Under Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program, the 3 days boot camp has been held in Nyanza and Rwamagana districts for 200 Adolescent Girls and Young Women ( AGYW) to provide them the opportunity to meet with women leaders and get tips on how to build self-confidence, leadership skills, how to be responsible for a successful future, as well as how to become agents of positive change in their communities. The camp is part of DREAMS program package aiming at building strong relationships between AGYW with peers and adults who can offer emotional support, information, and any assistance. Concluded on Friday, April 5, 2024, the boot camp with the theme “Youth, AIDS-free future is your pride,” improved the capacity of AGYW to lead healthy lives free of HIV/AIDS. “This camp had two main objectives,” explained Nadine Mujawamariya, the Deputy Chief of Party of the Igire-Turengere Abana/ DREAMS program at FXB Rwanda. “First, our program aims at the prevention of new HIV infections among Adolescent Girls and Young Women. Today, we have an issue of teenage pregnancies, meaning they had unprotected sex which exposes them to other sexually transmitted diseases. So, want the adolescent girls, who will complete their secondary school studies soon, to be vigilant about temptations they may face after school.” Second, Mujawamariya said, the boot camp seeks to build self-confidence in girls and young women so that they can be able to lead their lives responsibly. “If you cannot be responsible for your life, you cannot be able to lead other people in society.” Since 2018, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through United States Agency for International Development (USAID Rwanda) has been supporting FXB Rwanda; a nongovernmental organisation whose mission is to create a World Fit for Children to implement DREAMS program with the aim of impacting the lives of women and girls based on PEPFAR’s mission to support countries achieve epidemic control of HIV/AIDS. Each year more than 13,000 adolescent girls and young women have been supported with DREAMS program comprehensive package of services to reduce their risk to HIV infection: Those services include support to access clinical based interventions such as HIV testing service, Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), condom promotion and provision, access to voluntary, comprehensive family planning (FP) service, etc. The clinical based services are combined with other interventions such as education subsidy, economic strengthening including support to vocational training course and income generating activities, parenting/caregiver programs, social asset building, and community mobilization for negative norms changes that fuel violence against girls and women. “We appreciate FXB Rwanda’s support to our programmes in Rwamagana, especially with this camp during which they engaged adolescent girls and young women on their reproductive health, patriotism and leadership as well as taking care of their families,” said Jeanne Umutoni, the Rwamagana district Vice Mayor in charge of social affairs. “We hope that the 100 girls who attended this camp in Rwamagana district will be able to share the knowledge they got from here. More girls and young women need this important information about what they can do to improve their lives, and how they can take tap into the opportunities available in the country.” Beneficiaries of the DREAMS program testified to the improvement in their lives, thanks to DREAMS program ’s support. “I have gained a lot of knowledge from this camp, especially about how to build self-confidence and be able to pursue what can improve my life,” said Alice Nyirabikamiro, an 18-year-old secondary school finalist at Groupe Scolaire Nyagasambu in Rwamagana district. “I have understood the difference I can make if I resist temptations that adolescent girls face. I can focus on my success and with time I know I will be able to buy what I need in life when I am older. When I get back home, I will share the same knowledge with my peers. I want to help change my life as well as that of my peers.” For Solange Uwimanimpaye, a senior six student at Ecole Secondaire Rukomo in Nyagatare District supported by FXB Rwanda since 2020, the support she got through the DREAMS pprogram prevented her from dropping out of school at an early age. “They started to pay my school fees in senior three and now I am a candidate for the senior six national exams,” said Uwimanimpaye. “I am very grateful for the support that made me stay in school when dropping out was the option. In addition to that, I benefit from these camps that inspire us to remain on the right track. For instance, they’ve explained to us how drug abuse affects a person’s brain, and how a girl who abuses drugs is likely to be sexually abused and get pregnant,” she said. All that is necessary information for her, she said, noting that she will proudly share it with her agemates back in the village and school. DREAMS program partners with local non-governmental governments to serve AGYW aged 10-24 with a core package of interventions that combines evidence-based approaches that go beyond the health sector, addressing the behavioural and structural factors that increase girls’ risks to HIV infection. DREAMS program is a safe space cantered initiative that builds social asset of AGYW through small female mentor-led group meetings where the participants receive most of program services. In collaboration with local authorities, the DREAMS program established a safe space at every cell level of catchment area.
