I. SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS PROGRAM (SRHR)
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR): An essential component of the universal right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other International human rights conventions, declarations and consensus agreements. These fundamental rights are; the right to non-discrimination, the right to health and privacy, the right to education and the right to determine the number of children and spacing among others.
UNDERSTANDING OF RWANDAN COMMUNITY ON SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH:
In many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, issues concerning young girl’s sex and sexuality are not openly discussed. They are surrounded by myths and misconceptions and regarded as taboo topics. Young people are often groping in the dark about many issues and reject their feelings, as they have been told these are sinful. As a result, high rates of clandestine abortions, increased maternal mortality, high number of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), unwanted pregnancies and child marriages are enormous challenges that many young people face in Rwanda.
Through Women’s Health and Equal Rights Association Rwanda outreach activities in schools and in community, this is what youth have told us; Young people are naturally sexually active, but we often do not have the legal right to freely decide on and express our sexuality and/or sexual preferences.
Neither do we have access to adequate information and health services. We do not get full access to contraceptives and safe abortion services and youth-friendly services where we are treated with respect and confidentiality.
WOMEN’S HEALTH AND EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION RWANDA’S INTERVENTION ON SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS IN RWANDA:
• >> We Work as an advocacy effort for young people in SRHR Related Issues: We are convinced that when the voice of young people is heard more loudly and clearly, programs and policies can be implemented more effectively, as they would then more accurately and directly reflect the actual needs of young people. Our battle for more and more Meaningful Youth Participation is therefore essential.
•>> We have Created Platforms to discuss SRHR related issues: Women’s Health and Equal Rights Association Rwanda have been able to establish a number of platforms using different approaches including gender transformative approach that provides opportunities to young people in schools and in community to discuss on issues concerning young people’s sex and sexuality.
To effectively achieve our target WHERAR is always on ground to facilitate these discussions.
•>> Teachings on Family Planning: by definition, is deciding the number and spacing of your children; through the use of contraception: such as abstinence, natural planning, or hormonal birth control.
Looking at Rwanda’s Priorities as a country, Family Planning was not left in isolation but it was placed in the wider context of other national commitments and goals, including Vision 2020, the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), and international plans of development such as the Millennium Development Goals, the New Partnership For African Development, the International Conference on Population and Development, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Africa Health Strategy. In addition, in the year 2012 Rwanda has developed a Family Planning Policy as a guide on what the government of Rwanda choose to do or not do in relation to family planning.
Under this Program, below are the Services that Women’s Health and Equal Rights Association Rwanda provides for Males and Females::
• Teachings on Several Birth Control Options including Natural Family Planning Methods.
• Community Dialogues on Safe abortion awareness
• Advocacy Campaigns to eliminate the silent pandemic of unsafe abortion
• Free HIV Testing, PMTC.
• Education on Family PLANNING, Healthy choices with regards to SRHR,Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention, Smoking Cessation, Overall Reproductive Health and Life Plans.
• Counseling is included with all of our services.
II. Integrated Sexuality Education Program
This program combine topics related to HIV/AIDs, Sexual Gender Based Violence, Sexual transmitted illnesses, maternal health with special focus on women’s reproductive health rights where our organization gives priority to the above topics.
Women’s Health and Equal Right Association Rwanda has committed to increase the following:
1. HIV/AIDs awareness among young people in Rwanda, making sure every woman and girl have access to HIV/AIDs information and services.
2. Accessibility of Family Planning information and services to allow women and girls promoting Children by Choice not by Chance.
3. Sugar Daddies Awareness among young girls in Rwanda as a tool to prevent Unintended pregnancies
4. Awareness spreading to fight against the silent pandemic of Unsafe abortion supporting women’s autonomy to make their own decisions whether and when to have children and have access to the means of acting on those decisions without risk to their health and lives.
5. Sexual Transmitted Illness prevention awareness among youth, women and girls in Rwanda through Condom Use campaigns.
“ The goal of Integrated Sexuality Education Program is to reduce new HIV/AIDs infections, unwanted pregnancies, Sexual gender Based violence Cases ,(girls raped by Sugar Daddies),and to advocate for SRHR among young girls and women.”
III. Gender Empowerment Program
We seek a Society of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and women and girls live in dignity and security.
We believe that “part of overcoming poverty is overcoming social discrimination” (poverty is in part based on social discrimination so part of the solution of poverty is overcoming social discrimination). You cannot completely overcome poverty without discussing or addressing discrimination (not just gender discrimination but all forms)
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT is the sum total of changes needed for a woman to realize her full human rights – the interplay of changes in:
• Agency
  • Her own aspirations and capabilities
• Structure
 • The environment that surrounds and conditions her choices
• Relations
 • The power relations through which she negotiates her path
WE HAVE CRAETED TWO SUB-PROGRAMS UNDER GENDER EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM:
1. Women’s Resiliency Program
2. Social-economic Program: Has a broad scope in its promotion of economically and socially inclusive development. Our work ranges from projects that focus on developing the next generation by nourishing young people’s potential, to those with a special focus on women that support economically marginalized groups in their pursuit of building sustainable projects at the community level. We are able to make use of our wide range of expertise, built over more than a decade of work in economic development in assisting individuals to innovate and to succeed.
KIKA Fishing Project is ongoing.