Renowned as “Intasi” which literally means spies or monitors, they are a group of 200 youths in Rutobwe cell of Cyahinda sector in Nyaruguru distict.

The team started its operations in 2019 after it was realised that malnutrition was a result of parents who are not obedient to government’s dietary guidelines.

Among the most urgent issues they highlighted was the rate of stunting in Nyaruguru District, where about 39 percent of children had stunted.

In Rutobwe Cell of Cyahinda Sector, there were 20 malnourished children, who risked stunting. Some households could not even afford a balanced diet every day.

At the start, the club of volunteers had 87 members, most of them with secondary school education, and started a saving scheme to raise money to buy chickens, which some were offered to households with malnutrition cases.

Local authorities welcomed the volunteers and tasked them with coordination of the early childhood development (ECD) centres in Rutobwe.

In their daily work, the monitors inquire into every household's nutrition status, and builds small vegetable gardens (akarima k'igikoni) for the vulnerable families.

The club now has 200 members, who save Rwf 100 per week to facilitate them in their daily development.

And now, the volunteers now take pride in their contribution to decline in the district's stunting rate.

"When we grew up we did not have the opportunities available today like nursery schools," said Frederick Manirabona, the club's president. "So, we want to ensure the children who are born today can have a better upbringing. And what we have done can be emulated by young people in other districts with high malnutrition and stunting rates."

"Some families had their children attend the ECD centres and were required to buy one egg every week. What we did was to give them the chicken and they would have the eggs not just for the ECD but also for domestic consumption," Anisie Mukeshimana, a volunteer narrates.

"Some children were not cared for by their parents, who spent the whole day in the fields, and that contributed to stunting levels," Mukeshimana says. "When we took over the ECDs, we were able to ensure that the children got a balance diet both at the preschool and at home."

Some of the households in Rutobwe had hygiene and sanitation issues.

With their savings, the volunteers became agents of Uzima Chicken, a big poultry farms. When they make 1,000 layer chickens, 20 are offered to vulnerable households.

"Abatasi have supported us to afford a balanced diet. They gave me a layer chicken and they explained the benefits sending our kids to the ECD, which some of us used to ignore," said Dorothee Nyirarwasa, a resident of Rutobwe whose kids attend the village ECD centre.

Supported by nutritionists, the volunteers also teach families how to prepare a balanced diet.

"Thanks to the youth volunteers, we were able to treat all the 20 malnourished children and currently we have zero cases of stunting, said Emmanuel Nkurunziza, the executive secretary of Rutobwe Cell.

The rate of stunting in Nyaruguru District decreased from 42 per cent in 2015 to 39 per cent in 2020, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. A recent survey by Rwanda Biomedical Centre found that the rate has decreased to 34 per cent.

Through supporting initiatives such as the ECD centres, a World Bank-funded project was launched in 2017 to tackle malnutrition and stunting rates in Rwanda.

The government targets to drive down stunting rate from 33 per cent in 2020 to 19 per cent by 2024.