Rwanda Forward: Civic Education-Literacy in the community

Rwanda Forward addresses the need to ameliorate the intergenerational impact of trauma in the Great Lakes region of Africa. While our project is context specific, its solutions being mediated by technology, are applicable in any school, library or community context world-wide.  The factors that contribute to the problem that relate to our solution are as follows: low levels of literacy and a lack of sustainable socio-economic opportunities are the seeds of community distress. Therefore, this Civic Education program stresses the integration of Civic Education +literacy and community development.

The Scale of the Problem: Over 3 million people are potentially impacted by regional and ethnic strife left behind by the decisions of the Colonizers. One in 10 of the world’s children, a staggering 230 million, live in conflict-affected countries.

Rwanda, twenty-nine years after Genocide, it remains a country in recovery from the unimaginable violence. Rwanda is dominated by young people (65.3% aged below 30 according to the 2022 population census) Not all families experienced the tragedy directly, but all suffer its aftermath and consequences.Children continue to need programs that support healing and rebuilding. Since 60% of the Rwanda population was less than 24 years old and the proportion of children below the age of 15 was 42% (2018 census) and programs of literacy development, modeling civic action, combined with opportunities for community building have the potential to impact large numbers of people.

Many millions of young people in rural areas of Rwanda are affected by poverty, which in turn affects their academic success. According to the World Bank Rwanda’s poverty headcount ratio was 52% in 2016.,   

Literacy:

Low levels of literacy are systemic. Rwanda is very low in a world wide comparison of basic literacy( 131/164) as evidenced by low levels of foundational literacy skills, high drop-out rates and limited educational technology. . Overseas volunteers with the African Great Lakes ( AGLI) projects report a  lack of a structured methodology for teaching reading in the public schools. This results in many children not learning to read, dropping out of school and low pass rates on national exams. 

Community economic distress:

The lack of sustainable socio-economic opportunities are the seeds of community distress.  Rwanda remains primarily a rural country, with large families (often over six children) and insufficient land to supply the necessary food. This results in stunting the growth (38%) of children under five and impacts cognitive and physical development. 

Low literacy levels contribute to the economic distress produced by subsistence farming keeping a large proportion of the population dependent on farming small plots of land. The continuation of traditional and often inefficient farming practices along with a dependence on market forces beyond their control creates a cycle of poverty.  Furthermore, there is a lack of current information on farming techniques and on practices that might improve the return on their labor through the formation of cooperatives etc. These factors allied with a distrust of official channels or outsiders calls for community support strategies that are sensitive to the local dynamics.

Our goal is to strengthen the fabric of civil society through a Civic Education-Literacy program that develops the skills and mindset that will prepare young people to take leadership roles in their communities.

A. Civic education - literacy development.

B. A service learning/community building component.

A.   Using the SomaBox (a low technology device) The civic education curriculum, (including the books for read aloud programs) will address the problem of low/inconsistent Internet and sporadic mobile phone coverages. The soma boxes will be made available in schools, community centers, and a network of peace libraries. Trained adults read children's books that model problem-solving, cooperation, empathy, kindness and sharing: the foundational skills for a just society which constitute the core of the  curriculum.  

Bringing these books and their message for how to live and be a contributor to a just society will be the civic engagement component of the programming. The books are discussed in a child centered fashion, emphasizing critical thinking, and problem-solving, as well as social emotional development through Wondering Questions which through reflection connect the story to the individual's life experience.

B. We will leverage REAP'S expertise in the SomaBox technology to foster rural community building through service learning. 

Educational information downloaded on the SOMA BOX will cover successful cooperative development, public and mental health, and financial literacy. With the service learning training, youth ambassadors will guide the use of the SOMA box with community leaders. This collaborative relationship will help build community capacity for socio-economic development.

How your solution works:

Civic education curriculum – including books, lesson guides, and resources – will be available on the website of the TLC and will be downloaded to the SOMA Box for users In rural areas such as Katarara. The poster, which is included in the two minute video, is an example of what the curriculum would look like when posted on the TLC website and downloaded onto the SomaBox.

