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Rwanda

HI’s program in Rwanda promotes inclusive education for children with disabilities and facilitates access to health care for people with disabilities and other people in need.

A boy with a prosthetic leg and using crutches is among children playing soccer outside a school.

Longini, who received a new prosthetic leg, plays soccer in the courtyard at school. | © S. Wohlfahrt / HI

Our actions

In the refugee camps in Rwanda, Humanity & Inclusion facilitates access to care and protection for people experiencing hardship, including people with mental health needs and physical and functional rehabilitation needs. By providing access to technical aids, such as wheelchairs or canes, as well as psychosocial support, the program works to eliminate existing inequalities and barriers faced by certain people. It also supports people with specific needs, such as people with disabilities, older people or people with psychosocial disorders to help them to understand and exercise their rights.

In addition, HI works with children, particularly children with disabilities, on inclusive education projects. The program works with the national authorities to ensure access to education for all by training teachers or making buildings accessible to children with disabilities. Our teams create handbooks and educational tools adapted to different needs, such as Braille textbooks.

HI also runs projects to improve the care and development of very young children. The program facilitates access to care in the first days after their birth, with a focus on accessible services for babies with disabilities. Our teams support and train parents and guardians to provide a safe and appropriate environment for children, thereby promoting their development and learning.

To help fight sexual and gender-based violence, HI carries out awareness-raising and advocacy activities with the communities. The program accompanies survivors of sexual violence and trains medical, psychosocial and legal actors to provide appropriate holistic support. It also works with perpetrators of violence to prevent recurrence.

Finally, HI promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities in society by supporting organizations of people with disabilities and civil society actors. The program helps them to identify levers of change and supports their advocacy actions in favor of the inclusion of disability issues in national strategies and the life of citizens.

Latest stories

Miss Rwanda contestant joins HI as ambassador
© N. Nyirabageni / HI
Inclusion Rights

Miss Rwanda contestant joins HI as ambassador

Jeannette Uwimana, a young woman with hearing loss who was elected Miss Rwanda Innovation 2022, is Humanity & Inclusion's ambassador in Rwanda.

Thanks to his new glasses, Egide is back at school
© N. Nyirabageni / HI
Inclusion

Thanks to his new glasses, Egide is back at school

Egide is 7 years old and lives in Rwanda. Born with a visual disability, Humanity & Inclusion has helped him receive the eye surgery he needed. Today, with his new glasses, he can see the bright side of life.

Inclusive education at HI
© J. Labeur / HI ?
Inclusion

Inclusive education at HI

In 2022, Humanity & Inclusion launched 43 projects exclusively dedicated to inclusive education, particularly in Mali and Rwanda.

Background

Map of HI's interventions in Rwanda

Although the memory of the genocide and its aftermath remains vivid, Rwanda has seen rapid growth since 1994. Gross domestic product has increased, while poverty and inequality have decreased.

Small and landlocked, Rwanda is a hilly and fertile country with a dense population of about 12.46 million. The political, social and economic context of Rwanda has been profoundly affected by the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994. Between April and July 1994, more than 800,000 people lost their lives. Since then, Rwanda has enjoyed political stability and general security, low levels of corruption and liberal legal frameworks.

Rwanda has set an ambitious goal of becoming an upper-middle income country by 2035 and a high income country by 2050. These goals build on the remarkable development successes achieved over the past two decades, including high growth and rapid poverty reduction due to medium-term economic development and poverty reduction strategies. These strategies reduced inequality between 2001 and 2015, with real GDP growth averaging around 8% per year.

The need to protect and include people with disabilities or populations experiencing vulnerability remains. Despite economic growth and the recent development of basic services such as health, housing and education, Rwanda has a high number of people in need, both economically and psychosocially.

Number of HI staff members: 115

Date the program launched: 1994

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