An additional Vocational Training incentive was added to the Mwogo Centre in August 2019. The purpose is to train local youth with a variety of disabilities in agricultural skills that will last them a lifetime. It’s a low start-up, high impact vocational project embracing all abilities.

5 acres of land were donated by a community member to start the project. Seven of the lowest income families with disabled youth are working together, tending crops and livestock to feed themselves and to sell.

From tilling to harvesting, the farmers are learning to fulfil the very baseline of human survival and creating the prospect of poverty alleviation.

Using traditional methods & family shared farming shifts, trainees learn the value of eco agriculture and are mentored by elderly farmers with local knowledge & experience.

PF funding supported the buying of 4 dairy cows, 2 large barns and vet checkups. The cows supply free organic manure for soil enrichment & crop feeding.

Two cows have already calved, and their surplus milk is a valuable source of daily nutrition for the families & their neighbours, particularly during this time of pandemic food shortages.

Rwanda has 2 growing seasons & crops grown are carrots, beans, cauliflower, onion, squashes, beetroot, and peppers. Excess vegetables are sold to Mwogo Center for students’ lunches.

Our farmers are learning to cope with new difficulties too. Adapting crops to climate change and dealing with the risks of unprecedented flooding & longer drought periods.

Funding has now supplied a 10,000 litre rainwater tank so they can harvest rain during the wet seasons, for a plentiful supply to nurture crops & cows in the dry seasons.

Initially, the farm’s focused on feeding the families. Now, building on their skills, it looks towards profits, self-sufficiency and forming a co-operative to sell at markets.

For the PWD youth, a co-operative gives independence, an income, social inclusion, & the chance to set up savings accounts that will safeguard their futures.