Oxfam's work in Rwanda in depth

Oxfam has worked in Rwanda since the 1960s.  In the wake of the genocide, we joined the biggest aid operation ever carried out by international agencies.  People poured into overcrowded refugee camps in neighbouring countries and we provided clean water, health advice, and basic sanitation to help them to survive until they could return home.

Today, the focus of Oxfam's work in Rwanda is alleviating poverty and promoting good governance in ways that support national reconciliation.  Despite changes in the political, socio-economic and governance context over the last few years, consolidation of peace remains very important in Rwanda.  As such, capacity building in conflict management and prevention issues continues to form a key element of our programme work.

Livelihoods

Oxfam seeks to play a facilitation and co-ordination role through a markets-oriented approach to sustainable livelihoods.  We support smallholder farmers to help them command a better price for their products and provide technical training for local farmers and co-operatives. We also help amplify farmers’ voices by facilitating exchanges between farmers, traders, policy influencers, the private sector and service providers.

We plan to engage with two strategic value chains in our livelihoods work, namely pineapple commodities targeting the rural poor, and mushroom commodities targeting mainly poor women (mostly widows) in rural areas of Kigali.

Good governance

Our good governance strategy seeks to promote active community participation in decision-making and development work through co-operatives, community based organisations, and strengthening civil society engagement with government.  The aim is for citizens to participate actively in their development and manage conflicts in a manner that supports sustainable development. Oxfam also focuses on improving and promoting increased female participation in decision-making bodies especially at grassroots and local levels.

Gender

Gender mainstreaming cuts across all our of livelihoods programmes.  Our gender work focuses on improving gender relations so that women are not excluded from having access to, and control over, resources and decision-making opportunities in order to help build their economic capacities.

Violence against women is one of the gender issues increasing poverty and for this, the programme seeks to campaign against gender based violence.  We will do this through activities aimed at reducing violence against women and by promoting women's rights.  This programme also advocates for special economic strategies and measures to improve the living conditions of Rwandan women.  Our gender mainstreaming work aims to ensure that poor women gain power over their lives and overcome the barriers that keep them and their families in poverty.

Oxfam works closely with co-operatives and partners, using our experience from the peace-building programme to continue mitigating and resolving conflicts between men and women.  Potential local partners have been identified to help strengthen gender debates to fight gender-based violence and raise gender awareness.

HIV and AIDS

Oxfam seeks to integrate work on HIV and AIDS into all of our programmes, especially in our livelihoods projects. We aim to help increase the economic empowerment of people living with HIV and AIDS and also to increase knowledge and awareness of the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS among the communities with which we work.

Our programme also works with local partners to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS at their work places.

Humanitarian preparedness

This programme seeks to integrate disaster risk reduction measures, and create partnerships for humanitarian preparedness in collaboration with other Oxfam International affiliates in Rwanda. 

Working with UNHCR and the Rwanda Disaster Management Unit (a multi sectoral and inter-agency unit for monitoring the humanitarian situation in Rwanda), Oxfam is helping develop a contingency plan to strengthen our capacity and that of identified partners to monitor the onset of a humanitarian crisis, and to respond in a co-ordinated way. 

We are integrating disaster risk reduction measures into our sustainable livelihoods programme with the aim of ensuring that women and men realise their right to sustainable livelihoods in the context of climate change.  We continue to work with communities to discuss the causes and impacts of climate change and to develop appropriate technologies to mitigate risks.

Policy, lobbying and advocacy

Our advocacy and campaigning work is driven by civil society and citizens engaged in the livelihoods programme who are active in demanding their rights.  The Rwanda programme will also tap into other partners’ opportunities, to increase the moment to influence.

Our policy and advocacy work in Rwanda will involve timely policy analysis (to identify gaps) and research and media work using appropriate technologies such as radio in collaboration with media actors.  Advocacy work will involve partners early in on in the process of identifying relevant issues to influence policy and practice.  Deliberate efforts are made to ensure civil society organisations’ engagement with national institutions to bring about policy change as well as practice, at institutional and individual levels.

 

Last updated: July 09