ThinkMoney & Chance for Childhood
Making change together since 2008
Since our partnership began in 2008 you have been instrumental in changing the lives of D/deaf children in Rwanda. Over the last year, your support has directly supported our project ‘Natwe Turashoboye’ (‘We Can Also’). It brings together D/deaf children from Nyabihu School with children from the local community and uses dance to improve the inclusion, participation & protection of D/deaf girls in Rwanda via dance therapy, safe spaces, agency building, and participation in local decision-making.
Your impact
We are delighted to share some results from the past year:
- 126 children and 132 parents have been involved in the project
- We have worked with 60 local community leaders to increase understanding of the challenges facing D/deaf children
- 26 nurses have been supported to learn basic sign language proficiency
- 200 primary school teachers have been sensitised in safeguarding and sexual and gender-based violence against children. Sadly D/deaf children are incredibly vulnerable to such violence; perpetrators target them because they have difficulty in communicating what has happened to them.
None of the above would have been possible without the support of Thinkmoney! You were absolutely instrumental in setting up the school and related infrastructure that has provided the platform for projects like this. Thank you.
Ivy’s story
“I used to see other children in my neighbourhood singing and dancing like when they were in church, and I wished I could join them, but they wouldn’t let me because they knew I could neither hear nor speak.”
Ivy (given name) is a female S2 student who is 17 years old. She enjoys spending time with her friends, hill hiking, and playing with young kids.
“This project teaches me how to work in a team, take turns, and pay attention. I feel relaxed in my mind, heart, and body all the time afterwards, and I don’t get tired as easily during evening prep as I used to. And when I have homework, I work well on it since my mind is fresh.”
Now, Ivy is thinking about her future.
“I would like to work in a hotel so that I can take care of Deaf people who come there because many Hotel workers don’t know sign language,” she says.
School report
Nyabuhi school was formally registered in 2021, since we have built a volleyball court playground specifically suited for sitting volleyball (ie. for children with disabilities). This is the first of its kind in the district.
Rising local engagement
In 2020, five children were sponsored by local administration entities. Fast forward to today, and the number has exploded to 40! They’re covering school fees and materials, inspiring local community support for our school.
Challenges
- Falling donor contributions has led to a reduction in our budget.
- Our 2021 registration provided us with a temporary license which we need to fulfil to achieve permanent accreditation next August. Some of those requirements led to us having to temporarily limit numbers of students from 119 to a maximum of 72.
But…
The quality of education has risen, with the percentage of children passing primary national exams rising sevenfold. And retention is also up!
Future plans
We are determined to reach as many D/deaf children as we possibly can. This means increasing our maximum student numbers again. To do this, we will be transitioning to an inclusive ordinary secondary school in the next five years (still including primary access of course). This will increase the school’s capacity from the current maximum of 72 to 180!
We have a partner who has agreed to fund the construction of three classrooms (each for 30 pupils).
However, we need to buy the land to build the classrooms on! This is projected to cost £11,000. We are doing well with our fundraising, with 36% of our target already secured, and we are seeking the rest by March 2024.
When this has been achieved, Nyabihu School will be both bigger and better – able to provide more D/deaf children than ever with the quality, inclusive education they need to fulfil their extraordinary potential.
Thank you!
Thinkmoney’s involved in Chance for Childhood’s work in Rwanda has been absolutely transformational for so many children. We want to say thank you to the whole Thinkmoney family.
