USAID TWIYUBAKE Holds Early Childhood Development Workshop

USAID Twiyubake, in collaboration with the National Early Childhood Development Program (NECDP), organized a workshop and field learning event for CHAIN partners. The event served as a learning platform on how to promote integrated ECD services across USAID funded projects.

The workshop which took place in Musanze hosted USAID implementing program partners including SNV/CRS (Isuku Iwacu), CRS/SNV (Gikuriro), Global Communities and partner organization FXB (Twiyubake), AEE (Ubaka Ejo) and FXB (Turengere Abana and Sugira Umuryango).

Emmanuel Munyampeta, Positive Parenting Specialist at NECDP updated the participants on the NECDP plan to advance quality ECD services and integration of the nutrition and WASH pillars into all ECD activities and on the NECDP master training on integrated ECDs. Other priorities discussed were ECD stakeholders’ engagement and reporting to NECDP.

After the workshop, the group visited one community based ECD and one home based ECD in Murandi cell, Remera sector, Musanze district in presence of the local authorities, police representative, Sector Executive Secretary, parents and the community supporting the ECD programs.

The community-owned ECD center in Murandi is currently hosting 92 children (50 girls and 42 boys) including four children with disabilities, whereas the home-based ECD hosts 15 children (nine girls and six boys) aged one to three years. Children from the home-based ECD transition into the community-based ECD center once they are four years old. Both facilities integrated the five ECD pillars which are education, hygiene, health, nutrition, child protection and positive parenting and are managed by Jacqueline Muhawenimana, a Twiyubake ECD community based volunteer.
“Since January 2018, Murandi ECD center integrated all services as per the government policy. From Monday to Friday children are fed with a cup of porridge at 8 am and a balanced meal at noon with crops and vegetables yielded from the kitchen garden established next to the ECD center. The surplus from the vegetable fields are sold and used to buy ECD materials or make reparation works. Parents contribute 500 Rwf each month to buy porridge, cooking oil and dry sardines. A cooking demonstration and growth monitoring session led by community health workers is taking place once a month at the ECD center. In addition, every parent has been supported with the creation of a kitchen garden at their home to ensure healthy feeding of their children. And children graduating from the ECD center are given a class report prior to enroll into primary 1”, summarized Jacqueline, a Twiyubake ECD community based volunteer.

Eugene Habumuremyi who offered his living room to host the children explained to the visitors: “I am proud that I offered my living room to host the children in our village. Parents recognize the community members who volunteer at the ECD, and support them on their fields”, he explained.

The Executive Secretary of Murandi cell, Twahirwa Epimaque, thanked Eugene Habumuremyi for offering his living room to host children from the community. “Before we had no ECD in the village but thanks to the integrated ECD program children are not malnourished anymore and as you see can the solution has been addressed within our own means,” he concluded.