DUE TO HIGH LEVELS OF POVERTY, GIRLS LIKE ANGELIQUE OFTEN HAVE TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL IN RWANDA. BUT BOSCO AND OTHER ALUMNI FROM HER SCHOOL WANTED TO PUT THIS RIGHT, SO THEY SET OUT TO MAKE A CHANGE.
By Bobby Dean
Just thirty minutes drive from the town of Huye, along the winding roads that weave around the lush Rwandan hills, we head to Angelique’s home. As we run out of road and take the rest of the journey by foot, it suddenly feels like we are a lot further away from the urban centre than we actually are.
Angelique’s home in the Southern Province of Rwanda stands proudly on the edge of the hill. They may not have running water or electricity, but they do have a banana tree, room to keep a cow and some chickens as well as the most breathtaking view. Her and her family seem happy, Angelique explains:
“I like visiting my friends, we often revise together for our lessons. Sometimes we go to the market together to shop and we talk along the way. Most of the time about our health, school and about our futures.”
Angelique hasn’t always been able to be so positive about her future. Earlier this year Angelique had to drop out of her secondary school. She tells us:
“When I completed primary school I wanted to go to secondary school. But my parents could not afford the school fees for school uniform, meals and school materials.”
She goes on to explain her parents told her:
“We use that money just for feeding your siblings including you, so we can’t give you that money because if we decided to give you that money we could pass two days without eating.”
Angelique with her family at home.
Angelique’s situation is not unusual in Rwanda. Severe levels of poverty mean that the drop-out rate from school is high. Girls, especially, are expected to work to bring money to the family or marry at a young age so the family does not have the financial burden.
School costs families around 4000 Rwandan Francs per month (£3.35), a fee that covers school materials and meals for the pupil. For parents like Angelique’s, affording this monthly for every child whilst still making enough money to feed their children every day can be hard, and in many cases impossible.
So, the only solution was for Angelique to drop out of school so she could earn money.
“They wanted me to become a housekeeper. Kigali is the most common area where other people from rural areas go to make money from the big city.”
Angelique had never been to Kigali before. This could have spelt the end of her education, but instead Anqelique refused to go. She was determined to find another way. She managed to borrow a little money from some family friends, who have a successful local business selling beans and bananas.
“After borrowing the little money I brought some avocados and started selling at the market.”
She made some profit and was able to pay her friend’s family back, buy more fruits and vegetables and sell those too. Her parents wanted her to continue with this because she made a profit and, knowing that they would not be able to support her in the long-run, pleaded with her not to return to school.
ALUMNI ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE
Bosco, a slim young man clearly still growing into his tall frame, is walking around the market on his rounds. The former student of her school is active in its alumni network called “Thanks To The School.”
Bosco visiting his former school.
The network was setup by Health Poverty Action in partnership with inHive as part of the UK Government’s Girls’ Education project. The initiative, which started in September 2017, has helped to establish alumni networks at 28 schools in the Southern Province of Rwanda.
The aim is to support young people by connecting them with former students, who can be a relatable source of advice and can provide access to opportunities relevant to their local community.
As part of his work in the network, Bosco regularly visits students in the classroom and in their homes and this time has heard about Angelique dropping out of school. So he went to visit her at the market.
“You have to come back to school.”
Bosco pleaded as he relayed the importance of studying to her future.
In conversation, he comes to understand Angelique’s financial situation and knows that it’s not the first time he has heard such a story. Helping poorer students back into school is the reason he volunteered for the alumni network. It was time for action.
Bosco, along with other active alumni, organised a meeting between local leaders and young people who had dropped out or were struggling to stay in school.
“We explain to the leaders the problems that these young people are facing. We go to visit the child at his or her family home and afterwards come back to the school to report about how the family of that child is struggling. Each member connects young people from their own village to the wider network.”
At the meeting itself, the young people got to share their stories with the people in power first hand. Angelique explained:
“The local leaders were encouraging students not to drop out. They asked us what problems we face. I told them I had trouble affording school meals and materials.’
She proposed that she could attend school and not eat lunch, but was told that this is against government policy. Then came the breakthrough. Bosco and the alumni network asked local leaders if they would provide those on the lowest incomes with free school meals and uniforms. They agreed.
“I felt so happy as all the school leaders agreed I would be eating for free. Then I came back home and told the story to my parents. They were full of joy.”
Bosco and Angelique in conversation at school.
Bosco and the alumni team agreed to support the students through mentoring sessions and fundraising activities, while the local leaders agreed that the community would cover the rest. The group also helps by finding the students that have dropped out, contributing towards the local government meeting its responsibilities. Reflecting on what’s happened since, Angelique said:
“After going back to school, I felt such a big difference. I was so proud to be in school because of that advocacy work by the alumni. Since then, I have never been sent home because I can’t afford school meals.”
WIDER IMPACT IN COMMUNITY
In all, they managed to get 12 students who had dropped out to go back to school – including several orphans and one with a disability. Many others were considering dropping out soon, but were able to stay thanks to the new scheme. This includes two of Angelique’s friends: Salonge and Dorcelle.
Salonge is one of seven children, but she lost one sibling and both of her parents while she was in primary school. Her older sister dropped out of school to look after Salonge and some of her siblings, while other family members helped to raise the others.
Salonge writing on the board in the classroom.
It was becoming difficult for Salonge to keep paying for school meals, but she was later identified by the alumni network and the decision was taken to stop charging her. Now she looks up to the alumni as role models:
“I look up to them as role models because they have studied, they did not drop out, they completed, and now they have jobs.”
Dorcelle, one of four children, was also struggling with school fees and dropped out of school. Both of her parents work and, after assessment, she was not eligible for the free scheme. However, the alumni still worked to support her, encourage her to study and provided some in-kind support.
Dorcelle in the classroom at school.
Dorcelle now has aspirations to be a teacher, either in Biology or Physics, and says that when she has the money she wants to help other marginalised girls so that they can reach their potential.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Angelique tells us that her entrepreneurial ambitions aren’t over yet. After she finishes school, she wants to get back to running her own business. She tells us about a scheme for female entrepreneurs she’s already got her eye on.
“I hope to open a shop or a supermarket and become a businesswoman. The Rwandan Government have recently launched certain policies in place to help women to get into work and to facilitate their business and get a loan – so I want to do that.”
Angelique, Salonge and Dorcelle walking into school.
In the shorter term, she wants to keep working hard and eventually join the alumni network herself so that she can help more young people like her.
“I will keep on studying very hard and encourage others who are losing hope in studying. I will engage with local leaders and make sure that others get the same support, it is very important.”
As for Bosco, he has big plans for the future of the network:
“We want to grow the network across the country. I am sharing ideas with alumni groups in a different school. There are many people that can join that group as we have done. Now I will not only be a leader in this community, but in the government too. I want to become a mayor!”
