Past Education Projects
Past Education Projects
Below is an overview of some of the main Education projects we have supported in Rwanda.
Training Archdeacon Edward
We supported Archdeacon Edward as he studied Theology in Amsterdam. We are delighted to report that he has passed his degree and graduated in June 2019.
Student Sponsorship
We are grateful for monies received for student sponsorship.
Nyandwi Gilbert (pictured), studying at the Catholic Institute of Kabgayi, finished his course July 2017. He is now leading the audit function for the diocese in their central office.
We sponsored Boniface, a gifted carpenter, through his education and equipped him with tools for his business in the diocese.
We also paid for Katie-Marie to complete her university course in education. She is now a teacher.
Zion Education Centre
We have had a long-standing relationship with this church school at the heart of the Giterama parish. We have helped to fund the building of several extra classrooms so that the school could develop into offering nursery as well as primary education.
More recently, we have equipped the school with text books for the new Rwandan curriculum. The headmaster, Jonas, also requested that we help with funding towards the rebuilding of the toilet block. These two improvements have made a huge difference to the school which is run on a shoestring having just one electric socket and one outside tap!
Desks for Murehe
The Trust has funded desks for the primary school at Murehe, a remote and very poor village, where almost nobody has a paid job – their only means of earning money is by selling any surplus of the crops they grow, which when the harvest is poor, means life is very tough.
Trustees found that the school was pitifully equipped with three children having to share one dilapidated desk. Thank you for your gifts that have made this possible.
Utensils for a school in Gikomero
One of the requests from the primary school in Gikomero – high in the mountains – was for kitchen utensils. These may be small things in our eyes, but such items make a real difference to the way in which they care for the children and provide their midday meal which consists of rice and beans.
Preschool Education
Encouraged by the Government, the Diocese has set up preschools in 16 chapels in 6 parishes. Already over 1,000 four-year-olds attend and will continue to do so until formal primary education starts at age 7.
At one, Blandine and Marcelline (two secondary school-educated members of the local chapel) are funded by the Mother’s Union to lead the scheme, with some 80 children attending. Parents have to pay a small amount (£1.25) for the uniform, and a monthly fee (50p). Even this small amount is beyond the means of some parents.
The children enjoy a variety of activities, and begin to learn English and are taught basic hygiene. They are given an early and positive start to their education and the contrast between those who attend and those who do not is very real.
The uniforms are made by girls and women under the supervision of the Mother's Union, thus giving those involved, paid employment. The preschool is a definite witness of the local chapel in their community. This is a growing project and we have been invited to support it. It touches many people's lives at a tiny cost per person.
Hanika
Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth has established a link with the College of St Emmanuel at Hanika (now combined with the Technical School).
During the autumn of 2016, girls at Talbot Heath School held a sponsored run to raise funds for a new stone water tank and the repair of a girls' dormitory roof at the school in Rwanda.
We are enormously grateful for this committed support. On the very same day, students in Hanika held their own run.
Vocational Training Centres
We support the various Vocational Training Centres set up and run by the Diocese to train students in practical subjects.
The VTC at Rugendabari provides training in tailoring and carpentry. A few years ago, visiting Trustees noticed the poor state of the buildings acting as workshops and offered to refurbish them. Two are now complete and 18 girls are currently being taught tailoring using six treadle sewing machines. They gave Trustees, on a 2017 visit, an enthusiastic welcome and were delighted by the donation of fabric given by supporters.
The carpentry department was smaller, but functioning, and offered four boys training in crafting furniture. There were plans to refurbish a third building to provide boarding accommodation but sadly the building was destroyed in recent heavy rains.
At the Vocational Training Centre at Vunga, it was good to see the new dormitories with all their iron beds, funded through the Trust. The Government has now limited the length of courses offered (but not the variety) to a single year, on a single subject. hairdressing is a popular course.
The Diocesan Conference
On one of our visits, two of our Trustees led a two-day residential conference for pastors and their wives on the subject of Christian Living. They taught about the work of the Holy Spirit in equipping us to 'submit to one another out of reverence for Christ' and how that applied in marriage, family life and working relationships (from Ephesians 5 and 6); the 'Fruit of the spirit' from Galatians 5; control of the tongue, care for the poor and helpless, right handling of worldly wealth, wisdom in time of trial, and holiness as living in the world and not withdrawing from it (based on the epistle of James).
Donate
Donations of any amount are always welcome to support our work in Rwanda.
Every penny donated goes to helping the people of Shyogwe Diocese.
