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Rwanda
Children
Rwanda Radio Project for Orphans
More Information About this ProjectProject Needs and BeneficiariesAs a result of 1994 genocide and deaths from disease, Rwanda has more than 101,000 child headed households. 75% of the heads of household are girls. Eriminata, who is now 20, has been looking after 6 younger siblings since she was 14. She has never attended school. The Lifeline radio is her constant companion and surrogate ‘teacher’. She has learned so much from the radio about child care, nutrition, HIV/AIDS and peace and reconciliation. ActivitiesRobust Lifeline radios operate on solar or wind-up energy. Children don’t have to worry about buying toxic batteries. They can access educational broadcasts 24/7.Given its excellent sound quality, 40 children can listen at one time. Funding InformationTotal Funding Received to Date: £10,283 Additional DocumentationThis project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc). ResourcesWhy this Project is ImportantPotential Long Term ImpactOrphaned child heads of households are among the most isolated in the world. Community radio broadcasts help them to integrate with their villages and, most important, to develop vital life skills that can improve their quality of life. Project Message
“The most important thing I had was my goat, but now it is my radio. I listen to the news to learn, since I cannot attend school.” Who is Running This ProjectContact
Bhavna Malkani, Project SponsorOrganisation
Learn more about Freeplay Foundation and the project team. Where this Project is LocatedCountry
This project is located in For more information about Rwanda, read the Human Development Report on Rwanda or the Wikipedia entry for Rwanda. When this Project was UpdatedLast UpdatedThis project was last updated on November 10, 2009. Date Added to GlobalGivingThis project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on June 15, 2004. Latest Update from the FieldA Sense of Hope - 11 Years Of Progress In RwandaBy Bhavna Malkani - Digital Marketing and Fundraising Manager, November 10, 2009 04:02 PM
 Bugasera is an area in Rwanda where prior to the genocide, the population was 64,000, after wards 2,000. We spoke with 30 (50/50 female/male) child heads of households who had received our Lifeline radios 6 months ago. Between the ages of 12 and 20, they had walked up to three hours to come.
Our first visit was in 1999, there were pockets of ‘feral’ children - hundreds of child-only families living in round mud and thatch houses. Children wore rags showing their distended stomachs, trying to eke out an existence by subsistence farming with little or no adult guidance. Water had to be collected from a swampy area at the bottom of the hill an hour’s walk away. It was impossible to imagine that children would have to live like this. Understandably, they seldom smiled or laughed. We asked a series of questions to only girls and only boys and then together. We wanted to learn about what they listen to, what they’ve learned or do differently since having the Lifeline radio. To sum up their comments, all said that they listen to ‘amakuru’ – the news. They want to know what is going on not just in Rwanda, but they’re curious about what is happening in frontier states and beyond. Girls cited programmes about health, AIDS, abuse, and women and children’s rights as most important. Betty, 20, said that “they were learning from the radio that it was not acceptable to abuse girls and women and that they now had laws to protect them”. Before she had her radio, she didn’t know this. Given the rates of rape during the genocide and in the refugee camps, her comment is not surprising. Boys also said that they want to listen to sports, to follow the national and international soccer teams and they liked agricultural and livestock programmes, citing Imbera Heza, a radio programme that the Freeplay Foundation funds on Radio Salus. Today, thanks to your support, the children have a sense of hope – mainly from listening to President Kagame on the radio. They felt strongly that he had brought peace and stability to Rwanda and with that had comes development. They felt that before they had no future but now believe that he will lead them to a better one. Pictures: Read 11 more "Updates from the Field" | Comment on this update How Else You Can HelpSpread the Word on your Profile, Blog, or WebsitePut a widget for this project on your profile, blog or website to turn your friends into givers. Using our widget, it's quick and easy to add this widget to your profile or blog! Get this widget on: |
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