Education
Source: The Rwanda Focus
The World Bank director of Gender and Development, Jeni Klugman, yesterday visited schools in Kigali that are part of the Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI), a project sponsored by the WB.
The schools are Gahaya links, which trains students in arts and handcrafts, and Gacuriro vocational training center which trains students in food processing. AGI specifically targets vulnerable girls between 16 and 24 years who dropped out of school for various reasons such as poverty or early pregnancy.
During her visit, Klugman lauded Rwanda's drive for gender empowerment by mainly giving equal access to education to both men and women. "Rwanda is doing a great job in enabling women mainly in schools," said Klugman.
She indicated that worldwide there still is a big gender gap in different sectors including labor even though women can play a great role in poverty reduction. Klugman therefore called on leaders to make gender equality a corporate priority and remove discrimination.
Jerome Gasana, the director general of the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), said that the government considers the empowerment of women and girls a priority.
AGI currently supports approximately 2,025 adolescent girls and young women in two rural and two urban districts which are Rulindo and Gicumbi in the first category and Gasabo and Kicukiro in the second.
However, AGI project manager Pamela Nibishaka for her part said that there is hope that the project can be expanded. "There are still many vulnerable girls who need assistance but we promise that the program will be expanded to cater for more girls in need," she said.
