Back to Work

After my vacation, I’m really excited to be getting back to work and developing new projects.

The day after I arrived in Kigali, I picked up a MoneyGram from Water Charity, which is funding the project I’m doing at St. Leonard Nursery and Primary School. By the end of this month, water tanks will be installed and people at the school will finally have a place to wash their hands. When staff at Groupe Scolaire Nyagatare, a public school in town, heard about the project at St. Leonard, they immediately asked how they could do the same thing. So, when the first project is completed, we’ll be starting a nearly identical one at that school.

In addition, I’m teaching English classes at St. Leonard this term. I’m only teaching part-time, but I’ll have classes ranging from Primary 3 to Primary 6. As all the teachers are Rwandan and the school’s past volunteers have been German, this will be the first time any of the students have had a native English speaker as a teacher. I hope it will be an opportunity for cultural exchange as well as exposure to relevant topics that aren’t covered in other classes. I’m also excited about the opportunity to gain more teaching experience and to learn more about Rwanda’s education system and education in general. If time allows, I’ll also be teaching part time at Mary Hill Girls’ Secondary School, a brand new school that is still under construction and will begin classes next month.

I’ll also be working more with Dutabare Association, an NGO in a village outside Nyagatare. At the moment, I’m helping them apply for a grant, which will fund a project they’ve designed but don’t have the means to implement. If we get the grant, a group of Dutabare’s beneficiaries will be able to purchase 400 chickens, chicken feed, and veterinary supplies and construct a chicken coop. Then, half of the eggs will be used to feed malnourished children in the area, and the other half will be sold in the market. The income generated from selling the eggs will be used to sustain the project and will also provide a sustainable source of funding for future projects. I’ve been extremely impressed by how professional, dedicated, and innovative the organization’s volunteers are (none of the people who work there get paid), and I’m really excited to work more with them in the future.

Additionally, I’m working on finding funding (or, better yet, a long-term partner) for the Presbyterian Church here. While I’m not as committed to helping them finance a new church building, provide accommodation for pastors, or build new churches in rural areas, I’m very enthusiastic about their idea to build a community center that will house a bookstore, library, and pre-school, offer basic literacy and health classes for adults, and serve as a workspace for cooperatives. I’m also excited about the possibility of funding scholarships for university students. (The government cut the university scholarship program, meaning many of the students who studied in Nyagatare last year will likely be unable to complete their degree.) I’ve just started talking with an interested church at home, so I hope they decide to go ahead with the partnership.