New Early Childhood Center Opens in Kamonyi

Before the nursery’s construction, many children had to walk up to two hours to join other pupils at distant schools, a journey that often prevented them from attending regularly.

Izere Marie Ange, a parent living in Kigese Cell, said the new facility will help children who previously stayed home instead of going to school.

“Because of the two-hour trek, many young children couldn’t attend nursery school. These classrooms will permanently solve that problem,” she said.

Another parent, Bizimana Antoine, said the distance also made it hard for parents to take their children to school, sometimes forcing them to leave kids at home unattended.

“Here in our cell, we have found a solution for children who lacked access to early education. No parent will now struggle to bring their child to nursery school, and we are determined to make sure no child stays at home anymore,” he said.

Kamonyi District Deputy Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, Marie Josee Uwiringira, confirmed that children near the new nursery previously faced challenges accessing education. She also said there are plans to establish a primary school at the site.

“This nursery school addresses a real need, as children and parents struggled with long distances to school, keeping some children out of education at an early age. Besides this nursery, we plan to build a primary school here because students still travel long distances,” she said.

Kamonyi District currently has over 400 early childhood development (ECD) centers supporting young learners as part of the government’s policy that every child aged three and above should attend school and receive early education.

District officials say the ongoing plan focuses on constructing more nurseries and schools to bring learning closer to children’s homes.

The new nursery cost 75 million Rwandan francs to complete.