Raising Aspirations: Disabled Youth Make the Sustainable Development Goals a Reality in Rwanda. This project contributes to the SDGs aspiration to ‘leave no one behind’ in Rwanda by empowering children and young people with disabilities to demand inclusion in the SDGs. This project uses a tested and new youthled model whereby young PWDs are trained to mentor CWDs and are the main drivers for inclusion at a community and government level. The project aims to find youth-led solutions for meaningful inclusion and creates mechanisms whereby disabled youth can communicate evidence of best practice to policy makers. The project has been developed jointly with UWEZO Youth Empowerment, a youth led DPO in Rwanda, and AbleChildAfrica. The inspiration for the project was learning from a baseline completed by UWEZO in 2014 and outcomes of a 2 year pilot project. Impact: Children and young people with disabilities are fully included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Rwanda. Outcome: 80 youth and children with disabilities in Rwanda have improved capability and a more enabling environment to hold their government to account for disability inclusion and SDG implementation in Rwanda. Output 1: 80 youth with disabilities have increased skills and knowledge to influence change and counsel others on disability rights. Output 2: Government create a more enabling environment through which youth with disabilities can hold decision makers to account in the prioritisation of disability in SDG implementation. Output 3: Community members in 5 target districts have greater understanding and awareness of disability rights and inclusion and are better able to hold government to account for stated commitments. Output 4: Improved capacity of our partner organisation (UWEZO) to create and utilise a strong evidence base of best practice inclusive approaches and influence government to deliver stated commitments to disability inclusion in the SDGs. Information about additional COVID-19 Rapid Response project (same activity ID) delivered 1st October 2020 to 28th February (“I Matter Too: Ensuring Rwandan children with disabilities are clean, happy and safe during COVID-19”):

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, this project takes a holistic approach to strategically address the immediate inequalities faced by children with disabilities in Rwanda at this time. Activities will ensure 135 of the most vulnerable children with disabilities are clean, happy and safe during the COVID-19 crisis. The project will ensure children with disabilities are clean through the provision of inclusive WASH mentorship, information and hygiene supplies; it will ensure children with disabilities are happy through specialised psychosocial consideration including mental health and wellbeing mentorship, with the provision of professional psychological support for those identified as most severe. Finally, children with disabilities will be kept safe during the pandemic through the promotional of rights-based materials, and the creation of a safeguarding helpdesk which will allow incidents of harm or abuse against children with disabilities to be reported and actioned. The project aims to respond meaningfully to the gaps identified in the current COVID-19 response when considering children with disabilities.