More than 74,000 children are currently enrolled in over 5,000 home-based early childhood development (ECD) centres operating within communities across Rwanda, according to a national assessment.
The centres, linked to the Vision Umurenge Programme (VUP), are supported by more than 36,000 trained caregivers and are spread across 307 sectors nationwide.
The findings were presented on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, during a stakeholders’ meeting and awards ceremony recognising model villages and high-performing community-based ECD initiatives, organised by Imbuto Foundation.
The assessment, conducted since 2024, evaluated progress in model villages and home-based ECD programmes, focusing on service delivery, community participation and areas requiring improvement.
Imbuto Foundation Executive Director Shami Elodie said the evaluation showed significant improvements in community engagement, service delivery and social cohesion within model villages and ECD centres.
“We visited all model villages and assessed home-based ECD centres across the country. We wanted to review progress, listen to community feedback and identify areas for improvement,” she said.
She also highlighted the growth of savings and credit groups within these communities, noting that they have strengthened local resilience and enabled residents to address socio-economic challenges collectively.
The “Iwacu mu Mudugudu w’Icyitegererezo” programme, launched in 2022, aims to improve living conditions in model villages, particularly for households relocated from informal settlements that faced challenges integrating into new communities.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), Mireille Batamuliza, commended collaboration between government institutions, Imbuto Foundation and development partners in advancing community welfare and livelihoods.
She said the programme has helped address governance, social cohesion and infrastructure-related challenges through strengthened community participation and local accountability mechanisms.
During the event, awards were presented to outstanding model villages and ECD centres, with top performers receiving between Rwf300,000 and Rwf5 million depending on category.
Among the best-performing model villages were Rugerero in Rubavu District, Horezo in Muhanga, Kinigi in Musanze, Rugabano in Karongi and Karama in Nyarugenge.
Eighty-three home-based ECD centres were also recognised for their performance, with calls to further upgrade them from community-based structures into more formalised and better-resourced centres to improve early childhood service delivery.
