A cross section of the teenage girls and their trainers pose for a group photo. The New Times/Steven Rwembeho RWAMAGANA -Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) has conducted a two day mentoring program targeting teenage girls through lectures, games and empowerment programs. The teenagers were drawn from Kayonza, Rwamagana and Ngoma districts. YWCA program officer, Archimede Sekamana, told The New Times yesterday that the teenagers were imparted with life skills to protect them against abuse. He said that the teens need to be equiped to make the right decisions and be prepared to join the job market after school. “The trained girls are between 12-17 years...although there are also some above the age allowed to benefit too. Young women have got to think critically, to avoid HIV/AIDS for example,” he said. “For purposes of sustainability, the trained girls will disseminate the skills to their colleagues back at home through established clubs”. The chairperson of YWCA in Kayonza District, Jeannette Uwamahoro, said that the trainees were also taught sex education. Uwamahoro said the training targeted young girls in primary and secondary schools by singling out the traits of sexual abusers and rapists. “Each day I go out to mentor, I feel sad and cry because of the stories of young girls who were sexually abused,” she said. Delphine Umwali, 15, a senior two student at Kabirizi Secondary School, said that they had benefited a lot from the training. She noted that education on matters related to female reproductive process would help them avoid unnecessary pregnancies. “Young girls in primary and secondary schools get pregnant and drop- out...Those responsible for the pregnancies are our fellow students. “Some of us are however, raped or tricked by sugar daddies, but with the awareness we got, it will be difficult for them,” she said. Ends
Welcome to YWCA RWANDA
Power to Change: Teenage girls acquire skills in fighting abuse
Young women acquire leadership skills
Young women demonstrate their commitment to change and engage in action. The New Times. Daniel Sabiiti MUHANGA- The Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) has embarked on education of young girls in leadership skills. Monique Mukamutali, a YWCA official, said this on Wednesday during the closure of a two-day leadership training workshop in Muhanga. The workshop is expected to empower participants to employ their capacities and leadership abilities. Organised by YWCA under the ‘Power to Change’ project, it attracted participants from Huye, Kigali, Ruhango, and Kamonyi districts. “Such programs will enable these young women address the problem of fear and low self esteem. The objective is to have young ladies able to play a leadership role and have a sense of responsibility,” Mukamutali said. Also included in the training package was awareness of reproductive systems and HIV/Aids. The participants vowed to disseminate the acquired knowledge and skills to their respective communities. They also committed to be the centre of change and action. “Our culture doesn’t permit women to exercise their abilities. This training is good and it will enable girls to be key players in social transformation,” observed Denyse Micomyiza, a youth representative from Kigali. Ends
Street Theatre to Challenge negative attitudes towards historically Marginalised people
The aim of this project is to raise awareness of the situation of the Historically Marginalised People (originally Batwa) and to challenge discriminatory attitudes and prejudices held by the majority society against this community, whose people are still living in extreme poverty and precarious conditions, often despised by other (majority) community members.
A group of actors coming from the majority and the minority community will create together a script that will be played in the streets. The performances will be followed by a discussion with the spectators who will also be invited to perform trying to change the end of the story. As part of the preparation stage, the majority actors will get to know and understand the lives of the minority community by joining them in a community visit. They will spend some days living with them and sharing tasks and learning about their lives and culture.
The Theatre performances will be held first at three pilot sites in Muhanga and Ruhango Districts and, later on, around eight more public shows will be performed in various towns across the country. It is planned that a documentary film will be made out of the different events of the project. This film will be a tool for more awareness raising and advocacy work in and outside the country.
This project will be implemented by YWCA – Rwanda in partnership with Minority Rights Group International on European Commission funding.
Foreword
YWCA Rwanda thanks all those who have contributed, far or near, to achieving the activities listed on this website. We especially pay tributes to all our partners for their support both moral and practical in our organization so that we can achieve our mission of improving the social welfare of young girls and women in Rwanda, allow me mention also orphans and PLWHA.
The documents, messages compiled on this website are for the YWCA Rwanda operations. YWCA Rwanda has accomplished great achievements in the OVCs’ Empowerment Program by training them in different areas and supports them financially to improve their socio - economic life. As for the Women Promotion, we supported them in agriculture to assure improved food security. YWCA Rwanda has not forgotten that education for all is an essential need for every child, for that, our nursery school is enrolling new pupils every school year. As a cross cutting issue, HIV and AIDS remains the preoccupation of the YWCA Rwanda. Thus, a group of People living with HIV/AIDS has been supported both materially and intellectually through trainings to build their operational and managerial capacity in their organization.
YWCA Rwanda continues leading change. For the future, we plan to strengthen the women empowerment programs; we will make an emphasis on young women leadership skills and sexual and reproductive health and Rights; we will make an effort in the OVCs’ Empowerment Program by forum establishment. In partnership with others, we plan to share our expertise in OVCs’ Empowerment methodology with YWCA sisters in East African Community; of course, people living with HIV/AIDS will be supported as usual either economically or morally through Counseling. Marketing of handcrafts products made by our beneficiaries will be our major concern during this upcoming operational strategic plan period. Strengthening our existing partnership and initiating new relationships with other partners will not be forgotten.
Our sincere thanks, again, are sent to all those who continue to encourage and support us in implementing our programs and achieving our mission.
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Together we shall overcome.
KALIGIRWA Ernestine
YWCA Rwanda President