Education
A main pillar of Move Up Global's model is that every project includes a mechanism to build skills and transfer knowledge into the population. The purpose is not to do for people, but to teach people to do for themselves.
We also aim to boost the capacity of schools so that they can provide good quality education and opportunity for their students and serve as transformation hubs for Move Up Global. We value teachers as the community leaders who know families intimately and can quickly and efficiently identify issues that arise. As we support teachers and their ability to deliver quality education, other areas of improvement will follow.
English Education
A few years ago, Rwanda made English its official language, in addition to Kinyarwanda. However, many people still do not have the skills and support they need to learn and use English. Teachers are expected to teach in English, but many of them grew up studying in French. Move Up Global offers some Sunday zoom sessions for English conversation. We are now exploring supplying teachers with mobile apps to practice listening and speaking English and looking for ways to supply the community with more mobile phones and tablets for flexible learning options.
Our next big step in English language learning and encouraging more student-centered teaching approaches is to build our partnership with the Rwandan Ministry of Education. We have brought Fellows and Interns to partner with Nyabirehe teachers from Hartwick College and Tufts University. We are hoping in the future to have someone embedded in the school to help strengthen the transition to English-led education. This would be a game-changing asset. We are also seeking a future partnership with the Peace Corps to obtain a volunteer to help the school modernize teaching techniques and professional development
Iterambere Project: Information Computer and Technology Programs
Move Up Global strongly believes in the power of technology to drive transformation. We have been building IT capacity at IREME and at Nyabirehe Primary School to link this isolated community to the world beyond their reach. We start with a twinning model that pairs expertise outside Rwanda with people on the ground. This includes individual volunteers from Boston offering Sunday Zoom classes to teachers, a partnership with graduate students from Brandeis University, and generous donation programs bringing computers and equipment for computer labs and school classrooms.
IREME also established a computer skills certificate program to train the teachers in necessary skills to use new technology and to bring that tech into classrooms. As more becomes available, quality training is a necessity, as most rural areas of Rwanda have low Computer Literacy rates. Next steps will be to roll out training to students so they can exponentially improve their access to educational materials and learning opportunities. As capacity increases, we will offer online resources, which are by far the most cost effective way to increase educational outcomes.
Basic School Supplies
Lack of basic school supplies and textbooks is one of the major causes of absenteeism and dropouts. We assist students in most need. Current and future opportunities for support include provision of:
School supplies
Textbooks
IT equipment
Audio-visual equipment
Mt. Muhabura Scholarship
The Mt. Muhabura scholarship program raises opportunities for children and young adults attending Move Up Global supported schools surrounding Volcanoes National Park, guiding them to succeed. Many families from this region live in deep poverty with limited or no financial resources. Financial hardship reduces the prospects for children to attend or complete high school.
The Scholarship program helps fund tuition, school transportation, uniforms and basic supplies for those families whose children show great promise and score well on exams, but might otherwise be unable to pursue educational opportunities.
Click here for more details about Mt. Muhabura Scholarship Program