Chantal stands confidently in front of a dozen of women. With a lot of tools and drawings around her, she is training them on essentials of reproductive health. She speaks loudly, facing each woman at a time.
These women representat hundred others of Bugesera District. At their return, they will share the knowledge acquired with others. "Most of these women have more than 5 children, yet their income is almost inexistent. They all look weak and old but only one or two of them are 40, These are some results from the lack of knowledge on reproductive health" explains Chantal.
The five day-training was organized in collaboration of UNFPA, World Food Programme and Rwanda Flora. It aims at providing basic farming techniques that permit household food security and it will address also family planning issue.
"A limited number of these women are able to decide on the issues related to their health. Many of them don't even understand reproductive health concepts. That's why we train them, and we have started to see some behavior changes.", says Daphrose Nyrasafali, UNFPA Rwanda Reproductive health programme officer.
UNFPA works with groups of women and youth to train them on reproductive Health. The government of Rwanda has also started to invest in this sector and a progress was noticed. Between 2005 and 2007, the average number of childlen per family decreased from 6.1 to 5.5.
---Didier Habimana
