Written by James McDonough <enewsjessiesplace@gmail.com>
Re: Quarterly Report
Dear lovely Partners,
I trust you are doing well in spite of the global challenge of COVID-19 Pandemic. It is our pleasure to share with you what was is going on ever since we resumed our activities and the impact therein .
As for us we are doing well too here in Rwanda. In the past few months, the number of people infected with the epidemic has been high, especially in our capital city Kigali land in some districts. This caused the government to proclaim a lock down in Kigali with the closure of schools and the stoppage of traffic between different regions of the country. So far, however, as this epidemic ceasing a bit , Love and Care Jyambere Mwana has resumed its activities as usual in the fulfilment of our mission which is “To promote the wellbeing of persons with disabilities especially children, as well as their families. and / or their caregivers in general, through inclusiveness, therapeutic care, education and social support with love and care.
For now, we are doing several activities covering 4 domains under the program known as “Together for Inclusiveness and Transformation – TIT”:
1. Health and Community Based Physiotherapy Domain
We are currently doing home based physiotherapy for children with disabilities who are not able to reach out to our community center due several challenges such residing in very remote places, overweight where parents/caregivers can no longer be able to carry them up to center. Through this activity we are reaching out to about 15 children located in two intervention administrative sectors. On the other hand, the organization is conducting physiotherapy from its center for about 20 children. These children are also being fed on a balanced diet twice a week from our center given that most of them are suffering from malnutrition and stunting as well, apart from disabilities.
2. Socialization and Entertainment
We are doing regular community outreaches mainly in the families of our beneficiaries with the aim to look at their social condition with the heart and attitude of love and care. This activity is accompanied with guidance, counseling and facilitation of how to deal with and get rid of poverty and other social challenges as well as maintaining hygiene and sanitation. At these visits, as socialize with them, our team members do entertain and interact with the beneficiaries together with their families and/or caregivers. We always encourage our beneficiaries to prepare affordable balanced diet as the way to deal with malnutrition and stunting especially among their children who are mostly exposed. Over these home visits, we try to record the story/in form of interview with families of people with disability who openly have critical and poor life style, for special attention and relevant advocacy.
3. Education and Inclusiveness
As the saying goes around, “a child that grows without education is like a building being raised without a foundation”. After primary school and nursery were allowed to operate, Love and Care immediately started an inclusive program known as early childhood development. This is not a mere nursery school, it rather comprised of 30 children including those with disabilities and others from vulnerable families. This special class was established for several reasons including:
- Ensuring value and dignity of children with disabilities
- Showing the community that children with disabilities are just as capable as anyone else
- Brain awakening and providing fundamental education to children with disability and others from vulnerable families.
- Strengthening the quality of education in a creative, interactive and entertaining ways
- Equipping children with social, cognitive and emotional skills they need as to help them continue learning as well as relating with their fellows and others accordingly.
- Lessening the burden from parents since most of them are living in miserable condition
This is an optimal initiative and is being appreciated so much by the parents and the local government officials as well. The organization is much challenged by parents who would like their children be part of this program but so far the center is not able to host more than 30 children.
4. Socio-economic Development
In order to tackle poverty and improve the well-being people with disabilities, their families & caregivers 120 women united into four development oriented groups, there are various sponsored activities they are currently working on. The goal is to enable and empower them economically, to consequently be in the position of meeting basic needs for their children and families in general. Some of these activities include:
• Tailoring
Some of the graduated women having children with disabilities are in this domain of sewing starting from various bags and their after with other products, being supported by the organization with materials. This is being done from Love and Care’s Center. The idea behind this activity is that may become increasingly self-sufficient as they gain income and live a small percentage for organization to keep on running other activities related to this domain and fund other needs as well. There is an idea of selling these products by a way of doing fundraising, where a bag can be sold to a higher price than the normal one as for the buyer to support Love and Care’s program.
• Agriculture
There is another group of women who are involved in agriculture of vegetables and other cash crops. In order to reinforce this life transformational initiative, the organization has freely provided farming fields and initial seeds, whereas the beneficiaries are collectively getting involved in manual works such as cultivating, planting seeds, weeding, harvesting and selling the product. In all these activities, they are being monitored, guided and accompanied by Love and Care for a proper management and usage. This project aims at helping group members get small capital for individual small but sustainable businesses once they have sold the product, starting from few members and reinvest in the same activity for the next terms.
Love and Care is currently thinking on long-term and impactful projects such as pig farming, that will be regularly generating income to sustain our program. We will be sharing with you the progressiveness of this idea just in the near future.
Below is the table that approximatively describes our beneficiaries being reach out all from the very support and donation of Jessie’s Place
| Intervention Domain | Direct Beneficiaries | Indirect Beneficiaries | Comments |
| Health and Community Based Rehabilitation | 35 children with disabilities | 175 Family members & caregivers | Once served, the benefit reach out to the whole family |
| Education and Inclusiveness | 30 children | 150 Family members | Once served, the benefit reach out to the whole family |
| Socialization and Entertainment | 35 children with disabilities | 175 Family members & caregivers | Once served, the benefit reach out to the whole family |
| Socio-economic Development | 120 | 600 Family members | People who depend to these beneficiaries |
| Organization Reinforcement | 9 Staff | 45 Family members | People depending to our staff |
| S / Total | 229 | 1145 | |
| Global Total | 1374 | ||
| Service delivery for the last 3 months | 4122 | These are people that were reach out over the last 3 months. |
