Parents in Kicukiro District will no longer worry about where to leave their children whenever they go to work as an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre is set to be completed in the area.

Members of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) in the district launched the construction of the centre on Saturday as part of a series of activities to mark celebration of 30 years of the party’s existence scheduled end of next month, according to officials.

Other activities include supporting the vulnerable by paying the community-based health insurance scheme (Mutuelle de Santé), constructing and renovating houses for the vulnerable, among others.

The centre, being constructed at GS Murambi in Gatenga Sector, will help fight malnutrition among kids, nurture values and culture among them as well as keep kids busy while parents are away from homes, according to officials.

ECDs are important as the Government targets to reduce stunting among children in the country to at least 15 per cent in 2020, requiring reduction of 6 per cent each year.

According to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) 2015, stunting stands at 38 per cent while the 2020 target is to reduce it to 15 per cent.

Officials from the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion reaffirm the need for every village to have at least one ECD centre to ensure malnutrition and poor hygiene are addressed while promoting Rwandan culture among kids at a tender age.

Marie Jeanne Uwanyirigira, a mother from Gatenga Sector, said the centre will help residents.

"This ECD is a response to parents, every morning our kids are left at home with maids and they have no skills to take care of the children or left alone, with this centre our kids will be taken care of, learn various things, acquire good culture as they are well fed to fight stunting,” said Uwanyirigira.

She hailed RPF, saying apart from the ECD a lot has been done to uplift people’s welfare such as constructing houses for the vulnerable, paying community health insurance for them, among others.

Emmanuel Rusine, another resident and head of RPF in Gatenga Sector, said during the period ahead of the celebration, other activities ranging from renovating houses for the vulnerable to construction of houses for the needy and supporting the poor will take place.

"We are identifying needy people and will construct houses for them while those with houses in sorry state will have them renovated. We will also be working with local leaders to promote hygiene, we want to be guided by actions other than words,” he said.

Kicukiro mayor Jeanne Nyirahabimana said the ECD centre will help parents to acquire antenatal services as it is around the health centre while kids will be helped to grow up well and develop their talents so that they become important members of ]society.

The centre, which is expected to be ready in four months, will have three rooms with capacity to accommodate 120 children, according to officials.