Muhumurize Catch-Up School Building Furnishing and Equipping Proposal

Rwanda and the Genocide

The 1994 Rwandan genocide took the lives of approximately 1 million people in 100 days. Over 600 schools were destroyed and 3,000 teachers were killed or forced to flee. Years later, crises continue to persist in its aftermath: problems of poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, AIDS, family violence, and hopeless-ness. One significant program that has been designed to tackle several of these issues at once is the Catch-Up Schools Program.

Catch-Up School Program

Catch-Up Schools were created by the Ministry of Education in Rwanda. This emerging program has been designed and piloted to address the specific problems facing primary school children who have missed the opportu-nity to continue (or to ever attend) school because of the disruptions due to the war and the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS. The Catch-Up program takes the regular curriculum from the six years of primary school, and creates a new series of lesson plans designed to bring uneducated and undereducated children to the level of the 6th year in a maxi-mum of three years.

The Catch-Up School model has proven to be highly effective. In the past two years, many children from Catch-Up Schools were able to take the national primary six exams and pass meaning that they were able to be promoted on to the next level in secondary schools. The third year of operation will see even more successes, as they receive the results of this year’s national exams.

Student Profile

The children attending the Catch-Up School are rescued from a life of hopelessness, and in most cases, homelessness. They have survived by begging, working small jobs, stealing, working for prostitutes, or digging in dangerous dumps. They have lived a life of constant exposure to the elements and danger. While some have had a parent or caregiver, in their lives there was no income to allow them to go to school, so they have been forced to a life on the streets to fend for themselves. Many others had no parents or family members to care for them. Their caregivers were either killed during the genocide or fell victim to AIDS or other calamities.

Our Goal

Catch-up schools are a critical component to helping Rwanda’s vulnerable youth. Without the Catch-Up School’s program these children, who have already suffered so much, would not have an opportunity for an education and a better life.

The Muhumurize Catch-Up School is in desper-ate need of funding to complete the building. While there is now walls and a roof in place there are still no doors or windows to keep out the weather amongst the many other building needs. While this is a great improvement over the past (students use to meet outside for instruction) the building is still inadequate for the 311 kids to occupy.

In order to complete the school and create an effective learning environment the school needs funding in the following critical areas:

- Doors and Windows- Concrete to finish all the classroom floors and admin building- Desks, Chairs, and Bookshelves- Educational materials (books, notebooks, pens, chalk, etc.)- Lab computers and printers

Help us to give the students of Muhumurize a better future. Please consider partnering with us by donating to this important project.

Gratefully,

Traci BumpusCo-Chair Board MemberRwanda Partners

Program: Muhumurize Catch-Up School Headmaster: Theoneste BiserukaCurrent Number of Students: 311Current Number of Teachers: 4Age Range: 10-20Level of Study: Grades 1-6 on an accelerated schedule of 3 yearsStudent Demographics: street kids, orphans, extremely low-income families, child prostitutesFunds Needed: Estimated $20,015 to finish the school building, provide furniture and equip the students with proper teachers and materials

Projectoverview

www.rwandapartners.org | info@rwandapartners.org | (206) 588.8029

theoneste andhis wife startedthe catch-upschool in 2008

doors andwindows preventtheft of schoolmaterials

this catch-up school gives thesekids an opportunityto get off the streets