PROJECT SUMMARY:
In Bujyesera, Rwanda, children within the age group of 9-12 years are having to walk an average distance of 4.4km through dangerous forests to access a school in a nearby community just so they can finish primary school levels 4 to 6. Many parents withhold their children from school as the trip is dangerous and those that do go find the trip very tiring. As a result, these children perform poorly academically and remain stuck in poverty.
The Rwandan Government has licensed FTF to provide localised formal education and will supply teachers at no cost. However FTF has to supply suitable education facilities in order to continue. So far they have managed to raise funds to build a school for years 1-3 and have started the building project for years 4-6. What remains is the cost of finalising the building and fitting it with suitable education supplies. This is where we need your help.
ABOUT FTF
The Future is Today Foundation (FTF) believes that every child has the right to education. They provide care, support and education to orphaned and separated refugee children who have crossed the border into Rwanda as a result of neighbouring racial conflict and civil war. They provide care to over 500 children within a model that seeks to also support the local community in recognition that their needs are also great and that refugees will live in the local community for many years. This includes life skills, food security programs and formal education through to high school.
PROJECT PARTNER:
HOST International is an Australian based charity that works with local, refugee led organisations to make a positive difference and build hope in the lives of people affected by forced displacement. We provide fundraising and technical assistance to partner projects. HOST International is accredited with the ACFID and will ensure that funds donated are utilised responsibly and for the purposes described.
HOST has been partnering with FTF to support the establishment of their education and life skills programs. So far together we have completed a building for year 1-3 and children have been attending school regularly. We have now built the structure for the year 4-6 children (see pictures) that can not be used until we complete the building by adding windows, doors, concrete flooring, blackboards, chairs for students, desks for teachers and a
ceiling. We need your help to raise the funds to complete this project.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
A child without education is like a building without a foundation. In this case, education is a means
to the development of every community. In our community, we have a problem with limited social
amenities including no access to a local school. About 90 percent of the rural community in Rwanda have no local educational facility. Those that do have a local school usually meet in dilapidated facilities that are inadequate for education. Children from our community
walk an average distance of 4.4 kilometers to access a school from the nearby community. This school project will provide support to three poor rural communities in Rwanda along with the orphaned refugee children that FTF support. That is potentially over 1,000 children
PROJECT GOAL
Our goal is to provide each refugee child with
access to education, medical and mental health
services, independent living skills, and all the
tools necessary for success.
PROJECT OUTPUTS
At the end of the project, the following output are expected to be achieved. It is expected that,
- A 4-Unit classroom block built to UN school standards by May 2021
- Children from these community are in school and getting an education.
- Children between the ages of 5-12 years are safer and do not need to risk the 4.4 km walk to
access school.
- The community’s negative perception about education is changed,
- The social well-being of children from these community has improved,
- Child labor of all forms as a result of the lack of the educational facility is eliminated
- Refugee children get to realise their future and hope through education.
IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENT/ACTIVITIES
The following activities to be carried out during the implementation of the project:
- Formation of an implementation committee for each of the three community.
- Establishing a community education fund to support ongoing curriculum needs and supplies
- Establishing and promoting the project through this crowdfunding campaign
- Technical support and advice through partnership with HOST International
MORE ABOUT FTF:
The Future is Today Foundation (FTF) was established by Aime Kalangwa who was an orphaned refugee from the DRC and was resettled with his brother to the USA. He struggled as a teenager to find safety and to seek resettlement so has returned to Rwanda to support other orphaned refugees to access safe and appropriate care and support including access to UNHCR, life skills training, education and healthcare.
Aime lives and works with a team of volunteers in Rwanda to oversee the project and to ensure its continued success. He believes that these children need hope in a better future and this comes through care, support and education. He also recognises that these children may end up living much of their lives in Rwanda or similar places without resettlement and therefore emphasises integration with the local community. He also recognises that many in the community are poor and experience similar disadvantage. Therefore FTF focussed on teaching employment and life skills and welcoming the local community to access health care and educational support.
FTF relies entirely on donations and works hard to secure local income from producing and selling food and goods made by the project. They have also established an orphanage in the refugee camps in Uganda to provide similar assistance there.
FTF is registered as a local charity in Rwanda and Uganda.
https://www.facebook.com/TheFutureIsTodayFoundatio...
