GIHANA JACKSON: Inside Fields of Hope
By Veer Oberi
In areas of rural Rwanda, a bar of soap or clean water can be hard to come by. For many, survival is a daily challenge - but for people with disabilities, those challenges are often compounded by stigma and exclusion. In these underserved communities, one organization is working to change what daily life looks like for the better.
Gihana Jackson is the founder and president of Fields of Hope [FOH], a Rwanda-based organization which aims to combat disability violence, poverty, and malnutrition. Created in 2019, Fields of Hope operates primarily in rural regions across Rwanda.
“We primarily focus on rural areas because there are very many organizations here in Rwanda, but you find most of them are based in towns, capital, cities,” Jackson said. “So for us, we chose to deal with rural areas so that we can directly reach the beneficiaries.”
The organization currently carries out six main programs: their Advocacy & Awareness program, Education & Child mentorship, Health Support, Sanitation & Wash, Poverty Reduction and Food Security.
“We chose all these programs just based on the needs of our beneficiaries,” Jackson said. “...All those programs aim at maintaining or uplifting their well being and encouraging them to strive at having a bright future.”
According to Fields of Hope treasurer and project coordinator Ntirengaya Thierry, the programs can be grouped under four pillars: education, health support, sanitation, and poverty reduction.
Within the education sector, Fields of Hope aids children – specifically focusing on those with disability or from a parent with disability – by giving them access to educational materials and providing the support needed for them to go to school.
The health support programs are mainly dedicated towards elderly and disabled beneficiaries. Among other things, FOH provides advice, transport to medical facilities, and guidance to getting health insurance for beneficiaries in need.
“Those who are in the elderly age, sometimes they don't have the capability of coming from home to the hospital, so we need to carry them or providing them some transport fees so that they can go to the hospital,” Thierry said.
Sanitation is used as an umbrella term within FOH, covering everything from hygienic products to water. The organization provides water to beneficiaries without access, and works with the Owed Soap program to provide soaps free of charge.
“So in Rwanda, we have a mountain geographical structure. Some areas, they have water, and other areas, they don't have. If they don't have water, they can suffer from many diseases,” Thierry said. “...We need to provide the water to those who are in need. And on another hand, some have water, but they don't have other materials needed for sanitation.”
However, the most notable of the programs is poverty reduction, wherein beneficiaries are trained in small scale enterprises to bring in income. For example, a beneficiary may be taught tailoring with the hope that they can use their work to earn money.
“The teen mothers, they act in a double role. They are children and they are mothers. So they need the capacity of playing a role of mother when they are children,” Thierry said. “So we need to build their financial capacity, so that they can make sure that they are doing all of that.”
Many young mothers come from marginalized communities in Rwanda, including those facing extreme poverty, limited access to education, and in some cases physical or cognitive disabilities. Thierry emphasized the importance of the programs.
“Those whom we are supporting, the life they are living in is somehow similar to the life I had when I was a child. I lived in a vulnerable village. I walked miles to fetch water. We were really poor,” Thierry said. “Back then, there were some NGOs who came to Rwanda and supported us. I grew up believing that one day I will support someone.”
Upon finding Fields of Hope, Thierry joined in the hopes to support people like him. Now, Thierry works directly with beneficiaries, performing routine program reviews. On the ground, seeing the real impacts of Fields of Hope on beneficiaries is his favorite part of working with the organization.
“In my heart, you can feel the change that we have made on the field,” Thierry said. “Sometimes, when I see someone who can witness what Fields of Hope did for them myself, I feel successful.”
Jackson believes Fields of Hope is addressing a deeper need in their beneficiaries: to see that they are very important in the community. For Jackson, it is important to have hope for the future in order to participate in other activities like studying and job training.
Fields of Hope operates largely through grants and donations. Supporters can contribute by providing financial support through platforms such as GlobalGiving, raising awareness, and collaborating with the organization. If you are interested, you can also support children’s education and provide water to needy families.