Today, Thursday, 2nd April, the National Commission for Children (NCC) started a workshop aimed at developing a module to train the recent recruited community child Care Social Workers.

This workshop brought together experts in the field of community social work from NCC, UNICEF, Hope and Homes for Children and Tulane University. The social workforce training module is part of the many mechanisms put in place by the government of Rwanda to build child care protection system that is equipped to perform and deliver specifically on the child care reform Tumurere mu Muryagngo program (Lets Raise Children in Families), a national program aimed at reintegrating children living in institution/ orphanages to loving families, and also transform these orphanages/institutions to serve better families and community.

Fourteen Social Workers and fourteen Psychologists have been recruited by National Commission for Children, to support the implementation of the Child Care reform within the country.

In total, 34 social workers and 34 psychologists will be recruited and they will go through a comprehensive training facilitated by the Tulane University and Hope and Homes for Children. These social workers and psychologists are equipped with academic background and work experience in social work as well as in psychology.

After completion of the training, the social workers and psychologists will be fully prepared to take on social work functions. The role of social workers is key in reforming the childcare system, the main goal of which is to ensure that every child in Rwanda grows up in a family environment. Social workers assess children and families and define needs and priorities for them; they participate in selection of a type of care and support children and families require, and then participate in providing agreed care and services.

Social workers also will be the ones to monitor the situation of children in a selected care service whether it is a reunion, kinship or foster care. “Social workers will be crucial in securing a success of the child care reform which has so far resulted in reduction of a number of children living in 33 institutions over many years”, said Zaina Nyiramatama, NCC-Executive Secretary. “Some of the children are now enjoying a family environment where they can better exercise their rights and receive better treatment and care, but they lacked someone to follow up their welfare daily. Social welfare workforce development is prioritized to ensure that a highly skilled and well resourced cadre of professionals is able to support the transition of children in institutions into alternative care”, Zaina added.

Strengthening the role of social workers and psychologists is part of the Child Care System reform and the Tumurere mu Ryango Prgoram all anchored on the national Integrated Child Rights Policy, all designed and led by the Government of Rwanda in partnership with UNICEF, CHF International and Hope and Homes for Children, and with the financial support from USAID.

The reform envisages reintegrating of about 2075 children living in 33 institutions nationwide, transforming these institutions to better serve the families and children; strengthening of social work force in Rwanda; expanding the quantity and quality of kinship, adoption and foster care and strengthening of services for prevention of child abandonment.

For more information, please contact Ms Annet Birungi, Communications Specialist, National Commission for Children, e-mail: abirungi@ncc.gov.rw, Tel. 0788682277 or Ms Ramatou Toure, UNICEF, email: rtoure@unicef.org, Tel.0787011237