Rwabiharamba School is situated in Akayange Village just outside of Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, where Wilderness Magashi is located.
Wilderness Rwanda and Children in the Wilderness (CITW) partnered with this school via the Magashi Community Committee in 2020, and every week the school facilitates the CITW Youth Environmental Stewardship (YES) Club for the students, of whom 35 are sponsored with a CITW Scholarship.
At the school leaders’ and Magashi Community Committee’s request, we recently supported the school with the construction of a special separate bathroom for girls.
The idea to set up a Menstrual Health and Hygiene Room, known in Rwanda as Icyumba Cy’Umukobwa, to promote girls’ health and education, was brought to the attention of the Magashi Community Committee by Hilarie Niyigena, the school’s Headmistress. She mentioned that her female students face enormous challenges in education when they are menstruating, with a notably high rise in absenteeism observed. Before now, it was the norm for menstruating schoolgirls to skip school for seven days. This practice not only led to the high rates of absenteeism, but also had an impact on the girls’ overall performance and confidence levels.
Before now, it was the norm for menstruating schoolgirls to skip school for seven days.
When girls are menstruating, they sometimes need a place to rest for a while. They also need adequate bathroom facilities, and are not comfortable using the big communal bathrooms that have insufficient hygiene provisions. The completion of this project means a lot to the school leaders and the female students, as it will provide the girls with safe place to rest and have proper hygiene facilities. The room contains a bathroom to freshen up, a room to have a rest, toilet facilities and storage for clean linen and other hygiene supplies.
Rwabiharamba School has a total of 1,348 students, with 200 girls in puberty. The construction of the Menstrual Health and Hygiene Room, completed this October, was made possible through a total of USD 4,500 in donations from our generous Wilderness guests.
“We wholeheartedly thank our partners’ determination to help us make this project a reality, and break the bias in girls’ education”.
Hilarie Niyigena
“There are numerous girl students who previously could not access these facilities and ended up missing classes. Therefore, we wholeheartedly thank our partners’ determination to help us make this project a reality, and break the bias in girls’ education. We believe that the completion of this facility will prevent school absenteeism among girls, and help them feel more comfortable at school when they are menstruating”, said Headmistress Hilarie in appreciation.
“This safe space …. ensures that our female students can continue their education and pursue their studies without fear of embarrassment…”
Hilarie Niyigena
