Inspire, Educate and Empower Rwanda (IEE) in collaboration with CorStone and the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) conducted a two-day refresher training at Olympic hotel in Kimironko with the facilitators of the Youth First Rwanda personal resilience development and health program. This activity brought together 30 trained teachers from 5 Government-supported high schools in Gasabo and Bugesera districts who have been supporting the adolescents to develop skills important for thriving an achieving goals amidst inevitable everyday challenges.
Youth First Rwanda |(YFR) is a school-based integrated resilience and adolescent health program designed to improve mental and physical wellbeing and education-related outcomes among adolescents between the ages of 13-15 years of age.
According to Assuman Kizito, the project Coordinator, IEE and CorStone have already conducted a five-school pilot (on more than 600 students and 30 teachers). The Pilot schools were GS Rugando, GS Remera Catholique and GS Kimironko II in Gasabo district while in Bugesera district the program was piloted at GS Rilima and GS Rilima Catholique. The pilot was intended to fine-tune the YFR curriculum, adapt the approaches to training, and refine the assessment procedures employed in the program. Between December 2020 and June 2021, the students were taken through the 25 sessions in the evidence-based curriculum whose content entails setting goals, problem-solving, identifying character strengths, managing conflicts, rights awareness and opposing gender violence among many other important life skills. The program also equips the adolescents with skills to make healthy choices by introducing concepts related to effects of drugs and substance use, irresponsible sexual behaviors and violence.
Uwimana Pacifique one of the YFR Master trainers says said that adolescents, most especially in the age bracket of 13-15 face diverse challenges and find it difficult to make important life decisions for instance career choice. Therefore, knowledge for self and that of their character strengths is important for them to have, a purpose driven life.
One of the trained facilitators, Elsaphona, a teacher at Groupe Scolaire Kimironko II added that that this program develops self-esteem among the beneficiaries and that students have knowledge in health and nutrition, among other skills.
Jane Nungari is YFR Programs Manager at IEE and according to her, Youth First Rwanda is such a unique program loaded with so many benefits for the adolescents which will help the adolescents to realize optimal growth and development and life dreams and become useful, contributing members of the Rwandan society and the world at large. “From this program, students will carry home so many benefits to help unleash their potential, shape their identities and reset their life trajectories to success” Jane says.
This program is currently in 6 districts of Rwanda and in 50 schools. It has been cascaded to cover 200 teachers and 7,500 students. The program hopes to train headteachers, parents and district education officials so that all can contribute and collaborate in supporting the adolescents navigate smoothly through the adolcesnce stage into adulthood.
IEE in partnership with CorStone USA and Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) hopes to scale up the Youth First Rwanda program such that by 2024, all the students in all the schools in Rwanda will benefit from the program.
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