WE-ACTx—584 Castro Street #14, San Francisco, CA 94114   415-863-4676 x3

WE-ACTx is a US based, 501C3 tax exempt organization, EIN# 56-2572210

Although the Rwandan Government has made primary school free for all children, addition school-related expenses prevent the poorest of Rwandans from taking advantage of this free education. Uniforms, school supplies, books, food and transportation are among them. The government also provides a small number of secondary school scholarships to the most qualified students. All other students need to pay a small fee to attend school. Often, this fee is equal to or greater than a family’s entire annual income. WE-ACTx Children’s Education Network is a volunteer-driven initiative to increase access to formal education and nutrition for children of WE-ACTx’s grassroots partner organizations. The program is small at present, linking children from one grassroots partner community with a US church and other institutional membership to “sponsor” children throughout their educational careers. WE-ACTx acts as an administrative conduit to the program, organizing purchase of school uniforms and supplies, payment of fees directly to the schools of the children, and provision of nutritious breakfasts for the children, their younger siblings, and breastfeeding and pregnant mothers. The grassroots partner organizations from which the sponsored children come organize the daily breakfasts and distribute school supplies purchased through the program.

With initial seed funding from the Stephen Lewis Foundation, private donors, and recent support from the Human Rights and Democracy Fund of the US embassy in Rwanda for translation of the Legal Handbook into the local language and further trainings in the country, we are building on the solid foundation of WE-ACTx’s primary health care services to help Rwandans address sexual and other forms of violence against women and children and remove barriers to health care access in Rwanda.

Handbooks

Know Your Rights! A Community Handbook on Health-Care Rights and Other Laws
(Download PDF documents below)

• English
• Kinyarwanda

WE-ACTx for Hope participates in a countrywide collaborative HIV prevention and outreach program in which large scale community mobilization and sensitization campaigns are implemented throughout the country. WE-ACTx for Hope trains HIV+ peer educators within our grassroots partners using a ”train the trainer” model, imparting skills in basic HIV prevention and positive living with the goal of creating an informed cadre of Rwandan grassroots health educators throughout the country. WE-ACTx for Hope holds workshops with grassroots organizations and collaborates with WE-ACTx’s family program and trauma counseling activities.

In-house sewing and crafts cooperative

WE-ACTx has organized its own in-house sewing and crafts cooperative, INEZA, to make dolls, clothing accessories (hand bags, computer sleeves, etc.) and other crafts for sale in the international market as an effort to develop a sustainable source of income for women on HIV treatment. Over the past year, we have developed a marketing and distribution arrangement for clothing accessories products with Connect USA. We are planning to develop markets and production capacity for Rwandan domestic sales as well, linking our production with overall economic development efforts in country. The women who make up our cooperative are paid weekly wages, receive transportation and food supplements, and of course, are provided with HIV care and treatment – and YOGA!

go to INEZA’s blog