Rwanda’s genocide orphaned and widowed thousands of young women and girls. Many of them turned to commercial sex work to make money.

IPPF’s local Member Association and youth group, Dutabarane Rubyiruko, is finding new ways to help these young women to protect themselves.

Innocent Nkurunziza and Jean Rwamudanga are founding members of Dutabarane Rubyiruko - a club run by youth workers to bring safer sex messages on AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and drugs to young people in Rwanda.

Since the genocide, Dutabarane has faced a new and urgent challenge: to reach girl and young women sex workers, who now face the risks of HIV infection and other STIs.

Innocent and Jean’s role is to identify young sex workers and invite them to the club for help and advice on protecting themselves.

Their work is supported by ARBEF, the local member association (Association Rwandaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial), which has opened a youth-friendly clinic offering HIV testing and STI screening.

An increasing number of young sex workers are dropping in for consultations.

Jean worked with ARBEF to produce a training course aimed specifically at young women and child sex workers.

“My main responsibility was to show them how to use a condom. I have noticed a real difference in the way the sex workers respond to the demonstration and counselling sessions. After discussions about AIDS and STIs they choose condoms to protect themselves, while other girls choose abstinence and do not accept condoms, at least not publicly.” says Jean.

Dutaburane has extended its outreach work far beyond traditional SRH services by setting up some income generating schemes to offer an alternative to sex work. These range from sewing workshops, restaurants, selling vegetables and hair dressing.

Jean: “They tell us that if they had enough money to pay for their basic needs such as paying the rent and feeding their children or even returning to school, they would choose to stop commercial sex work.”

Dutabarane Rubyiruko is making an impact on lives of young people in Rwanda, but Jean and Innocent realise that more needs to be done for the most vulnerable:

“Dutabarane has shown me that we really need to listen to young women, especially those in need such as these young sex workers.”

ARBEF can be contacted at arbef@rwanda1.com