, Jersey branch of Hands Around The World

Fr Emmanuel with intake of children

Our local co-ordinator, Jean Damascene Habanabakize, has sent us this update on the Inclusion programme at GS St Paul Muko

As you know, we recently began this initiative, and we are now completing the first phase while preparing to welcome a new group of children for training. Out of the 35 children we started with, 24 are now able to integrate into general education classes, while 9 still need additional support. We will be receiving 24 new children to replace those who have successfully transitioned.

For the safety and well-being of the children, the school decided that instead of renting a house outside, it would be best to renovate one of our rooms within the school to make it more accessible and comfortable.

The original plan was to make this room a dignified, safe, and comfortable space where children with disabilities could learn and grow without unnecessary struggles.

The renovation was meant to include tiling the floor to improve movement, installing lamps to ease accessibility, adding a gypsum ceiling to reduce the heat in Bugarama’s climate, and building an internal toilet and washroom. Many of these children struggle with mobility, and sadly, some are unable to reach the existing toilets without accidents. By renovating this room, the school hoped to give them the dignity and comfort they so deeply deserve, putting the space at the highest standard possible.

The importance of this renovation cannot be overstated. For these children, it is not just about having a classroom ,it is about creating an environment that restores their dignity, respects their needs, and gives them equal opportunity to learn and thrive alongside their peers.

Sadly, during this process, a tragic incident occurred: the truck transporting the tiles and gypsum boards for the renovation was involved in an accident. Not only were all the materials destroyed, but the driver also suffered severe injuries, losing both of his legs. To make matters worse, we later discovered that the truck was not insured. This has left us with a financial loss of 4,500,000 RWF, in addition to the emotional toll of the tragedy.

We can add two pieces of good news to JD’s report. Firstly, Hands Around The World Jersey was able to cover the loss of materials with a donation of £2,500 from our fundraising.

Secondly, a wonderful Jersey-based donor has provided us with £30,000 to cover the first three years of this programme, enabling the ongoing development of the programme until the government steps in to provide financial support.

Conflict in the DRC

Some progress has been made in resolving the conflict as peace agreements have been signed including the two governments and the rebel alliance. However, there is as yet no sign of the M23 withdrawing from the territory they took over earlier in the year.

We were frustrated at being unable to visit Bugarama as usual this year and a planned visit by 14 Jersey teachers to provide a Summer School with local teachers for the Street Children programme.

There have been no problems on the Rwandan side of the border. We are delighted that, after appropriate risk assessment, our insurance now allows us to travel to the area. Our trustees are about to travel there again. Reports on our visits next time.

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Jun 18, 2025
Disability is not Inability

By Mike Haden | Chairman, Jersey branch of Hands Around The World

The inclusion project at GS St Paul Muko has now been launched at a full school Assembly on 26th May, under the banner headline ‘Disability is not Inability’.

This project aims to create an inclusive environment for children with disabilities to ensure they are successfully integrated into the broader education system. The initiative will focus on providing necessary support through education, and social integration to empower these children to thrive both academically and socially in the school system. The key components of this project include teacher and staff training, development of accessible infrastructure, provision of specialized equipment, and continuous monitoring to ensure effective integration.

35 children of various disabilities have been selected to start the programme after initially 85 parents brought their children to the school for registration. The others will be included in the future as further resources are secured.

Until now these children have been kept at home and hidden away as there was no provision for them in the Education system. JD (Jean Damascene, our local coordinator) reports: The children are showing remarkable improvement. Some who were previously non-verbal have started speaking. Their enthusiasm for attending school is heartwarming, especially considering that many of them had never been part of a learning environment before. Parents have expressed deep gratitude for the program and the positive changes they are seeing in their children and their lives.

JD identified the two main challenges they are facing

Lack of accessible infrastructure, especially housing and adapted school facilities for them at school.
The urgent need for rooms equipped with adapted materials to help the children integrate into the educational system.

Father Emmanuel, the headteacher, has been promised resources, including teachers, by the government in two years’ time but in the meantime he has had to find other sources of financial support through donors.

Hands Around The World has agreed a grant of £9,000 and secured a further £4,500 in donations to assist with the costs of establishing this most worthwhile initiative. We are actively applying for further assistance.

Conflict in the DRC

The conflict across the border continues to prevent us planning any visits to Bugarama until a resolution is reached. The M23 rebel force is establishing its position all along the eastern border of the DRC including the region closest to Bugarama. There are reports of repression of the local population and many have fled into neighbouring countries. Foreign Office advice is against ‘all but essential travel’ within 10 kilometers of the border. Our accommodation there is a five minute walk from the border crossing. Life remains peaceful and stable in Bugarama so the situation is frustrating but unavoidable.

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