About PREFER Preschool
Children enjoying acrobatics display, January 2010
Prefer (Poverty Reduction, Education and Family Empowerment in Rwanda) is a small charitable organisation, registered in Rwanda No 004/2010, which is based in the community of Gashangiro 4km from Ruhengeri in Rwanda. For more information regarding Rwanda please go to Find Us.
Prefer Preschool provides an eclectic range of services to the people of the area of Northern Province.
So far during 2010 it carried out or assisted with the following...
- PREFER students are from single parent or teen head of household families, or are orphans now living with a local family. PREFER sponsors all students, the families are not responsible for tuition, supplies or materials.
- PREFER sent its 60 graduates off to primary one outfitted in new uniforms.
- PREFER have 159 students attending preschool this year. This is our first year of charging tuition for a portion of the students. Any parent/guardian that had a signed letter from the local government stating that they were not able to pay school fees was able to enroll their child for free.
- PREFER has 109 free students and 50 paying students. PREFER's goal is to have 50% paying and 50% vulnerable that will not be charged.
- PREFER has been able to increase our teacher wages this year; they are now comparable with other teachers in our area.
- PREFER feeds every student at least once every day.
- PREFER has supplied each child with a new set of clothing.
Sonya, March 2008
- A four year old, was knocked by a car on her way home from school. A three year old boy, Oliver, hurt his eye and needed surgery in Butare. Because of the funding PREFER receives we were able to have the best medical treatment available, and both children are healthy and back at school.
- At PREFER there are 60 street children in primary school, and 20 in Catch-up school, each one has received a new uniform and all school supplies.
- Our 5 abandoned babies that have been adopted into families continue to visit us each Monday. We supply the Mamas with soap and money each week to help support their families but have wanted them to be more self sufficient. For more information on how they are becoming self sufficient see News 2010.
- This is the first year PREFER has sponsored a university student; Jean Baptiste is enrolled at INES in sciences, his goal is to become a doctor.
- PREFER has 23 of the brightest students attending various secondary schools throughout the country and one primary student, Bongwe; he is at Wisdom Primary here in Musanze.
- PREFER has placed 33 goats and 20 care packages into families so far this year for a total of 1200 goats into vulnerable families since this project began. For more information see Goats.
- PREFER has purchased land across the street from our preschool, 2 acres. This is intended to be the future site of our primary school. We have the intention to keep purchasing until we have a 4 acre plot that has access from the main paved road as well as our back road.
For more information please see News 2010.
Baby Goat In The Gardent, November 2007
In previous years...
- PREFER erected its own buildings.
- PREFER surrounded its property with a fence.
- PREFER gathered 25 local women together and assisted them in forming a soap making association. Prefer agreed to help them with start-up costs to the amount of US$1000.
- Prefer hired a teacher and classes began. They held the classes on the pre-school property weekday afternoons.
- PREFER supplied 3 schools with materials, a total of 2400 students were provided with an assortment of school supplies.
- PREFER supplied 110 people with medical insurance for a 1 year period. The insurance will cover 90% of their medical costs leaving them with only 10% to pay.
- PREFER was assisted by many volunteers without whose help many of the above would not have been possible.
