Tailor employed as trainer in Muganza sewing programme

In June 2008, after more than 12 months careful planning, committee members, Nic Martyr and Christine Murorunkwere led a tour group of ABANA supporters to Rwanda. They attended the official opening of Stage 2 of the building project at Rugerero Primary School, consisting of 8 fully furnished classrooms funded by ABANA. At the official opening, one of the Rugerero school teachers announced the good news that over 90% of Year 6 students of 2009 had passed the National High School Entrance exam and were now attending high school. In previous years very few students from this village had passed. The unprecedented success was attributed to the intervention of ABANA's volunteer teacher, Susi Prescott, who had devoted a lot of time to the Year 6 class and teachers. Not only had the children passed, but their families had managed to send them to high school without charitable assistance. The building project at Rugerero had boosted the local economy by employing up to 90 labourers at a time, providing income to families who would otherwise rely on subsistence farming. The project has really succeeded in ABANA's aim of 'helping them help themselves'. Click here to read more about the Rugerero School project.

The 2008 tour group also visited the health clinic and sewing workshop in Muganza to see how donations to ABANA projects had been allocated, and how further assistance could be given. Sister Josephine and the other Franciscan sisters in Muganza welcomed the ABANA visitors with open arms.  They spent an afternoon together and met the young women in the sewing workshop.

Sister Josephine presented her proposal for an overlocker to improve the standard of sewing at the workshop, and Sister Adelinde outlined the new Muganza bakery project to the tour group. The ABANA group was able to fund both the overlocker and the bakery, for which the sisters were extremely grateful. The convent, health clinic and sewing workshop serve a large local community where severe poverty and malnutrition contribute to a high rate of infant mortality and delayed child development. The Rwandan sisters work tirelessly to provide health care to local communities, where severe disabilities are commonplace. Click here to read more about the Muganza Sewing Programme.

Meeting with community leaders and seeing first hand the level of poverty and enormous obstacles facing these remote communities made the tour participants even more resolved to continue their support.