Irahari Adrien is a young boy who was born in 1999, and he is one of a family of 4 children. The family is Christian, and like most people in the area they speak Kinyarwanda. Irahari and his family live in a house made of mud and wattle walls and a roof of thatch. Cooking is mostly done outside.
Shingiro, where Irahari lives, is located in the northwest of Rwanda. The land is covered with volcanic rock making farming, the main occupation of families, difficult. Most families grow potatoes, maize, beans, cabbages and sorghum; this is their only source of food and there is rarely surplus to sell. They also keep a little livestock, maybe a chicken or two or a few rabbits. Many childhood diseases are linked to malnutrition. One out of five children dies before their fifth birthday. There is one health centre in Shingiro; it is inadequately equipped and can only handle minor illnesses. People have to walk for over two hours across difficult terrain to reach hospital. Common diseases include malaria, diarrhoea and parasitic infections. The prevalence of HIV is also high due to the genocide of 1994.
There is a lack of primary schools, teachers, basic teaching materials and classrooms. The distance to school and difficulty of the terrain, means children generally start school at an older age. Irahari is too young to go to school. Children are expected to carry out household chores, including walking over three miles to collect water from unprotected sources and working in the fields, leaving little time for their studies.
The devastation of the genocide has left a huge mark on the people of Shingiro. ActionAid is working in partnership with the communities to rebuild their lives and increase access to their basic rights including water, education, food and health care. We will work closely with women who, following the genocide, have been left to raise their families but lack the equal rights of men. With your support, we can give children like Irahari a better future. |