Training for how to conduct the Read Alouds, including the child- centered practices such as “Wondering Questions” are vital to the goals in the program, will be provided by the Transformational Leadership Center. The training can be provided remotely via the internet using the capacity of the SomaBox to have reliable internet on a consistent basis. Sample guides for six books are currently available as training manuals and will be available from the SomaBox library and will be downloadable onto sturdy laptops, tablets, phones for use in schools, libraries, and community centers.

"What technology is used?"

SomaBox is an open source, portable digital library that allows users to access educational resources, books, music, and other media files in areas with limited  Internet connectivity or restricted access to cell phone service.

SomaBox is essentially a small wireless router that runs on open source software connected to any device with Wi-Fi capabilities. It can be preloaded with digital content, such as e-books, educational videos, and other materials, which can then be accessed by anyone within range of the wireless signal.

The Katarara school housed the library Read Aloud program ( 2021-2022) and has requested to bring the Read Aloud program into the school curriculum. The conditions there are dire.  An eye-witness report,  by a volunteer from the Mennonite Church of Canada, and supported by photographs  documents very large classes, especially in the vital pre-primary level (74 students and two shifts). The report also shows that many classes are meeting without writing utensils or books ( TLC 2/27/2023). Discussions with school personnel revealed that students passed the end of primary exams with D grades in English, but were not adequately prepared for the secondary school curriculum which is taught through English. Therefore, many students simply drop-out and continue a life of poverty.

Our community development - civic education component of the project will serve Musha, a rural, remote and impoverished community in the Rwamagana District. With a population of over 26,000, Musha faces challenges including a 73 % illiteracy rate, a 30% rate of school dropout and absenteeism, a 38 % youth unemployment rate, early pregnancies, in addition to large families (an average mother has 6 children). We will use the Somabox technology to provide the Musha community members with access to right information and training to improve their practices in two most important socio-economic sectors: agriculture and public health. 

In Musha, in many other parts of Rwanda, agriculture is the main economic activity in Rwanda with 70% of the population engaged in the sector, and around 72% of the working population employed in agriculture and the agricultural sector accounts for 33% of the national GDP However, according to FAO, agriculture still faces challenges including poor farming techniques, shortage of land availability and dependency to rainfalls.

How will the solution address their needs/impact their lives?

The Read Aloud programming aims to improve literacy skills, critical thinking and problem-solving and a range of Social Emotional skills in both the home language and in English. Students are guided through the books by a  trained adult.  With the capacity of the SomaBox, books can also be downloaded onto smartphones and tablets which will also be available in supervised community settings for independent reading practice. The civic education program improves reading skills using books that model the values and skills of  a  just and inclusive community. 

With the addition of a Service Learning component for the older students, Interns will have opportunities to lead discussion sessions in their communities. 

Our community development civic education component of the project will serve Musha, a rural, remote and impoverished community in the Rwamagana District. With a population of over 26,000, Musha faces challenges including a 73 % illiteracy rate, a 30% rate of school dropout and absenteeism, a 38 % youth unemployment rate, early pregnancies, and large families whereby an average mother has 6 children. We will use the Somabox technology to provide the Musha community members with access to right information and training to improve their practices in two most important socio-economic sectors: agriculture and public health. 

The Rwanda Forward, Civic Education-Literacy Project, is a collaboration between the Soma Foundation /Rwanda Educational Assistance Project (REAP) and The Transformational Leadership Center (TLC). The Team Leader for this project is Joseph Semafara. Joseph is a genocide survivor who through his involvement with REAP is today a technology leader in the Rwandan business and philanthropic community. The SomaBox evolved through his involvement with REAP. 

 REAP has a long and successful record of community development, pre-schools and sustainable business projects.  REAP is led by Rwandan professionals and overseen by local community boards representative of the whole community. 

TLC is led by David Bucura - who at the time of the community violence was a Headmaster of a school in the Kigali area.  He believed that societal recovery post genocide needed programs that could be delivered from Peace Libraries serving the whole community. And, most especially to be a place where young people could have a safe place to come and to interact with one another. The goals of TLC also include programs of community development.

The collaboration between REAP and TLC is based on leveraging the strengths of both organizations

Currently, TLC is leading Civic Education - literacy programming through its Read Aloud offerings in the 7 Peace Libraries. The libraries are staffed by a combination of paid and volunteer staff who are local and representative of their communities. Staff work with community boards to ensure that the libraries are meeting the needs of their particular communities. This is pioneering work bringing Social-Emotional learning to young people from the communities served by the Peace Libraries. Technology is vital to this work as inconsistent and unreliable internet and cell phone coverage make consistent, organized programming difficult to deliver. 

