Annual Report: Sugira Muryango October 01, 2018 to September 30, 2019

The program is designed to target families living in extreme poverty, specifically those classified as Ubudehe 1, which accounts for approximately 375,000 households nationwide. The initiative is a collaborative effort between Boston College's School of Social Work and local partner, FXB Rwanda, with funding from USAID, World Bank, ELMA Philanthropies, LEGO Foundation, and other organizations. The program involves a four-arm cluster randomized trial (CRT) to compare outcomes among VUP-eligible families receiving either classic public works, expanded public works, combined classic public works with Sugira Muryango, or combined expanded public works with Sugira Muryango. During fiscal year 2019, Sugira Muryango successfully completed Phase II activities, including endline data collection and two booster training sessions for Community Based Volunteers (CBVs). The program also expanded to 10,000 Ubudehe 1 households in Nyanza, Ngoma, and Rubavu, with funding secured through various funding sources. The Sugira Muryango program focuses on promoting responsive parenting, reducing violence and harsh punishment, and enhancing early childhood development through home visiting and active coaching. The program aims to target families living in extreme poverty, specifically those classified as Ubudehe 1, and to integrate scalable, cost-effective ECD and prevention programs into poverty-reduction and social welfare programs. The program's objectives include assessing the effectiveness of Sugira Muryango in promoting responsive parenting, reducing violence and harsh punishment, and enhancing early childhood development through the behavior of caregivers of vulnerable households. The program also aims to assess the interaction between Sugira Muryango and the VUP public works models, as well as the costs, barriers, and facilitators of integrating the Sugira Muryango intervention into VUP programming. The Sugira Muryango program has received letters of support from various government stakeholders, including the National Early Childhood Development Program, MINALOC, and the Mayors of Nyanza, Ngoma, and Rubavu. The program has also been recognized for its efforts in promoting early childhood development and reducing violence against children. The program's findings will contribute to scientific knowledge on violence prevention for children within contexts of adversity and implementation science elements around facilitators. The program's results will also support and advance the Rwandan Government's vision for comprehensive decentralized ECD to eradicate poverty and violence against children. The Sugira Muryango program has been successful in strengthening its engagement with government stakeholders, including the participation in developing a national parenting curriculum and dissemination events at the District and Sector offices. The program has also secured funding for its expansion to 10,000 Ubudeh 1 households in Nyanza, Ngoma, and Rubavu. The program's expansion to 10,000 Ubudehe 1 households in Nyanza, Ngoma, and Rubavu began in August 2019, with funding secured through various funding sources. The program's objectives include promoting responsive parenting, reducing violence and harsh punishment, and enhancing early childhood development through home visiting and active coaching. The Sugira Muryango program has been recognized for its efforts in promoting early childhood development and reducing violence against children. The program's findings will contribute to scientific knowledge on violence prevention for children within contexts of adversity and implementation science elements around facilitators. The program's results will also support and advance the Rwandan Government's vision for comprehensive decentralized ECD to eradicate poverty and violence against children. The Sugira Muryango program has been successful in strengthening its engagement with government stakeholders, including the participation in developing a national parenting curriculum and dissemination events at the District and Sector offices.