We've worked in Rwanda since 1998, building healthy communities and strengthening inclusive education systems. We're currently active right across the country, in all 30 districts.
We've reached 86,623 children through our play-based learning approach.
2,079 teachers have been trained in play-based learning methods.
We're working with 1,065 local government officials at the district level.
Our work
Active Citizenship Through Volunteering and Empowerment (ACTIVE)
FCDO (2022-2025)
The ACTIVE programme in Rwanda is supporting marginalized and vulnerable people to be empowered through youth engagement and leadership for resilient sexual health services services, inclusive education and adoption of volunteering for development approaches.
ACTIVE promotes the active citizenship of youth, women, girls and people with disabilities to demand and advocate for their rights and hold policy makers/duty bearers to account.
The programme is improving evidence and understanding on the effectiveness of the volunteering for development approach and increasing the take up and adoption of the Global Volunteering Standards for NGOs partners working through volunteering in Rwanda.
Healthy communities
Young National Volunteers help share information on sexual and reproductive health and rights with their peers.
Make Way
January 2021 to December 2025
In Nyagatare and Gatsibo Districts, we're supporting young people aged 10-25 to take control of their sexual and reproductive lives. Our work focuses on teenage parents. Through a peer-to-peer approach, we're engaging healthcare providers and decision makers to ensure that sexual and reproductive health services become more accessible to all young people.
Make Way Rwanda has developed an innovative model for safe spaces: Urubohokero, meaning ‘judgement-free space’ in the Kinyarwanda language. A local name is important for emphasising the home-grown concept, owned by both users and duty bearers.
In Rwandan culture, aunts used to educate young girls about sex: how to behave and become a woman with Rwandan values, as pregnancy before marriage brought shame to the family. Older girls are now giving sex education to young girls, especially about ways to prevent pregnancy and access sexual and reproductive health services and information.
Youth panels play a vital role in safe spaces as the link between the coordination group, partners and young people. They provide leadership and technical support, monitor safe space effectiveness, and ensure reporting and follow-up on the issues raised in safe spaces.
The Make Way programme in Rwanda conducts evidence-based advocacy, using the lived experiences shared in safe spaces for youth with compounding vulnerabilities:
- Youth with disabilities
- Teenage mothers
- Young people in isolated areas
- Young sex workers
- Young people living with HIV
Inclusive education
We're supporting even the most hard-to-reach children access the quality primary education they deserve.
Let’s Learn Through Play (Twigire Mumikino Rwanda)
Building on our work on the Building Learning Foundations programme, Twigire Mumikino Rwanda (TMR), or ‘Let’s Learn Through Play’ promotes play-based learning as the foundation of early childhood education for three to six year-olds in Rwanda. By working with schools, parents, communities and decision makers, the project seeks to ensure the value of play as an educational tool Play is at the heart of how children understand the world, build relationships and learn valuable life skills.
Twigire Mumikino Rwanda is a four-year project funded by the Lego Foundation running from 2021 to 2025. During this time we will reach 250,000 children by engaging with teachers, school leaders and parents.
So far, we’ve reached:
- 86,623 children
- 575 parents
- 2,079 teachers
- 1,065 local government officials at the district level
- 1,468 of school leaders
- 139 community volunteers
Contact us
We work with number of partners including, UKAid, The Lego Foundation, Wemos, UNICEF, Empower Rwanda, LWD, NUDOR and the Rwanda Education Board.
If you are interested in supporting our work, or if you have another query, get in touch:
Contact: Franklin Murangira, VSO Rwanda Chief of Party.
Address: VSO Rwanda, P.O. Box 4599, Kimironko Sector, KG 17, House No 39 A, Gasabo District, Kigali.
Telephone: +250 788 383326
Skype: mfranklin2
Find out more about our work in:
Inclusive education
Making sure everyone gets the skills they need to live a fulfilled, dignified life.
We helped over 3.2 million people to access the quality education they deserve in 2022-23.
Adolescent and youth health and wellbeing
Improving health services and empowering people to exercise their right to quality care.
We helped almost 90,000 people access better healthcare in 2022-23.
Resilient livelihoods
Ensuring people have the skills and opportunities needed to support themselves and their families.
200,000 people benefited from our work supporting livelihoods in 2022-23.
Latest stories from Rwanda
From school drop-out to superstar: How Elias saved 45 children's education
Elias Musabyimana was just ten years old when he survived the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis. It left him deeply traumatised - but determined to dedicate his time, skills and energy to making a better world.
Watch Brown – a film by volunteers Brown Niyonsaba and Justin Spray
Brown is a heart-warming film by VSO community volunteer, Brown Niyonsaba and volunteer filmmaker, Justin Spray that explores the question 'what does it mean to be a Deaf woman in Rwanda?' Watch the film here.
Levelling the playing field in early learning - Let's Learn Through Play
Here volunteer Anisa Hay from the USA talks about her role on our ‘Let’s Learn Through Play’ programme in Rwanda. The programme is funded by the Lego Foundation and promotes play-based learning as the foundation of early childhood education.