NCC in partnership with a South African based organization, National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW) has organized a 3 day workshop on sharing good practices and useful experiences on alternative care for children who have been deprived of their families. NACCW has a child care system “ISIBINDI MODEL” that matches the NCC’s “Tubarerere mu Muryango (TMM)”program.
The objectives for this workshop which is being attended by members from NCC, Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), National Women Council (CNF), Hope and Homes for Children (HHC), CHF International, CARE International etc are mainly to share experiences from the South African team and also discuss on the best ways of monitoring and evaluating childcare programs using community childcare volunteers.
On official opening of this workshop, Mr. NGABONZIZA Damien, the chairman of NCC board of commissioners, thanked the visiting team from South Africa and the other participants made it for the workshop. He said that he was certain by the end of the workshop; participants will have acquired tangible skills that will help in ensuring that children and families receive appropriate community based services.
NCC is using deinstitutionalization and alternative care mechanisms as an entry point to Tubarere mu Muryango program. In this case, deinstitutionalization and alternative care mean getting children out of orphanages and institutions and put them in loving and caring families. This is because every child has a right to being raised in a loving family and so far 887 children have been taken out of orphanages/institutions to families that expressed interest to raise up these children.
Although Rwanda uses its homemade policies and strategies as far as child rights protection and promotion are concerned, it welcomes other partners’ ideas and experiences to enable this program’s success.
The SA team is in Rwanda for three days and will visit different children centers to have hands on information and experience. In addition, at the end of the workshop relevant recommendations and their correspondent implementation plan will be adopted.