Introduction & Welcome

Dear friends, partners, and community members,

Welcome to the first edition of the Heza Herald, our new monthly newsletter! Through this platform, we will keep you connected with the latest updates, insights, and milestones from Heza Initiative as we work to advance nutrition, positive social behavior change, and resilient communities. Each month, we will share highlights from our programs, stories from the field, and opportunities for partnership and learning. This is our way of staying accountable, celebrating progress, and inviting you to continue walking this journey with us. In this edition, you will find a lot that have been done over tha past few months including Program Updates, Impacts Snapshot, Our Global engagement and what lies ahead in October.

Program Highlights:July–September 2025

Imena Program

Phase one closed

The program implemented in partnership with UNICEF Rwanda in Gasabo, Nyamasheke, Gisagara, Kirehe and Burera districts simultaneously. Through periodic visits, our field team works closely with frontline functionaries (FLFs) from 5 departments involved at village level to mobilize the communities with aim to improve community adaptation of these behaviors which are fundamental for any community to thrive. FLFs are Community Health Workers (CHWs), Inshuti z’umuryango (IZU), parasocial workers, youth volunteers, and village chiefs. This part of journey brough us with opportunities to engage with communities at all levels through tackling 5 social behaviors namely, (1) Complementary feeding and one egg per child everyday campaign, (2) multi-hazards preparedness and prevention, (3) Sustainable graduation from poverty, (4) Hygiene and Sanitation, and (5) Antenatal care services. Phase one concluded in July with a community survey and a presentation of outcomes to partners.

Phase Two Launched

PhaseII launched in August where introductory meetings were hold at respective districts offices and onboarding sessions for the new FLFs joining within sectors of implementation. we witnessed amazing collaboration between FLFs and our Field staff who will be based in respective sectors to coordinate, mentor and support FLFs in planning and carrying out sensitization activities in their communities. Activities are ongoing in the 5 mentioned districts-different sectors this time around.

Eco-clubs for Environmental Resilicence

Along Imena Phase Two, in the same sectors of implementation, we will be working with two separate primary schools to install culture of environmental activism within their communities. The existing Hygiene and environment clubs within these schools are being strenghened while New clubs are being formed where they were not found. This new project is expected to mobilize not only schools, but also communities around these schools. we anticipate more than 1000 Fruit trees to be planted within period of implementation as a boost for starting in the communities where schools are located.

Human Centered Design for Immunization

This is also implemented in partnership with UNICEF to improve vaccine uptake in the communities aiming to have a community with no case of zero dose children. The approach is through co-creating an effective mobilization strategy that can bring all parents to adhere to vaccination calendar of their newborns. Launched in August, the program focuses on Nyamagabe and Ruhango districts in Southern Province. Activities began with 2 stakeholder workshops involving local administrations and frontline healthcare services providers.

Global Engagement

In late August, our Technical Lead and Nutritionist, Ishimwe Pacifique, represented Heza Initiative at the African Food Systems Conference in Dakar. By sharing Heza’s model with continental peers, Rwanda’s youth-led approaches to nutrition and resilience were amplified on the global stage.

Impact Snapshot : Imena Phase one

Through different community platforms, our field staff attended various sessions to witness the efforts being made by FLFs and also mentoring them on field. Through these sessions attended by our team, a lot of community members were reached and received messages. However, FLFs keep engaging with their communities even when their mentors are not on field. A quick snap of impacted community members is highlighted as follows.

Up next-A Busy October

Stay tuned by following our social medial platforms of continued update and status of programs journey where we anticipate much of the work to be based on the field. to mention but a few: [1]⁠ Imena Phase II- Field staff will maintain regular visits in communities coupled with demonstrations, supporting FLFs to bring sustainable Social Bahaviour change around the 5 key behaviours.[2] Human-Centered for Immunization (HCD): Alongside ongoing community engagement in Nyamagabe and Ruhango, we will finalize developing personas for Village Support Groups. These tailored profiles will help us better understand community needs and design strategies that empower women to increase vaccination uptake for their children. [3] Eco-Clubs for Environmental resilience: we look forward to Workshop that will bring stakeholders in education to standardize the guidelines for clubs. Our field staffs will also launch new clubs and continue monitoring activities within these clubs. [4]Cross-Project Learning— October will also focus on capturing lessons across projects and districts, to strengthen our youth-led, evidence-based mode and prepare for scaling. You don't deserve to miss any dot- Subscribe for our monthly updates.