When Jeannette Rutibita was going through puberty in her early teens, she could not discuss with anyone the hormonal and physical changes she was experiencing.
鈥淚 was shy to talk about it with my parents, relatives, or friends,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even understand what was happening to my body.鈥�
Now at 19 years old, Jeannette is using an innovative way of promoting sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) to her schoolmates at St. Dominique Savio Bumbogo located 17 miles from Kigali, Rwanda鈥檚 capital city.
鈥淚 can now confidently discuss sexual and reproductive health issues with my mother and classmates,鈥� she tells听Africa Renewal.
Fellow student Jean D鈥檃mour Kubwimana, 20, adds: 鈥淚 used to never talk about these issues, but now that I know more, I talk to my friends and others in my community about them.鈥澨�
What changed?
Jeannette and Jean are participating in a project that uses a popular card game known as 鈥淚shema Ryanjye鈥� 鈥� meaning 鈥淢y health, My dignity鈥� in Kinyarwanda, to discuss and learn about SRHR, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and gender promotion.
They are also raising awareness of issues facing adolescents, including feminine hygiene, drug abuse, family planning, unsafe abortion, HIV and AIDS, among others.
Twenty-eight-year-old Benoit Ndagijimana, president of the non-government organization Health Promotion Organization, invented the听Ishema Ryanjye card game in 2021.听 is financially and technically supporting the project. 听
WHO support
The WHO Representative to Rwanda, Dr. Brian Chirombo, says that听Ishema Ryanjye听is breaking barriers and facilitating discussions on sexual and reproductive health.
鈥淭hrough our technical and financial assistance, we are empowering young Rwandans and their guardians to engage in traditionally taboo conversations on sexual and reproductive health in a playful way through Ishema Ryanjye card games.
鈥淲e aim to help young people access accurate information so that they can make informed decisions about their health. Engaging young people in peer education on SRHR ensures ownership, sustainability and will contribute to long-term outcomes.
鈥淲e hope that this innovative approach will be scaled up and adopted by others locally, regionally and globally.鈥� 听听
Mr. Benoit, who has a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Human Nutrition, Dietetics and Public Health from the University of Rwanda is motivated to 鈥淚ntegrate what we want young people to know (SRHR messages) into what they already know and like (card games).
鈥淩wandan parents often complain that children play card games endlessly. So, we decided to turn this problem into a solution. Ishema Ryanjye is a good interactive game that engages and provides knowledge to adolescents and enhances parent-child open discussion on SRHR.鈥�
Mr. Benoit鈥檚 subsequent breakthrough meeting with WHO officials led to the idea of piloting the project in six schools in and around Kigali, including at St. Dominique Savio Bumbogo.
鈥淭hey [WHO officials] invited us to discuss the card game. We explained how the game is played and its objectives, and later played it with them. They then helped us develop a project proposal and later agreed to partner with us,鈥� says Mr. Benoit.听
How to play the game
At St. Dominique Savio Bumbogo School,听Africa Renewal听witnessed four students, including Jean and Jeannette, play Ishema Ryanjye.
They sat around a rectangular table on top of which were game booklets, one in English and the other in Kinyarwanda.
- The card game consists of a deck of 32 cards and an 83-page booklet loaded with the game鈥檚 rules and bullet-point SRHR messages.听
- With Ishema Ryanjye, each card comes with a number, a public health-relevant photo and a question with corresponding answers in the booklet.
- For example, card 5 photo depicts a fetus in a circle with a red don鈥檛-do-it crossover line. The question associated with that card is听What are the health consequences of illegal abortion?听The answers on page 75 of the booklet include Unexpected death, uterine perforation, damage to the genital tract, etc.
- The game began when a player shuffled and distributed the 32 cards to all the players, eight cards per player.听
- They played several rounds of the game. Any player who lost a round withdrew from play unless they correctly answered an SRHR-related question.听
- The first student who lost was asked to name three consequences of teen pregnancy.
- 鈥淥ne, a delay in education; two, possible loss of parental care; and three, risk of giving birth to a premature baby,鈥� the student answered.
- The questioner flipped through the booklet to crosscheck the answers. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 correct,鈥� she said. The student was then able to continue playing.
- The game continued until an overall winner emerged, which was when one of the last two players could not provide the correct answers to a question. The students loudly cheered the victorious player, nicknaming him 鈥淩onaldo!鈥�, after the Portuguese football icon Christiano Ronaldo.
The students were animated as they played the game, intermittently bursting into fits of laughter and teasing anyone who lost a round.
The considerable time (more than 30 minutes) before an overall winner emerged indicates the students鈥� depth of knowledge on SRHR and demonstrates effective blend of fun and learning.
The pilot project relies heavily on the collaboration of the administration of the participating schools. 鈥淓ach school authority appointed a focal point,鈥� says Mr. Benoit.
Behaviour change communication
Itonze Marcelline, an economics teacher and the focal point for St. Dominique Savio Bumbodo, says: 鈥淭he game is helping learners change their behavior. It indeed is an effective behaviour change communication activity.鈥�
She adds: 鈥淚t also fosters peer-to-peer learning, which is quite effective because students prefer to listen to other students.鈥�
鈥淎 teacher鈥檚 speech of one hour may not be as impactful as when students chat about these issues with their friends,鈥� corroborates Mr. Benoit.
School authorities regularly evaluate Ishema Ryanjye鈥檚 impact on the students and the results so far are positive.
鈥淲e designed evaluation forms to monitor progress. Already, we notice that unwanted pregnancy among our students is reducing,鈥� claims Ms. Marcelline.
Mr. Benoit is optimistic听Ishema Ryanjye will gain national and international popularity. He anticipates further support from Rwanda鈥檚 education authorities and other international organisations.
鈥淚 am sure that when authorities and young people in other countries learn about听Ishema Ryanjye, they will like it and they will adopt it,鈥� he concludes.
