Harnessing Rural Potentials for Sustainable Development

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	PERFORMANCE REPORT 2004 -2008   BACKGROUND   CHALLENGE ANALYSIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our focus is on land-related conflict involving the rural poor and vulnerable groups. We aim our mediation services, advocacy, and education programs at people whose livelihoods depend on access to one of Rwanda’s most valuable resources: Land. To decrease resource pressure from over-population, mismanagement, and unsustainable use of land, and to advocate and educate the rural populations constitute the main goals of our efforts.   The individual backgrounds of the people at CIMS provide expertise in mediation, agriculture, soil and water management, health & hygiene, family planning and nutrition.

Our Focus                                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

				Our core Values
			The work of CIMS is inspired and guided by our   -       Passion and Respect for the Dignity of the Human Being -       Passion for the Vulnerable and Marginalized -       Passion for Collaboration, Peace and Social Justice -       Passion for Opportunity and Growth -       Passion for Leadership and Integrity -       Passion for Excellence and Transparency -       Passion for Education and Awareness -       Passion for Sustainable Rural Development -       Passion for Empowerment and Local Ownership
		Who is CIMS ?						Where is CIMS active?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	The Center for Social Information and Mobilization (Centre d’Information et Mobilisation Sociale) is a grass-roots NGO founded in Umutara (Western Province) in 1999 by Mr.Damien Mwambari. Today, as a volunteer social peace and justice initiative, CIMS and its 15 volunteers are working with 250 cooperatives, churches, and multiple vulnerable groups and their associations throughout Rwanda.   A membership-based organization with an annual General Assembly, CIMS has its permanent office in Kigali City. It also maintains representations in various districts throughout the country. We have begun to research potentials for strategic partnerships with similar civil society organizations in Rwanda and other East African countries and with international NGOs.
			CIMS is committed to serve rural communities through the provision of mediation, advocacy, and thematic workshops and trainings addressing legal issues pertaining to land ownership and use, literacy, family planning, hygiene and reproductive health, agricultural and productivity enhancing techniques and inputs, and other socio-economic and human rights-related issues important to community members and vulnerable groups of widows and orphans.  We are looking to expand from our primary focus on Musanze and Karongi districts.   Our volunteers are locally embedded within their communities fostering a close-knit relationship with the people we aim to serve. Their presence makes for a great degree of trust and respect which places CIMS in the unique position to detect and respond to localized challenges as they arise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Land ?         Rwanda is a small landlocked country in Eastern Africa with a population of about 9 million. At the present growth rate 3.2% this number is expected to double by 2020. Already, the country’s population density is the highest in Africa and the population per square kilometer of arable land is one of the continents highest. Some 60% of the population is under the age of 20 years and about one-third of households are headed by females. Since the horrible events of 1994 our country has become a success story of development in Africa. However, we have started from a very low basis and important challenges remain.   Among Sub-Saharan countries, Rwanda has the highest level of poverty with about 70% of the population living below the poverty line. A vast majority of Rwandans is reliant on one resource only – land – as it lives on the basis of subsistence agriculture. Fertile land is relatively scarce and the local topography in many places is unfavorable to cultivation. Many rural Rwandans live far off the city centers that have driven recent Rwandan economic development. Illiteracy remains widespread, market access is difficult, and alternative opportunities for income generating activities are scarce.  94% of Rwandans live in rural areas, where GDP per capita does not exceed $ 100 per year, against $ 230 per capita nationally. Conflict over land ownership and use is widespread and the 2005 Land Reform creates a set of new challenges at the same time as it aims to increase access to and security of land tenure. During its history, Rwanda has experienced important demographic and social changes that have contributed to slow economic development. First, the population has increased eightfold in the past half-century. The 1994 genocide, itself partly a product of resource conflict, and the HIV/Aids epidemic then created huge population losses. According to the Ministry of Health 8.7% of the population is affected by the virus. As a direct consequence of the genocide and the spread of HIV/Aids, many households are headed by women or minors. Population growth has since picked up again and population pressure continues to increase on Rwanda’s natural resources. Poor soil and water management contributing to land degradation through depletion and erosion add to the problems faced by farmers. The ranks of the landless have grown to 14% of rural peasants who are confined to life in abject poverty. Commercial farming and agricultural productivity growth are two pillars with which rural development is to be set in motion according to key development plans and priorities. The Land Reform of 2005 places specific obligations pertaining to efficiency and farm-size on landholders. However, consolidation of land may further add to the number of landless people formerly farming small plots on a subsistence basis. With inadequate alternative income-generating opportunities and low levels of education among the rural poor, many are threatened to be left behind in this rural transformation.

