65% of Rwanda’s population is under 25. Before Ready for Reading opened the Library, there were no structured out-of-school opportunities for community children and youth to learn and play in a safe supervised environment. Now they are engaged by trained staff in story-time, games, book clubs, music, basketball, e-reader and school enrichment programs; catalysts around youth development.

We believe reading should be part of the fabric of children’s lives so they can grow into life-long readers and learners. In 2015 we opened Harmony Preschool in collaboration with our partner TR. Forty children per year are thriving in a book rich, hands-on learning environment and we incorporate our early childhood curriculum into all our children’s and youth library activities and programs.

Between 2008 and 2010 not a single student in neighboring Nkondo Primary School passed the national exams required for admission into secondary school. To change these abysmal results the school enrichment program the program works with Primary 4, 5 and 6 students helping them master English, IT and curriculum leading to an 80% pass rate

We transform young lives through core values that promote the importance of education and discipline and develop valuable life skills necessary to reverse the cycles of poverty, disease and violence so many were born into.