First Steps - Save the Children of Rwanda

The First Steps program provides holistic parenting education to caregivers of children under three in Rwanda. Before COVID-19, the program was delivered by trained volunteers in three districts through 18 weekly sessions with groups of parents. During the sessions, participants listened to a limited-distribution radio program designed to inform the group discussions. When COVID-19 struck, Rwanda went into lockdown, and in-person sessions became impossible. The First Steps team checked in with parents by phone and used what they learned to adapt the program to work in the new context. In the new version, parents listened to the radio program at home and received coaching and peer support by phone. To enhance support to families, the team began delivering messages via social media and adapted the radio program to include new material on COVID-19 prevention and COVID-19 stigma, as well as caregiver wellbeing and stress management. To serve more families with the resources they had developed during the pandemic, First Steps secured broader, national distribution for the radio program. With funding from Grand Challenges Canada, they also distributed radios to enable families to access the program.