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Rwanda is one of the poorest countries in the world and its human development situation was further aggravated by the genocide in 1994-95. The country is still struggling to emerge from this historical shock which brought out the deep divisions between its social groups. Besides the internal tensions, Rwanda also has poor relations to its neighbours, especially DRC. The political context in Rwanda is one marked by the legacy of the genocide and fear of a new eruption of social violence, which under this pretext leaves little space for social movements and civil society engagement. The government has set up structures for locally managed community development, but due to limited preparation and capacities, implementation has so far been slow.

Chronic food insecurity is the reality for a large share of Rwanda's population, particularly the many female and child headed households. There has been recent liberalization in the economic policy environment, but so far not an adequate response to the needs of those left struggling with the aftermath of the genocide psychologically and economically. ACORD has been present in Rwanda for more than 25 years and have programmes across the country, including in Budaha, Mutobo, Kamonyi, Rwamiko, Gashora, Murambi and Rusomo.

 

Vision and objectives

ACORD's vision in Rwanda is to engage the communities in the construction of a just and equitable society where the communities live in peace with each other and take responsibility for their own development. The global objective for the current strategic period is to reduce absolute poverty and improve social justice by addressing the underlying causes. This will be achieved by advocating for pro-poor policies and practices, promoting good governance and community conflict prevention.

More specifically ACORD will promote and support the:

• Empowerment of communities to come together for collective action and social inclusion
• Empowerment of communities to own development policies and exercise their rights
• In the context of decentralisation, build the capacity of local government structures to engage with communities
• Community livelihood initiatives
• Civil society institutional frameworks and networks

 


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Thematic focus

Local Governance: ACORD supports 30 sub counties of about 6000 households where elected community development committees (CDC) are involved in community development planning and management. ACORD provides training to local authorities and CDCs in awareness on social exclusion and gender inequality, participatory processes, planning, monitoring and evaluation. ACORD also seeks to open up the space for debate on poverty issues and the involvement of ordinary citizens in the poverty reduction strategies and other processes directly affecting them. Research on the social movements in Rwanda and the establishment of a network of local NGOs have been important steps to create a more enabling environment for advocacy around poverty and livelihood issues.

Livelihoods and Gender: The genocide resulted in a large number of widows and orphans. ACORD supports 9000 women headed households and 3000 children headed households in their struggle for a secure livelihood by addressing both their practical and strategic needs. The support includes provision of water, health insurance, rehabilitation of livestock, income generating activities and HIV/AIDS prevention. ACORD also sensitize on basic rights, support the creation of women's caucuses and provides legal assistance in courts. Up to December 2004, a total of 331 cases were heard by ACORD and received legal assistance. The majority of the cases concern the recovery of social security funds, land issues, illegal marriages and its consequences as well as cases related to domestic violence against women and girls. ACORD has trained para-legal animators within the group of women heads of households, who will continue to assist their peers. The programme is also helping the women and girl headed households to form caucuses and forums to advocate for their rights and ensure that their concerns are addressed in the planning process.

 


jeanne_nyirahabimana_400   Jeanne Nyirahabimana is a 38-year old widow, and lives in the district of Murambi, province of Umutara. Her husband died in 1994 and left her with 3 children. He used to work as a policeman and was in a social security fund scheme. He died after serving for 10 years. She tried to claim the benefits but failed. In 2002 ACORD started working with women and girl headed households and she was among the first people to lodge a complaint. A lawyer was hired to follow up the case. He assisted her in obtaining the following documents; marriage certificate, birth certificates for the children, death certificate for her husband, justification of her surviving, work certificate for her husband, photos of her children and herself. After obtaining these she accompanied her lawyer to the social security fund offices to deposit her documents. She was successful and is now receiving her benefit of 3500 frw a month and her children receive 1800 frw each forever. This income is enabling her to meet some of the family's requirements.



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Who we work with

For the social forums, ACORD has set up a committee of NGOs, including Imbaraga, Prefed, Apiderbu, Ajemac, Duhamic adri, Ucorirwa and Unicoopagi. ACORD also works closely with local authorities and committees of community beneficiaries.

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HDI Rank: 159 of 177 countries (0.450)
Life Expectancy: 43.9 years
Combined enrolment ratio: 55%
GDP per capita (PPP, USD): 1,268
Strategic Period: 2006-2010
Programme Manager: François Munyentwari

 

 

 

 

 

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ACORD RWANDA
BP 1019
Rue Mon Huye
Kigali, Rwanda
Tel:+250 574 619
+250 573 614
Email: acordrwanda@rwanda1.com
Country Coordinator: François Munyantwari

 

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