Empowering Teachers, the Unrecognized Frontline Workforce Battling COVID-19
December 22, 2020
Dr. Manzi highlighted that the best way to be prepared for the next pandemic is to think ahead and build an extended workforce, which can make real-time change in their communities.
Teachers are one of the beloved community and they model the behavior, the values, and the essential knowledge needed to build a better world—and to survive a pandemic no matter your income or station in life.
Move Up Global and Ireme Education for Social Impact Visit to Nyabirehe Primary School Village
It all begins with an idea.
April 2nd, 2020
NYABIREHE Primary School is located in RUNGU Cell, GATARAGA Sector, and MUSANZE District, Northern Province of the Republic of RWANDA. It is a public school.
In February 2020, Move Up Global founder, Dr. Anatole Manzi and Board Member Leslie Belay visited the Nyabirehe Primary School and met with members of Ireme Education for Social Impact (IESI) as well as the school director, teachers and students. IREME is a key partner of Move Up Global in Rwanda.
IESI is also a Non-Government Organization established by volunteers from different region of the country. They work in different fields including education, health and environment sustainability. IESI strives to improve education quality. It motivates learners to studying and working hard by giving them some schools equipment or material as motivation tools. In health and welfare issues; IREME provides information campaigns in areas such as nutrition, hygiene and sanitation.
Among the issues and priorities at the Nyabirehe Primary School discussed during the visit were:
English proficiency: teachers have a big challenge of English communication language level: they need Training in English language skills
Electricity: the school is not connected on Electricity network or portal and this constitute a principal challenge
No fence for the school night an daily security (the school neighboring to the Volcanoes national Park need to secure their environment for the animals incursion has to put in place the fence)
No computer lab for Information Communication Technology courses and Internet connection, the learners needs to prepare a national exam in Information Technology or Computer Sciences
No library ( very few teachers textbooks, no text books for learners and comfortable place for reading and documentation
The health and welfare main challenges faced by NYABIREHE Primary School are presented as follows:
Lack of drinking fresh water and equipment for storing this water;
No room for girls ( the learners /girls) studying in P5 and P6 have a big problem related with the comfortable rooms for changing their pads during monthly period menstruation);
Lack of sport equipment: School needs playground for different games/sports
Lack of hygiene and sanitation situation: Some of them haven’t school uniform, no health facilities, and some of them present a malnutrition appearance.
After visiting NYABIREHE PRIMARY SCHOOL the delegation has visited GROUPE SCOLAIRE RWINZOVU located also in GATARAGA Sector, MUSANZE District, nearest Volcanoes National Park. The visits helped to align Move Up Global, IREME and the School staff on key immediate priorities such as bringing electricity to the school as well as enhance everyone’s shared understanding of the many issues which are of concern and we hope to address in the future.
By Audace Gerard Niyigena, IESI
John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Canton, MA joins Move Up Global’s Rwanda project
It all begins with an idea.
December 11, 2019
JFK Elementary school leadership and students collected school supplies to support students abroad. This heroic action led to a formal creation of Move Up Global, a non-profit aiming at provision of better health and education in remote and resource-constrained communities. Move up Global fosters community engagement in the design and implementation of innovative solutions to improve people’s well-being. Hats off to students and families for making a difference in Canton and globally. This is just the beginning of a long-term partnership. “We will not stop until they get notebooks, pencils, and textbooks they need. No child should drop out due to lack of basic school supplies. You and I can stop this,” said Anatole, co-founder of Move Up Global. He also added that children from low -income families are three times more likely to be absent or drop out of school.
Future collaboration will involve JFK-Rwanda teacher collaborations and a student exchange program. Other projects will also focus on introducing social entrepreneurship and information technology into basic education in Rwanda. This model will increase opportunities to learn and share as global citizens.
Rwanda is a small landlocked country known as the heart of Africa and the country of thousand hills. In 1994, Rwanda experienced genocide against Tutsi, one of its three ethnical groups. This marked the world’s worst tragedy of the century. Currently, Rwanda is featured as one of the most beautiful African countries. Rwanda’s rapid development reflects an impressive recovery and strong resilience.
Visit our website to learn more about our work. Click here to support this initiative.
A Teacher-Parent Meeting Turned Into a Global Life-Changing Opportunity: Maybe We Can Do Something!
It all begins with an idea.
December 11, 2019
Have you ever met someone and have a brief discussion that laid a foundation for a long-term opportunity for you, your family, or friends? That’s what happened to me after meeting with Ms. Erin Aylward, an elementary school teacher at the John F. Kennedy School of Canton, MA.
