Background
The FXB-Village Model Program is a community-based, scalable, and sustainable holistic approach to poverty reduction that is built on the philosophy that the most effective way to reduce poverty is to simultaneously address the factors that underlie this situation : economic poverty, malnutrition, lack of access to health care, lack of access to education and information in the broadest sense of the term, and unsanitary housing and environment.
The FXBVillage model was based on the Public Health Paradigm taught by the late Dr. Jonathan Mann of Harvard University, which emphasizes the inextricable link between health and human rights. Mann’s paradigm proved that in public health there can be no sustainable impact unless the social and cultural factors that heighten disease risk and prevent people from having basic, essential rights are addressed simultaneously.
The only true way to break the cycle of extreme poverty is through a holistic model. By adding a key link to Mann’s approach (i.e., providing business training and seed capital that enables people in poverty to build an Income Generating Activity (IGA) for long-term sustainability), FXB translated Mann’s public health paradigm into a development paradigm.
The FXB-Village Model bases on this inextricable link between health and human rights and is the practical application of this paradigm. Each FXB-Village Model Program addresses the root causes of human insecurity and poverty through five model pillars : Economic empowerment, Access to food security, Access to health care, Access to education and information, Healthy housing, and environment.
The model of FXB-Village concepted to address the aforementioned paradigm since 1991 by FXB international. The model reached Rwanda in 2000 contributing to the Government of Rwanda journey of addressing poverty. The kick-off of this model informs the graduation of vulnerable families beyond the poverty line as well as improving their resilience and well-being. Since 2000, FXB Rwanda implemented 67 FXBVillages programs in Southern, Northern, Western, Eastern provinces and Kigali City.
Current Situation
FXB Rwanda is currently implementing three FXB-Village Model Programs (one in Nyamirambo sector of Nyarugenge district, one in Musambira sector of Kamonyi district, and another one in Nyaruguru and Gisagara districts) reaching the vulnerable population in semi-urban areas to ensure the poverty reduction. The beneficiary families get economic empowerment through individual and collective income-generating activities support ; availing income generation, IGA diversification, and financial literacy ; and saving culture conservation through created saving and lending community-based groups. The beneficiary families get also nutrition support : levelling up their skills about good nutrition but also providing nutrition support. They additionally receive health, education, and WASH support among others
Program Strategies
Graduation Plan : FXB-Village Model is a three-year model in which the program supports the beneficiary through scaffolding way. The program helps the beneficiary to build the capabilities of supporting themselves as the program support reduces. This informs the full resiliency and capacity at graduation time.
Community-Based Approach : FXB-Village Model ensures high community engagement in its implementation. The identification and enrolment is informed by the high collaboration with the neighbors and local leaders of beneficiaries. The implementation engages more of the officials and other local partners’ participation.
