FACE AIDS 2012 Rwanda Back to School Campaign

FACE AIDS 2012 RWANDA BACK TO SCHOOL CAMPAIGN

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FACE AIDS 2012 Rwanda Back to School Campaign

Gives 8 HIV-affected Rwandan students the opportunity to attend secondary school
add to watch list

FACE AIDS 2012 Rwanda Back to School Campaign

Gives 8 HIV-affected Rwandan students the opportunity to attend secondary school
add to watch list

FACE AIDS 2011 Rwanda Back to School Campaign

Gives 8 HIV-affected Rwandan students the opportunity to attend secondary school

Project Summary

The majority of youth in the Kirehe and Kayonza districts of Eastern Province, Rwanda, live in extreme poverty and are not able to enjoy their right to an education. The most vulnerable youth are those that are HIV-affected, a large portion of whom are orphans. They have the greatest chance of not receiving secondary schooling or proper HIV treatment. In Rwanda, primary schooling is free but secondary schooling is not. The cost to attend secondary for a year averages out to around $250. As the average GNI per capita is $410, the majority of HIV-affected children are unable to afford secondary schooling and are forced to drop out.

The FACE AIDS 2011 Back to School Campaign aims to raise funds to send HIV-affected Rwandan youth to secondary school. All funds raised through the campaign are granted out through the Partners In Health School Fees Program in Rwanda, which supports students who are infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS by providing them with tuition for secondary school and, in some cases, other school-related costs.

The Back to School Campaign has the potential to help up to 656 students attend secondary school in Rwanda. Every dollar that we raise ensures that a Rwandan student can continue their education. By joining the campaign, you are standing in solidarity with HIV-affected students in Rwanda, ensuring that they can enjoy the same right to an education as you do.

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What?

To achieve this goal, the students selected for the program are in large part either HIV positive or have lost one or both parents or other family members to AIDS. Funds raised through the Back to School Campaign will be directed to the Partners in Health School Fees Program to enable students to attend public or private secondary schools in their community. All of the students are from the Kirehe and Kayonza districts and attend schools closest to their district.

The schools the students will attend are typically boarding. Therefore, the $2,000 cost covers tuition, uniforms, books, transportation and any other associated schooling expenses for 8 children to attend school for a full year.

Why?

Education is one of the most cost-effective and impactful ways of preventing the spread of HIV. It’s even been called the “social vaccine” to HIV/AIDS. Studies have shown that as education increases, HIV prevalence decreases.

In Eastern Province, Rwanda, ensuring that vulnerable youth have access to education is key to the fight against HIV/AIDS. FACE AIDS strategically chose the Kirehe and Kayonza districts for the following reasons:

- The 2005 DHS reports low levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge in Eastern Province
- Young people in Eastern Province report early sexual debut (relative to other regions)
- Young people in Eastern Province report high frequency of risky sex and low levels of condom use (relative to other regions)
- Young people in Eastern Province report low uptake rates of HIV prevention services (relative to other regions)
- Kirehe and Southern Kayonza are 2 of the last districts in the country to build district hospitals, demonstrating a relative lack of socioeconomic and youth-focused services, and the need of strengthening a referral system for youth to seek HIV treatment, care and support services at the district hospital and health centers

How?

Students receiving funds raised through the Back to School Campaign will be selected by Partners In Health social workers and the FACE AIDS Rwanda Program Directors. Selection is done primarily by working with HIV associations. The leadership of these associations help to identify a certain percentage of the most vulnerable students among association members and their families. The social workers then visit these candidates, evaluating their level of social need. A small number of students are also selected directly by the social workers themselves or through referrals from the hospital or during other social assistance activities.

Follow-up with students and participating schools is one of the most important but also one of the most challenging aspects of the program. Social workers conduct at least one follow-up visit per year per student, generally at the beginning of the first term, to ensure that the students are actually enrolled and attending school. This “physical follow-up” is also supplemented by home visits for as many students as is possible.

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Kayonza and Kirehe districts are located in Eastern Province, Rwanda. They are largely rural areas, characterized by poverty. The most recent population surveys in Rwanda show that young people, and particularly young women, are at a growing risk for being infected by HIV:

- HIV prevalence among young pregnant women in Rwanda has increased from 2.9% to 3.6% since 2005 - In the 20-24 year-old age bracket, HIV prevalence is five times higher in Rwandan women than in men (most likely due to the vulnerability of young women to infection by older men)
- While the overall prevalence amongst youth is low in Rwanda, the 14-25 year-old age bracket has a very high incidence of new infections

The Back to School Campaign aims to ensure that HIV-affected youth can enjoy their right to an education. Specifically, it responds to the fact that many students are too poor to afford the costs of secondary school in Rwanda. Whereas 92% of girls and 95% of boys attend primary school in Rwanda, only 17% and 19% attend secondary school.

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Direct Impact of Your Project

$2,000 enables 8 HIV-affected Rwandan youth to attend secondary school for one full year. This funding covers tuition and associated costs (e.g. uniforms, books, transport). Education has a tremendous impact on the student. It can bring:

- Improved health outcomes through ability to purchase health insurance, medications, delay sexual debut, and more
- Better nutrition through access to meals provided at school
- Improved gender equity, as more and more girls attend and graduate from secondary school
- Reduced isolation, often experienced by youth forced to drop out of school

Extended Impact on Your Partner Community

Education has been proven to have a strong link with health and development out comes and the family, peer network, and community of these students will gain from their schooling.

The average household in Rwanda has five children and the impact of sending one child to school extends to the rest of their family. Additionally, one child's completion of secondary schooling opens up greater professional and income-generating opportunities for that student and their family.