Global Communities’ Work in Rwanda: USAID Ejo Heza Video

Global Communities in Rwanda: USAID Ejo Heza Program Video

Having worked in Rwanda since 2005, Global Communities is currently implementing the USAID Ejo Heza (“brighter future”) program in Rwanda, which aims to improve the livelihoods and food consumption of 75,000 of the country’s very poor, particularly women. This video showcases the work Global Communities has done through the program in the areas of agriculture, health & nutrition, financial services, and literacy. Also covered in the video are the “Be the Change” Volunteers, who are considered the “heart and soul” of USAID Ejo Heza. They are community members who learn to train others in the program’s practices, also modeling the positive behaviors in their own lives.

USAID Ejo Heza helps by building the capacity of low-income households, giving them access financial services necessary to grow their enterprises while assisting financial service providers to develop and deliver effective products to the rural market. The program also supports financial literacy, integrates nutrition messaging and promotes kitchen gardening and improved food handling to support more nutritious diets. With a additional $1 million grant from the WalMart Foundation, the program is reaching another 50,000 smallholders, mostly women, to help them acquire practical knowledge about improved agricultural techniques and marketing of commodities.
Read our Ejo Heza Factsheet here.
In addition to the USAID Ejo Heza Program, Global Communities is also implementing the USAID Higa Ubeho Program and the Enabling Market Integration through Rural Group Empowerment (EMIRGE) program.
The USAID Higa Ubeho  (“be determined and live”) program aim is to reduce the risk and impact of HIV/AIDS and other health problems of the most vulnerable populations in Rwanda, especially people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC), and their families. The aim of the program is to build the capacity of local institutions to provide services to vulnerable populations by promoting health-seeking behavior, access to key services such as education and psychosocial support, building family-level assets, and improving food security.
Read our Higa Ubeho Factsheet here.
Through the Enabling Market Integration through Rural Group Empowerment (EMIRGE) program, Global Communities is working with fledgling cooperatives comprised largely of poor farmers in remote rural areas. Global Communities conducted a value chain assessment of the fruit and vegetable sectors, finding that improved access to inputs and services would most dramatically impact livelihoods. EMIRGE is leveraging the cooperative network to introduce and disseminate improved cultivation techniques, while providing the management assistance to strengthen cooperatives business prospects.
To learn more about Global Communities’ work in Rwanda please click here.
Visit the Global Communities Rwanda Website