The First Lady,Jeannette Kagame has said that the wellbeing of the Rwandan child is a primary responsibility to his or her parents, before the involvement of any other third party—re-affirming the central role of the family in promoting social integration and a healthy society for children to thrive.

Mrs Kagame said this on Saturday, while officiating the 25th International Day of the African Child (DAC) themed "Quality Education is a stable foundation for a bright future of the child.”

This year, the DAC was also marked in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) "World Day against Child Labour” which falls annually on June 12.

The event jointly organised by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Services and Labour, National Commission for Children (NCC) and other stakeholders, was held in Nyagatare District.

It involved raising public awareness on issues affecting children such as dropping out of school, malnutrition, child labour, gender-based violence, child trafficking, among others.

"In our culture, children have great value,” Mrs Kagame said, adding, "We need to teach our children good values. Parents, we have the primary responsibility to provide for our children, with all the basics they require.”

The First Lady urged parents to plan ahead; by considering the number of children they will have, to enable them effectively provide for their families and nurture their children well.

However, she challenged every adult to be responsible of every child as their own.

"We still have children who drop out of school, get early pregnancies while others are child labourers. It is our duty to create a safe environment for them to grow well. We need to cultivate the culture of seeing every child as our own, and support them as much as possible,” Mrs Kagame noted.

This year saw 24092 school drop outs countrywide reinstated back. In Eastern province, 693 children were removed off the streets, out of which, 578 have so far been reintegrated with their families.

"When you look at such numbers, you wonder why their parents, neighbours, teachers and all responsible organs didn’t do anything,” First Lady noted.

The Governor of Eastern Province, Odette Uwamariya, echoed that the major issues facing school drop outs to opt for the streets – was entirely caused by "parental negligence”, hence calling parents to be more involved in their children’s upbringing.

"In the recent survey, in the province, we discovered that 85 percent of the children we get out of streets, have both parents,” Uwamariya said.

Emphasizing the importance of a holistic education, Mrs Kagame noted that, "We would rather face a challenge of many children in school than a challenge of many who are not in school.

To the children, Mrs Kagame said, "Our children here today, I want to tell you that you are our pride and joy, and that’s why we do everything for you to live good lives. We ask, especially to those of you who are grown-up, to also contribute to your own well-being by joining in our efforts.”

The Minister for Gender and Family Promotion Dr. Diane Gashumba, noted that the government has resolved "not to wait for national events to speak out on child negligence” but rather create platforms and empower existing mechanisms through which every member of the society is responsible for the wellbeing of the Rwandan child.

The Mayor of Nyagatare district, George Mupenzi said that in a bid to improve the education system, 709 classrooms have been built since 2010, which has significantly improved school performance to the current 89 per cent, in the district.

The district has 40 health centers and health posts, which facilitate maternity health care, in addition to the existing single, Isange One Stop Centre, for improved health care for the 465,000 residents of Nyagatare.

However, Tabagwe sector—where the event was held—still has limited health care system. The only existing health post, serves a big population, according to the mayor, which he says is not sufficient.

"Among other things needed is; to increase nursery schools, water supply, as well as to improve the health post to become a health center, to serve the influx of patients who seek medical care at Tabagwe health post.

He added, "The insufficient health post forces some of the Tabagwe residents to seek medical attention in neighboring Uganda.”

Parents, however, argue that some of the kids who drop out of school to go on the streets, are from poor families that fail to provide basic necessities, such as scholastic materials among others.

UN Resident Coordinator Lamin Manneh lauded the government’s commitment to ensuring the implementation of fundamental rights of children, through education for all, inclusive and improved health care system and good feeding.

"The progress achieved in the education sector is commendable, this is manifested in Rwanda having the highest enrolment rate in primary school in Africa, as well as having high numbers of gender-equitable enrolment in schools,” Manneh said.

To the youth and children of Rwanda, Manneh said, "I have said this before, you should count yourself lucky to have a country that is led by President Kagame, a leader who cares about your growth and development—a rare quality, I urge you to make good use of these opportunities availed to you.

Activities to mark the Day of the African Child, included renovation and provision of equipment to a school, screening children for dental and cardiovascular diseases, donating cows to three vulnerable families and giving more than 200 vulnerable children scholastic materials, among others.

The best performer of Umugoroba w’ababyeyi, were awarded, in each cell within Tabagwe. The initiative underscored in Rwanda Early Childhood Development programme in Tabagwe sector, is aimed at encouraging and supporting the feeding programme for vulnerable children and an open dialogue with the public on key issues affecting children, including child labour, street children, malnutrition, school dropout, teenage pregnancy,  among others.

Marked annually on June 16 since 1991, the Day of the African Child serves as an occasion to raise awareness about the need for improvement of the education provided to African children

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