REAP's CLCL selected as the only community gathering venue in Musha community

The local government leadership has recently approved our Community Learning Center and Library as the only up-to code venue to host community self-help groups in the Musha community. Everyday, a separate self-help group meets for a different goal. The group leader and a REAP designated staff ensure the compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures. REAP's CLCL now hosts a total of 7 groups with 255 members. The groups have various goals including savings, cow farming, health insurance, household utensils and addressing family-based violence. REAP's Community Learning Center and Library has truly became the hub of community life during a time of disconnection.

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Calendar Distribution

Our Kalendari Ineza project culminated in the distribution of calendars to 2050 families in

our Musha Community. On December 17, an inaugural ceremony was held at REAP’s Community

Learning Center and Library where 50 selected families received their calendars. The event was attended

by local government leaders, REAP staff and members of our Community Board.

In compliance with Covid-19 prevention guidelines, the remaining 2,000 families have been

collecting their calendars one at a time at the CLCL.

Our Community Organizers will be visiting the 100 most at-risk families to dissect the

public health messages on the calendars and discuss ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Community Learning Center and Library reopens after COVID-19 closure

As one of the measures to alleviate the spread of COVID-19, the government of Rwanda ordered closure of public venues such as schools, libraries and community centers. Our Center had also been closed for seven months until recently approved to reopen. We did so on November 30.

To fulfill requirements for reopening, we put in place a range of prevention measures including:

• A COVID-19 task force composed of three employees trained on COVID-19 during our Kalendari INEZA project. The task force ensures we are in compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures on a daily basis.

• An isolation room equipped with a bed and emergency supplies in the event that a COVID-19 case is detected.

• Banners with COVID-19 information placed at all doors, tables, on the front facade of the main building and on the community bulletin board.

• A hand washing station installed at the entrance of the main building. Every person visiting the center washes their hands before entering.

• COVID-19 prevention kit with an infrared thermometer, hand sanitizer, gloves, masks and other supplies were purchased.

• Maximum class-size. All seats are marked in all classrooms and the maximum capacity in every classroom is 15 persons.

Coping with the COVID-19: supporting our staff and our community

Amidst the novel coronavirus outbreak that is shaking the world, people all over the world are standing in solidarity with their neighbors and exploring new ways of being.
However, the outbreak is having a disproportionately devastating effect on middle and low-income populations—especially in countries such as Rwanda— where the unemployment rate is already 18.8% and 49.2% of the labor force are engaged in casual occupations (those that pay hourly or per diem at best).
We don’t need to reiterate the fact that the closure of all non-essential businesses and organizations, with the aim of slowing the spread of the virus, has had many unintended economic consequences.

As an organization, we value our human resources above all else and commitment to our community is at
the core of our operations. In order to support our staff during this lockdown, REAP has committed to continue paying our team members their full salaries, even those who cannot work from home. We have also mobilized to donate the produce from our farm to families with the greatest need in Musha. Last Monday, 16 families from Musha received vegetables from our farm and we hope to donate to at least 20 more with the next harvest.

In the pictures:

Our Community Organizers, Briget and Jerome, and Emmanuel Karemera (President of our Community Board) collect the food supplies and deliver them to Musha Sector Office.