Together, REAP and the TLC center can bring Civic Programs into the communities. Together these groups will develop Service Learning projects whereby older graduates of the Read Aloud programs will be recruited to become student ambassadors in their communities. Having been trained to be facilitative group leaders in the SEL based Read Aloud training they will lead a variety of programs centered around the capacities of the SomaBox to bring books and vital sources of information to rural areas.

We are applying to gain expertise to enable the project to attract attention internationally so as to expand our services and bring in sustaining sources of revenue.

Marketing

The SomaBox is designed to equalize opportunities to access the resources of the internet for schools and community projects with low and unreliable  internet, poor connectivity and inconsistent electricity supplies. By definition this is a difficult market in which to generate income. But, all people need some basic products and we would benefit from marketing expertise. Some companies might be interested in having their company logo associated with worthwhile educational efforts which Somabox makes possible. 

Sponsorship

In this application, the Somabox comes pre-loaded with books and materials that will develop literacy skills in young people while they are learning the SEL skills in the Civic Education programming. Sponsors may be interested in having their name associated with positive educational programming.

Data Collection and Analysis to validate the impact of the Sombox+Literacy-Civic education curricula.

This project which is manageable in scale and with its emphasis on the combination of literacy and civic education offers an opportunity to demonstrate learning outcomes in young people participating in the programs that the SomaBox makes possible.

Philantrophic Donors

We are seeking organizations interested in supporting peace and social justice by enabling the project to replicate the Peace Libraries as Civic Education Libraries world wide. Opportunities exist in Indonesia and Central America to replicate what has been and will continue to be offered through Read Aloud programming in Rwanda.

Partnerships:

We would welcome organizations to partner with us to replicate and or improve how to deploy of the Somabox with pre-loaded literacy-civic education curricula in other areas of Africa. 

Technology innovators 

We seek technology innovators who could make the materials downloadable from the Somabox onto inexpensive cell phones:

 OR 

Who could solve the problem of printing books with paper that can survive the climate and be able to be borrowed and taken to homes without climate control. Currently, laminating the books for take-home purposes is prohibitive at almost $20.00 per copy.

The Civic Education programming is INNOVATIVE:

The program is innovative in that it promotes literacy along with the SEL content (listed below). Experienced educators in the US and the UK laud the practice of teaching children to read (with comprehension) while providing other content such as SEL or science. Furthermore, via the SomaBox. underserved communities have access to high quality literacy and civic education resources. Demonstrating the capacity of the SomaBox with this curriculum could encourage other providers to make their materials available in this way and other communities to avail of the SomaBox.

Curriculum is based on open-source children’s books that are downloadable for free. This cuts down on the typical cost of $20.00 per book. This project is able to get the price down to $4.50 for a child size book for classroom use.

The books are culturally relevant to the contexts in which they will be used.

The curriculum books are carefully curated to reflect the SEL values that are being modeled in the books: self-awareness; self-management; social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.

The facilitative teaching strategy is a clear break from the “tell and memorize practices” of most rural schools. The facilitative (non-directive) teaching strategy supports the goals of the TLC to bring “child-centered” teaching and learning practices into Rwandan schools. 

The full curriculum with the books and training guides are available for free from the website of the TLC and can be downloaded onto a SomaBox for areas without the internet. Individual books can be downloaded for free onto phones, tablets or other devices.

There is an introductory Training Manual and training can be conducted on-line with follow up support from TLC and REAP.

In the settings where Read Aloud programs are provided, students learn how to behave in ways that create safe, cooperative environments. These skills can work their way into the homes and communities when the young people model these skills outside of the classroom. 

Overall, the programming promotes a culture of reading.

Service Learning brings learning out of the classroom. It provides a unique opportunity for students to learn how to become agents for social change. There are two aspects to the Service Learning component. 

In Part 1, older students who have completed the Read Aloud training will be selected to bring Read Alouds to community settings ( with supervision and support from adult mentors.)  We anticipate that books will be downloaded onto smartphones, tablets, kindles which will be made available for these sessions. They will also be downloaded onto individual phones or devices where available.  

