SURF's Annual Report 2008

Education

Over the past year, the number of young survivors making their way to SURF's new centre in Kamonyi has continued to grow. They come with one issue on their mind: education.

How will they fund their education? SURF helps when it can, but education is today an expensive business in Rwanda. Though primary school is universally free, there is still the expense of the uniform, books and stationery to cover, as well as transport too. Fees for secondary school amount to £100 a year, a small fortune for many survivors. The fortunate ones receive assistance from FARG, the Government Assistance Fund for Survivors. However the scholarship is based on merit. It covers only one in every five of the survivors.

The most vulnerable young survivors do not perform well enough at primary school to qualify for assistance. Many have insurmountable obstacles to overcome - caring for dependents, making ends meet, managing their trauma. They attend school on an empty stomach and without a secure home to which to return. It is not then a surprise that many drop out.

But education is a route out of destitution. It provides survivors with the confidence and the skills to ultimately become independent. Graduating from secondary school has a significant impact on the life chances of survivors. At the end of the year, we agreed an initial grant from Foundation Rwanda to support 150 children born of rape through secondary school. We are hopeful that we will be in a position to extend this number in 2009.

Through individual donors as well as SURF's own funding, we are supporting over 100 young survivors through university education. Through Solace Ministries, we helped secure funding to support 40 young survivors. At a cost of nearly £800 a year, this proves to be a great financial commitment. However, there is a concurrent challenge of extending support to survivors as they graduate from university to enable them to secure jobs - which, as the global economic climate begins to impact upon Rwanda, is becoming ever more difficult. To this end, we are planning to convene a conference of all students on the SURF university education project, in order to develop an alumni network that can enable us to better understand the issues that the graduates face to ensure that we can provide continuing support as necessary.