The 2016 report done by Laterite in partnership with MINEDUC Rwanda and UNICEF indicated that an estimated 2.6 percent children under the age of 13 dropped out of school. Laterite is a data, research, and technical advisory firm that helps clients understand and analyse complex development challenges. The report indicated that after the age of 13, dropout becomes a much more widespread and structural problem. Between the ages of 13-15, children are meant to be in lower secondary school, and an estimated 10 percent dropped out in 2016, this rose to 18 percent for children of upper‐ secondary age, 16-17. It’s in this regard that a new project-Reading Riders-was launched in Rwinkwavu, Kayonza District to help curb the rate of school drop outs. The project was launched by Ready for Reading organisation as a reading culture enhancer in an effort to foster a culture of reading among young people. Ready for Reading is a non-government organisation that aims at advancing literacy and learning for students aged 10 and above, through community-based initiatives and a culture of reading. This particular project was done in collaboration with Rwanda Book Mobile; and with it, riders will be traveling using bikes to different parts of the District to read aloud different stories to pupils in different primary schools. According to the Ready for Reading partnerships Director, Jean Marie Habimana, the project is also expected to be the answer to people who are unable to access libraries. “We laucnhed this project last week aiming to promote a reading culture and support struggling learners by reaching out to them in their schools. Besides, the project is expected to enhance the quality of education and reduce the number of school dropouts,” he said. The project will be implemented on a pilot basis in Rwinkwavu sector for a period of three months, and it will later be implanted in different schools from other districts in the future. Since opening in 2012, Ready for Reading has provided literacy and learning opportunities, as well as fostering a culture of reading-an essential tool in fighting poverty of the mind and spirit, hence empowering people to hope for and achieve a better future.