In part 2, using the SomaBox, students will support community members in accessing and processing vital information on topics such as public health, farming, rural development strategies etc.

In the long-run, we anticipate that efforts like ours will create a culture of reading and thus a market for children’s books. In the short run, the SomaBox could be used to advertise merchandise and products/services to communities that would otherwise be unreachable.

Increase the numbers of students ( 6-12 years of age)  participating in Read Alouds.

Train 20 additional volunteers to lead Read Alouds in the 7 existing Peace Libraries.

Recruit cohorts of students for intensive Civic Education programs of 7- 14 weeks in length in the catchment areas of the 7 Peace Libraries

Offer weekly Read Aloud sessions on a drop-in basis and on the weekends.

Recruit students to attend library reading sessions with the “lure” or incentive of access to tablets and smartphones.

Develop the reading and speaking skills of ( 6-12 year old ) students participating in the programs.

Between 4-10 copies of the core 50 books will be available in multiple media– print, downloaded onto tablets, laptops, kindles etc.

Increase the participation in the Peace Libraries by students coming to read books.

Increase the number of books borrowed on a month to month basis.

Organize debates, pantomimes, carnivals, discussion sessions etc where students dramatize the messages of the books for fellow students and community members.

Develop the Social-Emotional and positive behavioral skills of students participating in the programs.

By providing  curriculum books that are carefully curated to reflect the values that are being modeled in the books: self-awareness; self-management; social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.

By modeling facilitative teaching strategies which are a clear break for authoritarian methods, elementary students will develop the positive behavioral skills to model SEL in the community.

Promote collaborative programs among TLC and REAP-Somabox Foundation

Provide reciprocal training opportunities.

Promote a culture of reading by bringing books and reading into the communities

Through the Service Learning component, student ambassadors will conduct Read Aloud sessions in their communities.

Student ambassadors will show how to use  the capacity of SomaBbox to be a tool to bring information into the community in non-threatening ways. 

5 year goals

Increase the English reading skills of students leaving elementary school and thus decrease the drop-out rate in secondary schools in the rural, disadvantaged, catchment areas of the Peace Libraries and REAP.

Improve speaking skills by using full sentences that express an idea coherently.

Over an extended period of time to create a critical mass of young people who will have been exposed to the positive social-emotional values and skills. “ … we shall know them by their love” (traditional folk song). 

Promote a replicable model of Service Learning.

Community Development Goals and their measurement

1. Five youths ( 12 years and older) will be trained in read-aloud, SEL and Somabox technology. Measurements: 

   1. The youth will take pre- and post-tests for the read-aloud and SEL training while 

   2. The youth will demonstrate the use of the Somabox to evaluate their technological competences. 

2. The five youths will collaborate with five community leaders  to become agents of change. Measurement: By the end of the first year, the youth will describe five new community development projects they have initiated.

Increase the number of new sites using SomaBox in Rwanda, the Congo, Burundi, sub-Sahrahan region  ( 20 sites - 5 in each country)

Current school-based, student achievement data will be collected from the schools in the catchment areas of the rural, disadvantaged communities. Intense efforts will be made to promote strong, consistent attendance in the  Civic Education programs. Student achievement will be tracked on a term by term basis to determine the impact of the Read Alouds on student acquisition of vocabulary and reading comprehension in the English language. These in turn are critical for success in Secondary School.

Speaking will be assessed by examining and coding a cross-section of videos sent at the start of the program and at regular intervals throughout. 

Cross-sectional, community surveys will assess the attitudes and social-emotional knowledge of young people aged 14-18 over the 5 year period.

Focus groups will be conducted in the communities where student ambassadors will lead programs around use of the SomaBox for community informational purposes. These will be conducted at the start of a Service Learning project and each year that student ambassadors are involved.

Community Development Goals and their measurement tools

1. Five youth will be trained in read-aloud, SEL and Somabox technology. Measurements: 

   1. The youth will take pre- and post-tests for the read-aloud and SEL training while 

   2. The youth will demonstrate the use of the Somabox to evaluate their technological competences. 

2. The five youth will collaborate with five community leaders for the youth to become agents of change. 

3. Measurement: By the end of the first year, the youth will describe five new community development projects they have initiated.

