As part of the 2024 World AIDS Day celebrations, a delegation from USAID Rwanda, UN Rwanda, and RBC Rwanda paid a high-level site visit to Caritas Rwanda’s Igire Gimbuka in Rubavu District, 2024. This visit aimed to highlight the program’s accomplishments in reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS, reducing gender-based violence, and providing comprehensive services to people living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS.
The delegates interacted with participants of the Families Matter! Program who shared touching testimonies on how their families’ lives have improved thanks to the FMP training. Some testified about how their families no longer have conflicts; others said that the positive parenting has impacted the education and the relationship with their children. Thanks to the FMP program, parents discuss sexual and reproductive health with their children, while others cascade the knowledge gained from the FMP training sessions to their neighbors and relatives, which has also changed their lives.
The team also paid a visit to the Duharaniramahoro Savings Group, which raises and sells chickens as a sustainable income-generating activity. The group that consists of 15 members (13 women and 2 men) was created in 2023 and received a grant of USD 679 from Igire-Gimbuka to enhance their financial capacity. The business generates at least Frw 250,000 profit per month depend on market.
Duharaniramahoro saving group members shared how the group strengthened their economic resilience through internal credits, and therefore improved their health and nutrition, enhanced social cohesion and well-being, and enabled them to meet household needs such as food and medication (all of them have community-based health insurance) and contributing to Ejo Heza.
The USAID representative, Esron Niyonsaba, thanked other partners who support the Igire-Gimbuka’s implementation and revealed that USAID is planning to graduate all participants who receive financial support, and by 2030, the way aid is provided will be changed.
During the meeting with FMP participants, the guests asked questions, including knowing the content of FMP training and how benefiting families are identified, as well as knowing whether those who attended FMP trainings disseminate the knowledge they received. They were told that FMP training consists of 7 lessons focusing on promoting positive parenting practices, enhancing parent-child communication about SRH and other life skills, encouraging delayed sexual activity among adolescents, and addressing risky behaviours such as early pregnancies and HIV/STI contamination.
The delegates were also informed that Caritas Rwanda works closely with local leaders to identify families that will follow the FMP Program and that the FMP participants share the gained knowledge with the community, starting with their relatives and neighbours.
In her speech, Keisha Effiom, the Mission Director for USAID Rwanda and Burundi, introduced the background of the USAID OVC program implementation in Rwanda and added that the site visit shows how the OVC program has invested in families and communities: the Families Matter Program helps to reduce family conflicts, improve relationships between parents and children, and build cohesion among group members. This has allowed them to even discuss sensitive topics, like sex. She mentioned that these achievements are a good foundation for informing the multisectoral approach are represented. “Thank you for your partnership, dedication, and shared commitment. Let us work together to ensure a brighter future for our children, families, and communities in Rwanda”, she said.
Mrs. Pacifique Ishimwe, the Vice Mayor of Rubavu District in charge of Social Affairs, commended the FMP program because the participants also shared the benefits they gained from this program with the community. She urged them to spread this knowledge wherever they are, especially during these 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
To conclude, Bishop Anaclet Mwumvaneza of Nyundo Diocese expressed his sincere gratitude to USAID for the trust it has placed in Caritas Rwanda since 2012 in its journey to care for orphans and vulnerable children and to care for other Rwandans’ health in general. Bishop Anaclet also appreciated the partnership between Caritas Rwanda and the Government of Rwanda in implementing various projects. “If we continue this way, we will reach many vulnerable people and change their lives in a positive manner,” said Bishop Anaclet.
On the previous day (December 1, 2024), Caritas Rwanda participated in the celebration of the World AIDS Day 2024 at national level in Rubavu District. Caritas Rwanda though the Igire Gimbuka showcased its work in reducing vulnerability and preventing the incidence of HIV and GBV among OVC and their families. This year’s theme is “Ends AIDS, my responsability”.