We promote the individual and collective rights of Historically Marginalized People

We advance the cause and integration of Historically Marginalized People in a society in which all citizens should be equal by aiming to reduce economic, political, and social discrimination.

Our community is the smallest group of Historically Marginalized People (HMP) in Rwanda, previously known as Batwa. With an estimated population of 25,000 to 30,000 people, the HMP face unique challenges and uncertainties related to socioeconomic deprivation, high un(der)employment, social discrimination, and acute political marginalization.

Today, the Historically Marginalized People survive by making traditional pots. It poorly reflects the activities of most HMP ‘potters’ today, but must be understood in the context of the Batwa’s history of adaptation as immigrant farmers and pastoralists steadily colonized their forest homelands. Through AIMPO’s programs, we help these communities to transform this traditional pottery into ceramic pottery.
We are engaging them in agricultural activities through buying land and encompassing communities into cooperatives.

Human Rights & Advocacy

As the best advocates for the people’s rights are members of the community themselves, the Human Rights and Advocacy Program intends to assist in developing the Indigenous community’s capacity to respond to human rights issues and take action to implement positive change.

By educating Indigenous Batwa, officially known as Historically Marginalised People (HMP), on their rights and liberties, AIMPO aims to empower the community by including and actively involving them in the fight against their marginalisation. As such, the United Nation’s sixteenth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is targeted : Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16).
Read more about our Human Rights & Advocacy program here.

Health & Hygiene

One of the key programs AIMPO focuses on is Health and Hygiene, addressing sexual and reproductive health, hygiene and sanitation, and the accessibility to healthcare. This corresponds to the United Nation’s third, fifth, and sixth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Gender Equality (SDG 5), and Water and Sanitation (SDG 6). The importance of sexual and reproductive health (and rights) lies in the agency of women.

These rights “allow women to be in control of their own bodies and decide if, when, with whom, and how often to bear children” (United Nations, 2021). Through education and advocacy, AIMPO ensures that these rights remain at the very core of development.
Read more about our Health & Hygiene program here.

Community Empowerment

The Community Empowerment program focuses on empowering the Indigenous Batwa community through education, employment, healthcare, and leadership. As women and youth are most vulnerable within these community, we actively work to reduce gender inequalities by providing them with access to education, employment, and resources. As such, we promote their full participation both in their communities and beyond. This is in line with the UN’s fourth, fifth, and tenth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : Quality Education (SDG 4), Gender Equality (SDG 5), and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10).
Read more about our Community Empowerment program here.

Development with Creativity

At AIMPO, we believe in creativity empowerment within communities. Such remarkable endeavor was witnessed as AIMPO’s women artisans came together to showcase their exceptional weaving skills.

The result ? A tapestry of art, culture, and empowerment that we proudly share with the world. Our women weavers, with their nimble fingers and passionate hearts, embarked on a journey to create intricate pieces that transcend mere threads. Their dedication to preserving traditional weaving techniques while infusing contemporary designs is truly commendable. This activity not only celebrates our rich heritage but also serves as a reminder of the strength and resilience of AIMPO’s women.
Read more about our Development with Creativity program here.

Education

AIMPO’s Education Program targets Rwandan Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) to Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. With access to quality Education, children become lifelong learners transform their communities and Experience life in all it’s fullness .we work with communities and local gourvements to address the barriers to a quality education for all children specifically Historically Marginalised people , Emporing teachers With the tools and Training they need, gives children opportunity to shine.
Read more about our Education program here.

Food Security

AIMPO’s Food Security program targets the UN’s second and sixth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : End Hunger, Achieve Food Security, and Promote Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2) and Water and Sanitation (SDG 6). The program aims to improve the livelihoods of our communities by working towards a sustainable increase in agricultural production (and sales) and enhancing food security.

As such, the Historically Marginalised People, formerly known as the Indigenous Batwa, are assisted in optimising the scarce pieces of land they own. In addition, AIMPO helps them to buy land and become part of agricultural cooperatives, which enables them to work together efficiently and effectively in order to escape the cycle of poverty
Read more about our Food Security program here.

Climate Action, Sustainability & Conservation

Indigenous Batwa communities have lived in harmony with nature for centuries, but in today’s reality they are hit hardest by the effects of climate change. Global warming is expected to result in increased temperatures, intensified rainfall, and prolonged dry seasons. After the evictions from their homelands in the forests and forced relocation, most Batwa now find themselves living in secluded villages with little to no access to land.
Read more about our Climate Action, Sustainability & Conservation program here.

CROSS-CUTTING PROGRAMS

Gender Equality

The AIMPO organisation works to accelerate progress toward a gender-equal community by identifying and dismantling the barriers that prevent women and girls from exercising bodily autonomy, planning for and starting healthy families, and being fully active in their homes, economies, and societies.

Our work

The Gender Equality programme advocates and works to advance women's economic participation and decision-making power, increase women's access to leadership roles, improve and protect women’s health and bodily autonomy, increase child survival and resilience, champion and expand positive social norms, and strengthen data and insights to address persistent gender inequalities in HMP communities in Rwanda. Our strategy focuses on clearing obstacles that prevent women and girls in historically marginalised People in Rwanda from making their own choices and leading healthy lives with opportunity, dignity, and respect. We work with our partners to amplify the progress already being made and identify areas where the need is high and our support can make a difference.
Every community has its own history, and everyone’s experiences and the gendered barriers they face are different—and often compounded, based on their gender identity, where they live, and the income status of their family, as well as their age, race, caste, and education level. People whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth also face additional barriers, largely grounded in harmful gender norms. We work comprehensively. In countries and communities around the world, gender affects whether and how individuals can access resources and how much control they have over them. It is therefore critical for us to consider the role that gender plays in all our work at the organisation. We continue to improve and expand the ways in which we take gender into account, to ensure that our work is designed inclusively to benefit the people and communities it is intended to serve. Cycles must be broken. When women and girls are expected to remain in the home, perform all domestic work, lack access to essential health care and the ability to plan the size of their families, and defer to parents, in-laws, male relatives, and husbands on important decisions, they cannot participate freely in their communities or fulfill their individual potential. But history has shown that even the most deeply entrenched gender biases can be changed—and that when they are, economic opportunities for women grow, their health improves, and their families thrive.

Disability Rights

Over the course of the past two decades, the subject of human rights of persons with disabilities has become of increasing concern to civil society (including Disabled People’s Organisations), governments, and private actors across the globe. This concern comes in the wake of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008.
Although the topic of the human rights challenges faced by persons with disabilities has become a concern at national and international level, the double marginalisation of Indigenous people with disabilities has remained silenced, especially in Rwanda. Therefore, AIMPO has established the Disability Rights Unit, which focuses on advocacy initiatives for Historically Marginalised People with disabilities in Rwanda. The mission and vision of the Disability Rights Programme at AIMPO is to find evidence-based ways of addressing the rights of Historically Marginalised People, formerly known as Batwa, with disabilities in Rwanda. This includes conducting research on their demographic and socio-economic status for advocacy purposes, providing them with knowledge on the CRPD, and empowering them in both economically and socially. Furthermore, the Disability Rights Programme aims to contribute to the national and international discourse on disability rights by assisting and collaborating with international organisations, academic partners, and civil society in taking targeted measures to advance the rights of people with disabilities, and Indigenous people with disabilities in particular.