Like many other recent immigrants, I always take parent-teacher conferences seriously. Especially, since at the time, my children were still struggling with the transition from French to English and a new socio-cultural context. One morning, I attended a scheduled meeting with Ms. Aylward. I was very impressed by her level of attention and interest in knowing my son and our Rwandan background. While seated in her classroom around a table and sitting in small chairs, calm and asking great questions, gave me an opportunity to observe all the resources my son and other 3rd graders have access to.
During our meeting, I shared my personal experience growing up in rural Rwanda and comparing school life to the present: traveling far, going sick and hungry, and with one notebook for all content areas. I don’t recall ever owning a textbook. Thank goodness nature was my book. Despite any challenges, I’m proud to say that I have become one of the top global health leaders.
My story sounds familiar to many. However, we rarely take a moment to reflect and react to our past and use it to change the present or future. With Ms. Aylward things were different. After our meeting, I left her classroom and headed towards the parking lot. As I approached my car, I heard a voice behind me: someone following me, and then “Mr. Manzi, I have an idea. Maybe we can do something. We can start with reaching out to students and parents in Canton.” I was excited to hear this from Ms. Aylward. As I began to process my ideas on how to get started, she already had a suggestion: "I will speak with the principal and we can arrange a meeting with the student council.”
In many instances “maybe we can…” means a low probability for something to happen. For people like Ms. Aylward, Principal Christine McMahon, and the Canton community, “maybe we can…” comes with optimism and compassion.
Ms. Aylward coordinated with the student council to set our initiative into motion. These young yet strong leaders had great ideas already. They organized a fundraiser and started collecting school supplies for the school I attended in rural Rwanda, Groupe Scolaire de Nyabirehe. Efforts continue to build a formal ongoing partnership; an exchange between teachers and students which fosters a place for learning, compassion, and understanding.
Future funding will help to bring electricity and equip this school with computers and internet connectivity. This will allow Ms. Aylward, JFK students, and other supporters to connect with my school directly. It will also enable children to have access to online textbook sand health education resources. “Maybe we can do something” — and I can’t wait to get started.
By Anatole Manzi
Hartwick College of New York Partners with a Rwandan Nonprofit on Education and Public Health Messaging in Rural Rwanda
It all begins with an idea.
March 11, 2019
Right partners are essential to improve and hold gains in education and public health messaging. We are thrilled to partner with Hartwick College and build an academic exchange program.
Located in New York, Hartwick college was founded in 1797. It confers bachelor’s degrees in various academic fields of study. As a private college, Hartwick students gain exceptional exposure to applied sciences. Thanks to Ireme Education for Social Change (IESI), our implementation partner in Musanze district for coordinating this partnership.
Faculty and students from Hartwick will start a formal exchange program in January 2022. Our collaboration will focus on education and integration of public health messaging into basic education program. This aligns with the Rwandan Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health’s priorities to improve academic performance and community well being.
A Rwandan ER Doctor Teams Up With a Teacher to Address Education and School Health Needs in Rural Rwanda
It all begins with an idea.
March 11, 2019
Dr. Joseph Niyonzima (on right) and Ms. Olive Nyiraneza (on left) distribute school supplies to students at Nyabirehe Primary School.
Dr. Joseph Niyonzima, an emergency medicine physician at CHUK, one of Rwanda’s largest teaching hospitals; and Ms. Olive Nyiraneza, an education activist and elementary school teacher, made choices to drive the design and implementation of innovative solutions to improve access to quality education and promote people wellbeing. In collaboration with Move Up Global, Dr. Niyonzima and Ms. Nyiraneza are developing a model to integrate hygiene and sanitation, public health messaging, and social entrepreneurship with the existing education and health systems. Their local non profit, Ireme Education for Social Impact (IESI), addresses socio-economic and school health needs. A number of projects are anderway to support students, teachers, and parents at Nyabirehe, a primary school located in rural Rwanda where Joseph and Olive went for primary education.
“Many children do not make it to higher education due poor performance associated with frequent illness, absenteeism, and lack of basic school supplies. They end up dropping out. Our ultimate goal is to instill hope in our youth and fellow teachers.”
— Ms. Nyiraneza.
Move Up Global continues to work closely with Dr. Niyonzima and Ms. Nyiraneza to test small changes that hold potential for greater impact in rural Rwanda.
Visit our website to learn more about our programs. You can also use this link to support our work.