Since 2017, Fondazione Marcegaglia Onlus is a non-profit organization that has been working in the Rilima sector, Bugesera district, Rwanda, to control school dropout in 12 years of basic education. The foundation has implemented various interventions, including school feeding support, scholastic materials, extra-curricular activities, sexual reproductive health rights, girls’ room, ICT training for teachers and students, equipping smart classrooms in each high school, constructing a main wall or refectory in each high school, providing desks for schools, availing school materials for students from poorest households, deploying equipment for traditional clubs in schools, annual sport & other talent competitions in schools, building and furnishing one girl’s room in each school, conducting a teacher’s training on pedagogical matters, erecting a school fence at Gs Rilima Catholic, stocking laboratory with apparatus and chemicals for all high schools, and activating an awareness campaign against school dropouts.
School feeding support is an essential intervention that has been shown to improve the nutrition status of school children, reduce hunger during the school day, and provide local farmers with a reliable and predictable market. The program has been implemented alongside other complementary health and nutrition interventions to ensure a supportive environment for delivery of school meals and reinforce the effects of the program on the children. The school feeding program has directly benefited school-going children in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools, with a comprehensive approach that benefits parents, teachers, local farmers, and the whole community.
Fondazione Marcegaglia Onlus has also implemented an Early Warning System (EWS) to identify students at risk of dropping out and provide appropriate interventions. The EWS is used as a general management tool for schools to curb student absenteeism, improve learning, and improve students’ well-being more broadly. The foundation encourages schools to embrace reflective and monitoring practices, create an environment within which schools do not fear sanctions when attendance and performance rates are low despite their real efforts to improve such rates, and convey the usefulness of an EWS approach not only as a tool for dropout prevention but also as a general management tool for schools to curb student absenteeism, improve learning and improve students’ well-being more broadly.
The foundation has also provided scholastic materials, extra-curricular activities, sexual reproductive health rights, girls’ room, ICT training for teachers and students, and equipped smart classrooms in each high school. These interventions have been shown to improve students’ academic performance, increase enrollment and retention rates, and provide a safe and conducive learning environment. The foundation has also constructed a main wall or refectory in each high school, provided desks for schools, and availed school materials for students from poorest households. These interventions have been shown to improve the learning environment, reduce absenteeism, and provide equal opportunities for all students.
Fondazione Marcegaglia Onlus has also deployed equipment for traditional clubs in schools, organized annual sport & other talent competitions in schools, and built and furnished one girl’s room in each school. These interventions have been shown to promote students’ talents, improve their physical health, and provide a safe and conducive learning environment for girls. The foundation has also conducted a teacher’s training on pedagogical matters, erected a school fence at Gs Rilima Catholic, stocked laboratories with apparatus and chemicals for all high schools, and activated an awareness campaign against school dropouts. These interventions have been shown to improve the quality of teaching, provide a safe and secure learning environment, and create awareness about the importance of education.
Fondazione Marcegaglia Onlus has implemented various interventions to control school dropout in 12 years of basic education in Rilima sector, Bugesera district, Rwanda. These interventions have been shown to improve the nutrition status of school children, reduce hunger during the school day, provide local farmers with a reliable and predictable market, identify students at risk of dropping out and provide appropriate interventions, improve students’ academic performance, increase enrollment and retention rates, provide a safe and conducive learning environment, promote students’ talents, improve their physical health, and provide a safe and conducive learning environment for girls. The foundation has also improved the quality of teaching, provided a safe and secure learning environment, and created awareness about the importance of education.