Knowledge and Attitude to Female Condom Use among Undergraduates of Kigali Health Institute

Background: Proper use of condom prevents Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancies. Efforts have been made in Rwanda to raise the population awareness on the use of the Female Condom but little is known about the current status of its use among college students. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and use of the female condom among undergraduates of Kigali Health Institute. Methods: A descriptive study was carried out between May and June 2010. The sample was randomly selected from the students of Kigali Health Institute. A questionnaire based study was conducted involving 429 students. It captured the sample characteristics, their knowledge, attitudes and use of the female condom. The data were entered and analysed in SPSS 16.0. Results: About 79% of the students were aware of the female condom, but only 24% knew how to use it. Most respondents believed that the female condom can prevent the unwanted pregnancies (78%), the STIs and HIV/AIDS (81%). About 8% had ever tried it and less than three percent cited it as their contraception method. Conclusion: Awareness of the female condom was high but few students knew how to use it. Overall, favourable attitudes were recorded though neutral ones were higher and use of female condom was very low.Key words: Knowledge, attitude, use, female condo

Does contract farming improve Cassava production, price determination and farmer’s income in Ruhango district in Rwanda?

This study analyses the impact of contract farming on cassava production, price determination and farmer’s income in Ruhango district in Rwanda. It uses a participatory assessment method using an interactive tool commonly named “it takes two to tango”. Data were collected from cassava farmers and a Cassava Processing Plant employees. The findings show that the contract farming did not contribute to cassava production improvement. The contract farming did not help in the availability and accessibility of agricultural inputs such as planting material and fertilizer used in cassava farming. Findings of the study also show that the contract farming did not lead to mutual cassava price determination. Regarding the income, farmers indicated that the contract farming did not lead to the increase in income. The Cassava Processing Plant should support the farmers in improving cassava production through the training on land preparation, management of the planting material, fertilizing, cropping, weeding and harvesting. The price of fresh cassava should be fully determined together by the farmers and the Cassava Processing Plant. Improvement in cassava production and mutual price determination should help the farmers to have consistent income. Keywords: Contract farming, Cassava production, Cassava Processing Plant, Rwand

We have to work harder: The Challenge of BME Social Workers in a Multi-Cultural Society

This paper reports from a small-scale qualitative research study designed to keep the dialogue open about anti-racist social work and to test assumptions about the role of black and minority ethnic (BME) social workers within it. Multiculturalism is a contested term, which describes a process of increasing diversity and incorporation of that diversity into public discourse and policy. This process is often used to provide political polemics about the plausibility of multiculturalism and ‘race’ relations. Social work as an institution is not immune to these issues and can be a site for inequalities based on ‘race’, thus, challenging the success of social work in a multicultural society and creating particular challenges for BME workers. However, this research with its focus on the experiences of BME social workers also uncovered how opportunities for BME social workers to discuss working with and overcoming such challenges could contribute to the servic