Andika Rwanda: National Story Writing Competition

The event will take place at Rugarama Primary School in Ruhuha sector, Bugesera district, and is in partnership with the USAID-funded Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative, implemented by Education Development Center (EDC), and Drakkar Ltd. The competition aims to promote a culture of reading and writing and help children access recreational reading materials. Literacy is at the heart of quality education, and this initiative seeks to support children's literacy skills through providing them with interesting, original, and locally-authored stories and poems. All Rwandan primary students, secondary students, and adults are eligible to participate by writing stories or poems in English or Kinyarwanda for primary school children to read. Teachers will provide primary and secondary students with information and will collect their submissions, while sector, cell, and umudugudu officials will be tasked with informing adults in the community. Adults will submit their stories and poems to their sector office. Four national winners from each group—primary students, secondary students, and adults—will receive tablet computers and a trip to Kigali for an awards ceremony and writing symposium. Their stories and poems will also be professionally edited, illustrated, and published, and the Rwanda Education Board will distribute the final volume to all public primary schools in the country. The competition is designed to utilize the talents of Rwandans to solve the problem of the lack of reading materials available in schools and communities. All Rwandans from primary one are urged to participate in the competition. The event is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Education, the Rwanda Education Board, and various partners to promote literacy and a culture of reading and writing among Rwandan children.