The Right to Protection and Participation project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by YWCA Rwanda through Plan International Rwanda. The project operates in three districts: Gatsibo, Nyaruguru, and Bugesera.
The primary goal of the project is to overcome the barriers that hinder children and youth from realizing their full potential. This is achieved through a multi-stakeholder and child rights-based approach. The project is grounded in a theory of change that emphasizes the need to remove key obstacles to child protection and participation while simultaneously building the capabilities of girls and boys to protect themselves and actively engage in society.
Key Interventions
The project carries out a wide range of interventions, including awareness campaigns, community meetings, and training sessions on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violence against children (VAC), and child rights. These are conducted with parents, children, young people, local and religious leaders, and community health workers through a combination of training sessions, meetings, home visits, and participation in GBV prevention mechanisms from the sector to district levels.
Functional and safe spaces are provided for children, adolescents, and youth—especially girls—to promote learning, growth, and expression. The project also strengthens the knowledge, attitudes, skills, aspirations, and confidence of adolescents as they transition into adulthood.
Furthermore, the project enhances the capacities of parents, teachers, local leaders, and children/youth themselves to uphold children’s rights. This is primarily achieved through training on positive parenting, which emphasizes the rights and responsibilities of both children and their caregivers.
Notable Achievements
- 118 anti-GBV clubs were established for parents, teachers, and children.
- Training was delivered to 120 teachers, 60 local leaders, 150 parents, and 700 children/youth on a variety of important topics, including GBV prevention and response, children’s rights and the law, non-violent behavior, positive parenting, and the Gender Action Learning System (GALS) methodology.
- 32 families who were previously in conflict were reconciled.
- 57 children who had dropped out of school were successfully reintegrated into the education system.
