Our partnership with Hope for Life

In a country with high population density, extreme poverty, limited access to basic resources like clean water, and under-resourced health systems, the pandemic had lasting and devastating effects. The national lockdown in Rwanda created widespread loss of income, resulting in economic instability. After years of hard work and resources, many youth and their families were at risk of losing all they have achieved if they could not provide for their basic needs. 

One Day’s Wages partnered with Hope for Life to assist families who had lost their source of income as a result of the lockdown. Our partnership supported families with provision of food, housing assistance, and basic medical supplies like soap and masks. Our partnership enabled youth to safely shelter-in-place without being forced to the streets to seek resources. The ultimate goal was to keep families together and safe inside their homes, thereby reducing the risk for more children experiencing homelessness. Most of the families with whom we worked with were day laborers, typically earning between $2-$5 per day. As a result of the lockdown, their income had completely disappeared leaving them with little to no savings. Most were struggling to feed their families, pay rent, and access basic resources like clean water and soap to stay healthy. All of these families have children who have either previously experienced homelessness and are now reintegrated back home, or who were on the brink of experiencing homelessness before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.