Celebrating the International Youth Day, Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has introduced two new programs in Rwanda. The two initiatives, worth AED 8.9 million, aim to increase the access to quality education for more than 18,600 local students across the country.
The two-year program called “Learning and Innovation Partnership” with “Educate!” provides training and mentorship for teachers, prepare students to be leaders with entrepreneurial skills, and supports those of them who want to start a real business while still studying. This program would reach 16,000 young Rwandans across 100 schools. It would expand to a network of 175 primary schools next year during the second phase of the initiative.
According to Dubai Cares, the youth unemployment rate in Rwanda reached nearly 69%. It was a clear sign for a serious gap between the needs of the employers and the skills of the young workforce. Almost 70% of the job seekers did not possess adequate qualifications for the jobs they applied for, revealed the survey. The data also showed that by the end of the fourth academic year, only 32% of the Rwandese children were able to attain reading fluency. Nearly 40% of them were not able to answer some pre-comprehension questions.
Along with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), Dubai Cares has unveiled another 3-year program focused on the African country –
“Early Childhood Education: Strengthening School Readiness in Rwanda”. The main goal of this initiative is to prepare 2, 610 kids aged 3-6 to enter a school environment in Rwanda’s Nyamasheke region.
This program is not focused only on the students. It also provides coaching and mentorship for teachers in early grades to increase their capacity. In addition to that, the initiative also works with the school leaders and the local education officials to teach them how to manage better their limited resources and how to integrate the children with disabilities at schools.
Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares commented:
Through its two new programs in Rwanda, Dubai Cares, with its partners, is focusing on pivotal issues at opposite ends of the education cycle – preparing children to succeed in school and empowering young people with the skills necessary to succeed in a work environment and become positive contributors to their nation’s future development.