Imbuto Foundation chairperson, the First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, will today launch the ninth annual Best Performing Girls campaign. The launch will take place in Gisagara District in Southern Province. Some 434 primary and secondary school girls will be recognised nationwide over the next few weeks, according to a statement from Imbuto Foundation. The Women’s Month will be concurrently launched. Imbuto Foundation initiated the Promotion of Girls’ Education campaign in 2005 to motivate girls to perform well in school. The social mobilisation campaign sensitises the community, parents, teachers, civil society, boys and local leaders to collectively support girls’ education. This year’s campaign will encourage more girls to embrace technical and vocational skills. Imbuto Foundation rewards more than 450 girls countrywide at each annual campaign. They are categorised as: the best girl per sector at primary school level; the best girl per district at O-Level; and the best 5 girls per province at A-Level. So far, more than 3,400 girls have been recognised for performing well. Equipping girls Girls receive awards such as scholastic materials, ICT training and funds to create savings accounts. The Senior Six girls are rewarded with a laptop each and an IT essentials training. The training seeks to equip the girls with basic IT skills, as they continue with university education. Girls historically faced social, economic and cultural barriers that prevented them from performing as well as they could. Media messages, promotional materials, role models who share inspirational stories, community mobilisation and partnerships with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, Rwanda Education Board, Tumba College of Technology and the One UN, provide a platform for the barriers to be broken so that young Rwandan girls can succeed.