Our Approach

CIMS is registered with the Government of Rwanda and located in the capital city Kigali. All our work is volunteer-based and we rotate our affiliates through various rural provinces within the country. Our volunteers are embedded in these local communities, to which we have over the years established a mutual bond of trust and respect. All of us here at CIMS have various educational and professional backgrounds ranging from mediation & reconciliation to agricultural productivity, soil and water management, health & hygiene, family planning and nutrition.   We are a social peace and justice initiative and it is our founding mission to provide mediation services to families and communities that are in conflict over land ownership and use. Specifically over the past few years, we have been advocating and educating people about their rights and responsibilities under the Land Reform of 2005. We have been assisting in demarcation and formal land registration processes, and continue to mediate in land-related disputes.   While impartial in our approach, we mainly deal with marginalized and vulnerable groups such as widows, orphans, child-headed households and returned refugees. In our efforts, we want to contribute to reconciliation and peaceful development in Rwanda. CIMS realizes that lasting and sustainable change and improvement of livelihoods requires the root causes of resource pressure and rural conflict over land to be addressed.   As such, we are presently developing a series of thematic workshops designed to address issues of demographic and socio-economic relevance in rural development. Our workshops are open to anyone, free-of-charge, and they are informed by local needs assessments conducted in partnership with local authorities, churches, cooperatives and other associations. The content is being developed both through our own expertise and also in cooperation with national and international partners.  It is our hope that through these efforts at capacity-building participants will act as multipliers of knowledge and change in their communities. This "train-the-trainer" approach covers topics such as family planning, soil and water management etc - issues that will help to alleviate some of the pressures that are presently exerted on our country's most valuable yet scarcest resource land.   This approach is expected to reduce conflict potential and educate and empower people to participate in the rural transformation process that Rwanda is undergoing as part of the Government’s Vision 2020 and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. It is expected to assist beneficiaries in finding alternate opportunities for income generation as opposed to subsistence farming. Through its inclusiveness it is to contribute to social healing 15 years after the Rwandan Genocide, as well as to empowerment and opportunity and thereby ultimately harnessing the rural potentials for sustainable development.    We do not plan to charge any fees for our services. At present, CIMS is entirely funded by member contributions. Consequently, we encourage potential individual, organizational, and institutional donors and partners to contact us to deliberate areas of collaboration and assistance in the bankrolling of our programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organizational Project Structure: Exemplary Approach to ABE (Adult Basic Education)

 

 

CIMS Administrative Structure

 

Our activities

The following pages will describe those four modules of our free-of-charge training and workshop seminars that we have begun to plan. They are subject to continuous revision pending outside expertise (both advisory and participatory), as well as community feedback. CIMS volunteers have been selected to head the implementation of these activities based on their own background and knowledge. They themselves attend respective workshops in order to improve their own understanding of cutting-edge approaches, techniques, and solutions. Field research in collaboration with local authorities, cooperatives, churches and other associations provides baseline information for needs assessments and the respective program design. The four modules are:

 

• Family Planning and Reproductive Health Campaign
• Land Use Program
• ABE – Adult Basic Education
• Sanitation, Hygiene, Nutrition

 FAMILY PLANNING AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CAMPAIGN

This is a campaign to encourage spousal communication about family planning and to promote the use of contraceptives and safe sex practices for better health and the reduction in the number of unplanned pregnancies, especially among adolescents. It will raise awareness of maternal health issues and their prevention and treatment. Confidential individual and couples-counseling sessions will be offered, and emotional and psychological aspects of sexual abuse, absence of consensual decision-making, and gender imbalance will be explored.

Reason and respect will be promoted as core values in male-female relationships. When women can take control of their fertility they can prepare themselves educationally, financially, and emotionally before deciding to have children, with the emphasize being on “decision”. Planned children, born to older, more mature and better educated parents have a higher chance of achieving success and happiness. We recognize the importance of preparing for parenthood and want to implant the understanding that reproductive freedom is an essential prerequisite for creating healthy families. Planned parent hood and awareness of reproductive health issues will reduce unwanted pregnancies, gender-imbalances in household and community power-structures, and overall fertility.

