Impact of the Mureke Dusome program in Rwanda, a community-based intervention to support reading

• In Event: Family & community literacy: non-formal building blocks for ensuring educational success

Proposal

Mureke Dusome (“Let’s Read”) is a four-year, community-focused literacy project in Rwanda that aims to improve children’s literacy skills by encouraging and supporting reading outside of school. It is funded by the United States Agency for International Development and is implemented by Save the Children in collaboration with local partners, Umuhuza and Urunana DC.

The project’s key activities include:
1) Working with the Rwanda Education Board to develop modules to train head teachers and school general assembly committees (SGACs), who, in turn, will elect Literacy Champions and promote regular reading activities in their communities,
2) Providing book banks to communities to promote reading outside of school,
3) Developing a social-behavior change communication (SBCC) campaign that popularizes key literacy messages and content through media, including print and audio-visual methods such as popular radio programs, and
4) Training and encouraging actors in Rwanda’s publishing industry to develop more high-quality storybooks for children.

An impact evaluation of Mureke Dusome over 2016-2017 revealed that the project improved access to books outside of school, children's reading practices, and caregivers' attitudes about reading and involvement in children's school activities. We will share these exciting results as well as lessons learned and our thoughts on the sustainability of this and similar interventions.

Authors

• Christine Jonason, Save the Children - USA

• Alex Alubisia, Save the Children

• Heidi Schubert, Save the Children

• Sofia COzzolino, Save the Children