The fundraising drive will be led by the Friends of World Vision Rwanda Annual Golf Tournament on August 22 at Kigali Golf Resort & Villas.
KIGALI – Burera district has become the first testing ground for what World Vision Rwanda believes will grow into a model for tackling child malnutrition across the country.
The organization is seeking to raise USD 500,000 (approx. Rwf 735 million) to launch an integrated school feeding program in the Northern Province district, with plans to expand the approach to other parts of Rwanda if it proves successful.
The fundraising drive will be led by the Friends of World Vision Rwanda Annual Golf Tournament on August 22 at Kigali Golf Resort & Villas, bringing together business leaders, golfers and development partners around a campaign that aims to turn partnerships into long-term nutrition solutions.
Pauline Okumu, World Vision Rwanda’s National Director said that the project is not about adding another feeding program. It is about changing how communities fight malnutrition.
“The Burera model seeks to address some of the underlying factors that contribute to malnutrition by supporting a more integrated approach to school feeding, food production and household resilience,” Okumu said.
She said the initiative will combine school feeding with food production, fruit tree planting in schools and households, and stronger community ownership to create a system that can continue delivering results beyond the initial investment.
Why Burera?
Pauline Okumu, World Vision Rwanda’s National Director addressing a press confrence.
The choice of Burera is closely tied to Rwanda’s wider nutrition ambitions.
Okumu said the district was intentionally selected because it remains among those requiring more targeted interventions, even as Rwanda continues to make progress in reducing child malnutrition nationally.
“We have seen progress made by the Government of Rwanda. We moved from about 30 percent to 27 percent, and the idea is to reduce it to 17 percent by 2029. As long as you have high-burden districts, malnutrition will not go down. That is why we are very intentional about Burera,” she explained.
The organization hopes to have the first phase of the project ready for launch in September before commissioning it in the months that follow.
More Than Sponsorship
The campaign has drawn support from companies including Dash Global Technologies, Trinity Metals and Kigali Golf Resort & Villas, reflecting a broader push to involve the private sector in tackling social challenges.
For Trinity Metals Chief Executive Officer Peter Geleta, the partnership reflects a business philosophy that community wellbeing and corporate success are inseparable.
“If you do not have a social conscience and you’re not focusing on your corporate social responsibility, you won’t stay in business for too long. You cannot separate the community from the mine. If the community is strong and resilient, we will have a good workforce, and if the mine does well, the community benefits too,” he said.
At Kigali Golf Resort & Villas, General Manager Jacques Visagie said the tournament demonstrates that sport can become a platform for lasting social impact.
“Golf can be a powerful platform for creating connections and making a positive impact beyond the golf course. I would like to invite all sports facilities in Rwanda to open their doors to causes like this because we have the facilities and we can help communities,” he said.
About The Tournaments and The Mode of Play
The August 22 tournament will use a stroke-play format, with golfers counting the number of strokes they take on each hole.
Players will compete across six prize categories: ladies with handicaps of 0–18, ladies with handicaps of 19–36, men with handicaps of 0–9, men with handicaps of 10–18, men with handicaps of 19–28, and seniors aged 55 and above. Each category will have three winners.
The tournament will also feature a special Mulligan Challenge, designed to add a fundraising element to the competition. Golfers will be able to purchase Mulligan tickets for opportunities to win prizes donated by sponsors.
The prizes include air tickets, hotel stays and dinner experiences, adding another incentive for participants while helping turn the tournament into more than a day on the golf course.
As golfers prepare to tee off, World Vision’s bigger ambition lies beyond the tournament itself: to prove that Rwanda’s next breakthrough in child nutrition could begin with one district, strengthened through partnerships, and eventually spread far beyond it.