Objectives:

·         To provide reproductive and maternal health education and to raise awareness of sexually transmitted disease (STD)

·         To create an environment in which couples can freely speak with mutual respect about their choices of sexual behavior

·         To empower women to pursue an education and (micro)-economic activities

·         To increase awareness and use of contraceptive tools

·         To reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and overall fertility

As an ad-on to interested participants, we will also offer a seminar with the goal of training future trainers on matters of family planning and reproductive health. Guided by a set of core competencies, which cover all the essential skills, information and values needed in order to run safe, informed, and practical sex and relationships work (SRW) sessions with young people, male and female, as well as married and non-married couples, this three-day seminar will prepare participants to meet these competencies in delivering SRW.

Day one

• Exploring emotional, physical and behavioral sexual development
• How young people learn and SRW
• Choice or chance: talking to young people about age and first sexual experience
• The history of sex and relationships education and how it impacts on SRW

 Day Two

• Exploring the value of SRW with young people
• Gaining awareness of personal values and how they impact on professional practice
• Setting and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries                                                                                                                 

 Day Three

• Information on relevant law and guidance on how it applies to work practice
• Anti-discriminatory practice and SRW
• Gaining confidence with one-to-one work

Objectives:

·         To create competence and confidence in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of SRW training

·         To understand the context in which training in sexual health occurs and in which individual choices about sexual behavior are being made

·         To develop facilitation skills and preparedness for professional conduct in the delivery of SRW training

 LAND USE PROGRAM                                                                                                                                                                          

In the past, CIMS has established a proven track record of successful mediation in land disputes which often times led to the consensual sharing of land and the avoidance of particular cases of landlessness, especially involving widows and child-headed households.

 

In light of the many challenges that rural populations continue to face in their dependence on land access and use, this program will seek to provide participants with new techniques, practical assistance and advice so as to enable them to make better use of their landholdings. Increased efficiency and productivity through education in soil and water management, raised security of land tenure through assistance with demarcation and official registration, and improved understanding of rights and responsibilities under the law, are three of the main focal points of CIMS’ efforts in this area.

 

Participants in this workshop will be individual members of rural society, agricultural associations, and members of vulnerable groups. The Land Use Program will be teaching agricultural techniques that can improve harvests at the same time as they increase sustainability. It will provide participants with a deeper understanding of causes and consequences in the interplay between man and nature.

Objectives:

·         To provide a general understanding of the land use planning principles which underlie land management and the regulatory process under the 2005 Land Law

·         To foster an understanding of the interrelationship between land use and human needs for natural resources and environmental quality and sustainability

·         To instill a sense of best practices for effective land use and administration

·         To minimize soil erosion and improve and protect water quality

·         To achieve greater productivity and efficiency in household land use and management

·         To reduce conflict potential through education, mediation, and assistance with formal land registration 

 

 ADULT BASIC EDUCATION (ABE)

Our Adult Basic Education program responds to the need for greater skill and opportunity to actively seek out and engage in alternative income-generating activities. The country-wide adult rate of illiteracy is about 35%, and many a subsistence farmer and rural household is trapped in a situation of land-dependence in the absence of relevant skills to enter a trade or otherwise participate in the rural economy. Basic reading and writing skills as well as basic numeracy are at the core of this workshop for (young) adults and adolescents.

 

Many CIMS members have backgrounds in teaching and education. In addition, they continue to receive training from institutions and organizations alike. While part of the ABE program involves direct teaching seminars in local communities, it also entails the recruitment of education professionals to offer their services in rural ‘centers of excellence’, for which local churches are among our priority partners. Graduates of the ABE program are also to be encouraged to volunteer to systematic integration into a network of rural teachers of basic literacy and numeracy.