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Rwanda Forward  implements the SDG’s and focuses specifically on the need for literacy - the skill to read with comprehension and to think critically. (SDG 4.1). The skills and knowledge to promote a culture of peace and non-violence are learned through combining literacy and civic education (4.7)

We seek to promote a culture of peace and non-violence. The books at the core of the curriculum model the values and skills in culturally relevant texts. The civic education component includes opportunities to implement life learning in the community. 

The inputs:

The core of the Civic Education program is the Read Aloud with quality books made possible through the SomaBox. 

The Curriculum:

Using SEL criteria, 50 BOOKS from the ASBP were chosen by a team from TLC composed of Rwandans and American educators . Over 100 additional books are available from StoryWeaver and FriendsPeaceTeams. 

The Books: 

Books develop understanding of oneself and others, including those who are “left out, conflict resolution strategies, and respect for the environment and all creatures. (The poster in the Program video gives a snapshot of how the curriculum will look when posted on the Website of the TRC and on the SomaBox)

The Process: Adult facilitators ( teachers, librarians) read aloud, bringing the meaning “alive” through dramatic reading techniques. The core of the process involves the facilitator engaging the students in discussion using Thinking Questions to foster critical thinking, AND “Wondering Questions” where the students are connecting the lesson to their own lives.

The culturally relevant books from the African StoryBook Project are chosen to model the SEL skills and are available in Kinyarwanda and English. 

Discussion sessions model and facilitate equitable ways of interacting within our schools, homes and communities. 

The SEL curriculum includes Service Learning. Under the guidance of mentors, older students will bring the Read Alouds into the community to lead book discussions with parents and children. Students can also facilitate using the capacity of Soma Box as a source of information on topics such as improved farming techniques, public health or forming cooperatives etc.

The Somabox equalizes access to quality books and information in communities without internet and reliable cell phone coverage. It works on batteries so that power outages do not interfere with access to SomaBox programs. 

Outcomes: 

Classroom Learning

Vocabulary acquisition is a key to reading with comprehension and critical thinking

 (Reading Research Quarterly, Vol 57, #2, 2022). Therefore, a cross section of students will take a vocabulary test based on the books that are being read (The Reading Teacher, 2010, Vol 62(7)). This will be at the beginning and after 3, 6 and 12 months. 

For SEL: Scenarios will be created by team members which parallel the dilemmas and lessons of the books. Students will respond by saying what they would do in the situation. CASEL.org (2023) reports that SEL outcomes are documented by hundreds of studies involving over 1 million students worldwide.

Service Learning.

Focus groups will be held before the start of the program and at regular intervals throughout.

SomaBox is an open source, portable digital library that allows users to access educational resources, books, music, and other media files in areas with limited  Internet connectivity or restricted access to cell phone service.

SomaBox is essentially a small wireless router that runs on open source software, and can be connected to any device with Wi-Fi capabilities. It can be preloaded with digital content, such as e-books, educational videos, and other materials, which can then be accessed by anyone within range of the wireless signal.

SomaBox technology is built on open source software and runs on low cost wireless routers. The key technology components of SomaBox are:

OpenWRT: SomaBox is based on the OpenWRT open source operating system, which is designed to run on wireless routers. OpenWRT provides a stable, customizable platform for running the SomaBox software

Wireless router: SomaBox runs on the TP-Link MR3040. The router is small, portable, and is powered by a powerful internal battery, making them ideal for use in remote off grid locations.

USB drive: SomaBox uses a USB drive to store the digital Content, such as e-books, educational videos, and other materials. The USB drive is plugged into the wireless router and the content is made available to users to connect to the SomaBox hotspot.

Web interface: SomaBox includes a web-based interface that allows users to interact with the digital content on the device.

Battery or power source: built-in battery allows for extended use without the need for power source. The battery has a powerful internal battery, which is capable of powering 4 hours of SomaBox content browsing at full capacity. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

This application is a cooperative project between three NGOs: The SomaFoundation Rwanda, The Rwanda Education Assistance Project ( REAP) and The Transformational Leadership Center (TLC). Each of these three organizations are based in Rwanda and are led by Rwandans.

Two of the organizations have affiliations with US entities. 

TLC , a Rwandan registered NGO operates in affiliation with Friends Peace Teams ( FPT) a US registered 501 (C)3. FPT has a central office in Saint Louis, Missouri. FPT  is an “umbrella” organization which aspires to develop long-term relationships around the world with global networks of peace and justice workers. FPT has engaged in a challenging process to discern how to share power.

