- 2ECD centres: Matimba, Nyagatare and Rushaki, Gicumbi
- 2field days, 16 and 17 July 2026
- 3films: 3:30 documentary, 60 and 30 seconds
- 5voices: mothers, caregivers, CHWs, IZU, supervisors
Client UNICEF Rwanda · With the Government of Rwanda · Supported by China Aid · Implemented by ADEPE
01The brief
Document how quality early childhood development services help young children learn, grow and thrive, while mothers engaged in market and cross-border trade earn a living with greater peace of mind.
The material had to serve donor visibility, publications, digital platforms and a human-interest story, all from one two-day mission.
- 15 July: travel from Kigali to Nyagatare, recce and planning.
- 16 July: Matimba ECD Centre, homes and Matimba market, then travel to Gicumbi.
- 17 July: Rushaki ECD Centre and family homes, then return to Kigali.
02The story we found
In market and border towns, parents leave home before sunrise to trade. Before the centres opened, many carried their youngest children to crowded markets, or left them with older siblings who should have been in school. The story had to show that choice, and what changes when it disappears.
Before this ECD, you would have seen me leaving home before sunrise with my child tied on my back. Some days I carried her all the way to the market, because there was nobody to leave her with.
Inside the centres, the day is built around early learning, nutrition, health and hygiene, child protection and parenting support. Our job was to show all of it through people, not slides: a caregiver counting fingers with a child, a Community Health Worker reading a growth chart, a volunteer on a home visit, a parent leaving for work with peace of mind.
03Our approach
The film and the photographs follow the rhythm of a working family’s day, because that is where the change is visible.
- 01
Plan from the brief
We turned UNICEF’s creative brief and interview questions into a shot list and interview plan for each centre, and travelled the day before to start at sunrise.
- 02
Follow the real day
From homes in the early morning to the centres, the markets and the border, and back to the afternoon pick-up, without staging a single scene.
- 03
Listen to every voice
Interviews in Kinyarwanda with mothers, caregivers, Community Health Workers, Inshuti z’Umuryango (Friends of the Family) and Sector ECD Supervisors.
- 04
Protect the children
Written consent from parents and guardians, explained in Kinyarwanda, and no child’s name paired with their location in our own materials.
- 05
Edit for every channel
One crew for film, photography and writing, so the documentary, the social cuts, the photographs and the written story tell the same story.
04Voices from the field
“Every child grows when given patience, care and the right environment.”
A caregiver at Matimba ECD Centre“When children are thriving and parents believe in their future, you know the change will last far beyond the ECD centre.”
Inshuti z’Umuryango volunteer, Rushaki Sector“Today, each morning, you see children happily walking towards the ECD centre, where they know they will meet friends, learn through play and receive proper care.”
Sector ECD Supervisor
05What we delivered
- 3:30Documentary-style film for donors, events and the web.
- 1:00Social media version for LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.
- 0:30Teaser to open campaigns and launch the story.
- PhotosHigh-resolution edited photographs for donor visibility, publications and digital platforms.
- StoryA written human-interest story, with photographs, ready to publish.
- RawAll raw footage and photographs, organised and handed over with consent forms.
06Why it worked
A Kigali-based team that knows the roads to Nyagatare and Gicumbi, interviews in Kinyarwanda, and works as one crew across film, photography and writing. UNICEF and its partners received one consistent story, ready for donors, publications and social media.
Every morning, they leave home to earn a living. Every morning, their children begin another day of learning, playing and growing.