 Objectives:

• To create a sense for the importance of literacy and numeracy skills among rural populations and to encourage them to learn
• To advocate and create a sense of urgency among education professionals to join the CIMS network of volunteer teachers in remote areas of rural Rwanda and to offer basic education sessions to participants
• To increase the literacy and numeracy rates in rural areas and attain a skills level at which students achieve higher self-confidence and the basic skills necessary for greater opportunity and social mobility
• To receive and distribute tools and learning materials to network members and rural ‘centers of excellence’ and to stock or build small libraries in rural communities
• To systematically increase the number of ABE graduates and to incorporate them into the volunteer teacher network and to gradually but consistently increase their proficiency and teaching efficiency

 Sanitation, Hygiene, Nutrition

Workshops will be teaching the essentials of personal hygiene and creating awareness of the linkages between sanitation, hygiene, nutrition and health. Technical assistance will be provided for community sanitation programs and other related water management techniques. Participants will be educated about various human-made micro-habitats of mosquito breeding and, where available, provided with bed-nets. In addition, nutrition counseling will be an integral part of this module as well as the lobbying of local authorities to provide adequate sanitary measures in their communities.

Rural populations will be educated about existing medical insurance schemes as well as encouraged to make greater use of local health centers and clinics. Stigmatization, superstition, and inappropriate home-treatment methods will be countered through objective yet personalized and sensitive advocacy.

Personal health is most important to increased activity and happiness. A healthy and strong body and mind will help to increase productivity and efficiency both of farming and non-farming activities. Sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition training will thus contribute to reduced idleness, inefficiencies, and unnecessary human suffering.

 Objectives:

• To reduce malnutrition and increase personal health of adults, adolescents, children, and families
• To encourage the use of medical infrastructure such as small clinics and hospitals for preventative and curative consultation
• To contribute to greater levels of socio-economic activity through improved physical and mental health
• To provide safer environments through awareness-raising and communal sanitation programs

Overview of activities:

Situation Analysis

A. Driving forces of change

• 2005 Land Reform Law with its policy of consolidation and emphasis on productivity-enhancement and the associated confusion about legal ramifications among rural landholders (rights & responsibilities)
• Rural transformation process as part of Vision 2020 national development strategy  and agricultural change
• Resource pressure and land degradation through erosion and nutrient depletion
• Population density and growth rate with associated urgent need for job-creation
• Vulnerable groups of widows, child-headed households, and returned refugees with large representations in rural communities
• Sub-Saharan Africa’s highest proportion of people in poverty and relatively low levels of education among the majority of rural populations

B. Key Strategic Issues

• Lack of transportation complicates movement of CIMS trainers and conflict mediators beyond their immediate localities
• Lack of office materials, supplies, and equipment hinders collaboration with institutions and national and international NGOs as well effective information management, documentation and information
• Extreme lack of funding in all general activities makes for difficult planning and frequent bottlenecks in the delivery of our projects
• Lack of funds to train additional fieldworkers
• Communication with potential partner organizations, donors and international friends made difficult through absence of permanent IT infrastructure and reliance on internet cafes for related office work and word processing

C. External Analysis

Political, legal, & regulatory factors

• Need for awareness-raising and education about 2005 Land Law
• Assistance in demarcation and formal registration process of land required
• Large numbers of land-related disputes clog the judicial system and often go unresolved for a long time; traditional and community-based mediation systems needed

Economic Factors

• Poverty in rural areas both contributes to and is caused by illiteracy, population growth, and a growing number of disputes concerning scarce resources
• Lack of access to socio-economic opportunities that are not contingent on direct access to land stifles progress in the rural transformation process and helps to perpetuate conflict

 

Social, demographic & cultural factors

• Little knowledge and acceptance of modern medicine, concepts of nutrition, sanitation, personal hygiene and soil and water management
• High prevalence of non-monogamous relationships, early parenthood and traditional marriages without legal title and associated rights before the law including the Land Law of 2005
• Lack of understanding of sexual and reproductive health, including taboos, myths, and stigmas, creates an atmosphere prone to unintended diseases that could be easily avoided, unintended pregnancies, and premature deaths

Science & technological factors

• Transportation and infrastructure in and around rural areas is severely limited, which makes access to agricultural product markets and local authorities and conflict mediation tools difficult
• Lack of knowledge about best practices in pest management, soil and water management, productivity-enhancing techniques etc. and lack of agricultural inputs contribute to poor development and to more conflict
• Lack of access to sources of information and communication channels results in under provision of market-information, mediation and productivity-enhancing skills