The results of this process are described  in the April-May Newsletter.  FPT is described as  functioning  “as a network of autonomous regional groups who share power based on mutual discernment. Our activities respect the dignity of all life and cultivate each person’s innate capacities.... We work to recognize and challenge identities that may be rooted in white supremacy and racism. To that end, we set up an FPT Global Coordinating Team clerked by the regional groups. The US group changed its name from FPT Council to North American Regional Group, taking its place as an equal member in the global network”.

REAP is also registered in the US as a 501(c)3. The CEO of the organization is Edward Balen.  Mr. Ballen serves the organization under the direction of the Baord of Directors. The chair of the Board is a Rwandan national with dual US and Rwanda citizenship. The board is made up of equal numbers of men and women.  

#1. What is your business model?

Business strategies include device sales, a subscription model, content licensing, customization services, and advertising opportunities.

The primary source of revenue for SomaBox is the sale of its hardware device itself. This device serves as the foundation for accessing the digital library and provides a seamless user experience. The price of the device encompasses the manufacturing and distribution costs incurred by SomaBox, ensuring that the company maintains a reasonable profit margin.

In addition to hardware sales, SomaBox adopts a subscription model to grant customers access to its extensive content library. To fully enjoy the diverse range of content available, users are required to subscribe to a monthly or annual service. The subscription model presents different tiers of access, with pricing that corresponds to the extent of content availability. This approach allows SomaBox to cater to a variety of customer preferences and usage requirements while generating recurring revenue.

To enrich its content library, SomaBox actively engages in content licensing agreements with publishers, authors, and content creators. The revenues generated from the sales or usage of the SomaBox device are shared among the involved parties based on mutually agreed-upon percentages.

SomaBox also offers customization services to enhance the user experience and meet individual preferences. Customers have the option to personalize their content preferences, tailoring the digital library to their liking.

SomaBox presents advertising opportunities to advertisers seeking to reach a targeted audience of specific users who align with their target demographic. It may be possible to attract adverts for products that are necessary in any community such as soap or farming implements. Reputable educational sites such as Edutopia carry adverts so the practice of including adverts may be acceptable.

Government and philanthropic foundations will continue to be sought out to support this vital resource for education and community development in rural communities. (299)

Examples of how you plan to achieve financial sustainability have been successful so far. 

Sales: 

A public relations campaign is under development to bring the capabilities of the SomaBox WITH extensive books and reading curriculum to the attention of government agencies and large nonprofits operating in the educational and literacy improvement areas. 

Donations:

Philanthropic donors interested in replicating Peace/Civic Libraries will be sought out when we can provide data to show the impact of READ ALOUD programming on the young participants

Each of the cooperating non-profits have been successful in raising funds through donations and grants.

Each of the cooperating non-profits will continue to receive support from grants.

The Soma Foundation Rwanda has been supported by the Segal Family Foundation 45,000.00 over 3 years. 2021– SOLVIT made a donation of $7,000.00. This has resulted in the deployment of 25 SomaBox devices. 

The Transformational Leadership Center has had 20+ years of successful funding by donations raised by  Friends Peace Teams. In addition, the Mennonite Church of Canada has provided a generous stream of financial support.

Read Aloud programming has been supported by grants from various Quaker churches and organizations. The New England Yearly meeting has supported one of the US volunteers with $15,000.00 over the last 3-5 years. The Obadiah Brown Foundation has provided $15,000.00 in the last 2 years. 

Rwanda Education Assistance Project ( REAP). Individual donations = $139,648 & Family foundations $25,000.

For Soma Foundation Rwanda, continued support is anticipated from the Segal Family Foundation so that by 2025, $50,000.00 is anticipated. 

TLC, anticipates continued support from the Mennonite Church of Canada and Friends Peace Teams. Both of these charitable organizations raise the funds through donations and fundraising. Read Aloud programming will continue to be supported by grants. For example, a grant of $10,000.00 is anticipated from the Avison Foundation in Boston, MA, USA. Other grants are such as  the Legacy Fund of NEYM for $10,00.00.

REAP anticipates $19,752 from donations + 58,500.00 from Family foundations.