D. Internal Analysis

Primary Areas of Activity

• Advocacy and Awareness Campaigns
• Conflict Mediation
• Land Surveying and Registration
• Agricultural Productivity, Soil and Water Management
• Family planning and Reproductive Health
• Literacy and Numeracy Training
• Sanitation, Hygiene and Nutrition
• “Train-the-Trainers” for highest possible multiplier effects

 

Resources and capabilities

 

• CIMS volunteers and fieldworkers come from a variety of educational backgrounds and professions
• There exists a high level of mutual trust and respect between CIMS and rural communities
• Knowledge and successful track-record in the area of extra-judicial conflict mediation
• Language duality: French and Kinyarwanda
• Interconnectedness of all activities: synergy is naturally created and is conducive to further success
• Ongoing and follow-up conflict resolution support

Financial Statements and Activity Reports

Main Activities

 

The year 2004 was characterized by counseling and advocacy activities fighting against stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/Aids in the district of NYAGATARE in Eastern province.

 

CIMS also assisted the World Food Program in the identification of more than 120 needy families and the subsequent distribution of food donations.

 

Peace Building Healing and Reconciliation (PHARP), a regional NGO working in Kenya Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda entered into collaboration with CIMS as a partner in teaching Rwandan youth and improving their understanding of and capacities for bringing peace to their communities. A total of fifty youth was trained about peace building and reconciliation, as well as HIV/Aids prevention. 

 

 

 Main Activities 

• Advocacy on land rights to returning refugees from Tanzania
• Peace and Reconciliation Training in association with PHARP
• Reproductive Health and Family Planning Campaign
• Leadership trainings to small groups of vulnerable people (widows, child-headed households)
• Microfinance Advocacy and Training with Care International and PPEMER
• Basic skills / vocational training

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Activities

The Multi-sectaries AIDS Project (MAP) sponsored a general fund and stipends for children living with or having their caretakers suffering from HIV/Aids. CIMS identified beneficiaries and assisted with the implementation of the program that provided school fees, uniforms, and school materials for:

 

• 36 children from vulnerable landless families to visit primary schools
• 24 children from vulnerable landless families to visit secondary schools
• The financing of micro-level household activities for the generation of income
• The purchase and distribution of livestock for widows of HIV/Aids

 

CIMS received much training, financial assistance, and hands-on assistance from two foreign individuals in the field of land administration, reform, and survey. From this year-long partnership CIMS benefited greatly in terms of advocacy and lobbying expertise.

PHARP supported our rural youth by funding the acquisition of sowing machines for landless people in need of alternative income generating opportunities, especially young and single mothers and sex workers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Activities

Through our prolonged presence in various communities in different districts around the country CIMS has gained a very high level of mutual trust and respect with rural populations. We engaged in mediation in land-related conflicts and associated advocacy with authorities. Our unique relationship with our beneficiaries has created a situation in which our assistance is requested actively, and word-of-mouth is spreading about our activities. Individuals from our partner communities increasingly ask for services and advice going beyond mediation and reconciliation in land disputes.

 

• During 2007 we became involved in 70 disputes of which only three remained unresolved after CIMS was consulted
• A total of 235 new conflicts over land were identified by our field representatives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In January 2008, CIMS for the first time partnered with Global Youth Connect (GYC), an organization that brings American students to Rwanda for intensive workshops in Human Rights and Social Peace and Justice. Some CIMS members became participants in these workshops and US students later spent time volunteering with CIMS. Thanks to their support, we now have English language documentation of our work, as well as a website and friends who can help to advocate on our behalf. Since then, CIMS has partnered with GYC one other time and we are proud to be lead local partner in the summer 2009 delegation.

 

Unfortunately, our funding situation has deteriorated over the past few years as donor budgets have been cut back and individual donations have been harder to receive. Our own members continue to spend much of their personal financial resources to be able to volunteer for us in the field. We are actively working to create new strategic partnerships with national and international NGOs as well as institutional and individual donors.

 

Despite these challenges, our activities have not come to a halt as we continue to offer mediation and reconciliation services in land disputes and consult with rural communities in the planning and design of our proposed workshop series. In addition, CIMS has assisted many households in the demarcation and formal land registration process during 2008 and in early 2009.