After the latest round of genocide was brought to an end in Rwanda in 1994, the people elected Paul Kigame to be their president. Refugees returned from near and far. No family was without a horror story, either in committing murder or having members murdered. Countless women were infected with AIDS through rape. Huge numbers of children were left orphaned. Many more would be orphaned in coming years as their mothers died from AIDS. Many neighbors took in orphaned boys and girls to help in their homes and fields, but many more were left to fend for themselves on the streets.
ALARM (Africa Leadership And Reconciliation Mission) held conferences in villages throughout the Rwanda, helping old neighbors who had become enemies face each other to reconcile. They established IWE and brought in seven orphaned girls from the streets, offering housing, food and education. Last year, those first seven girls graduated! When I first visited IWE in 2011 with Taylor University, there were 250 girls sleeping in one dormitory and studying in 7 classrooms. When I returned to teach English for a full 3-month term in 2012, ALARM had built a second dormitory, opened another classroom by utilizing the old office/faculty rooms, and enrolled 460 students! Like all the schools in Rwanda, the students had no textbooks; so they hand-copied their lessons into notebooks from information the teachers wrote on the blackboards, which were rough, cracked and glazed. Initially I couldn't understand why the teachers wore white lab coats regardless of the subject taught, but it was a simple way to protect their clothes from the clouds of chalk dust which rained down on them!
One way of making a break from their colonial past was to depart from using French, the language imposed upon them by the Belgians for education and business transactions. Most new technological literature was written in English, therefore the decision was made to have all classes and business transactions conducted in English. Unfortunately most of the teachers didn't speak English! They wrote their lessons on the board in English, but they didn't engage the students in English conversation! Language transition was not the only problem; their educational philosophy also obstructed learning, in that like much of the world, Rwandans equated education with memorization instead of grasping concepts.
It took a while, but eventually I not only taught English classes to the students but after classes ended for the day, I taught English to the teachers as well. Initially hesitant, the teachers became my most eager students! They are also open to learning and implementing more effective educational philosophies which will be one of my main goals this year.
Maja
Here are photos of some of the students and teachers from my trips to IWE in Rwamagana, Rwanda in 2011-2012.
Scenes from my first 3-day visit to IWE in 2011:
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| Looking back down the Main highway heading east from Kigali to Rwamagana. |
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| Taylor students in the bus on our way to Rwamagana. |
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| One of the students writes a love note on the blackboard after I taught an English lesson. Notice the chalk dust on the wall and floor! |
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| Waiting in the field before the basketball game started. They only have one hoop! |
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| A few of the English students eager to be photographed with a muzungu from America. |
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| The Twins, who choreographed this gospel music dance. |
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| Students put on a Traditional Dance at a Farewell Ceremony for Taylor U. students. |
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| Composing Final English Examinations in the teachers' room. |
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| English Teacher, Amani, who is working on his law degree, in front of one of the 8 World Maps donated to IWE by National Geographic Society. |
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| Physics and CalculusTeacher, Noah, who takes the bus from Rwamagana to Kigali every weekend to see his wife & son. |
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| French teacher, Sylvia. |
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| Business Teacher, Rachel, writing examinations in the IWE teachers' room. Notice the hanging white lab coat; sitting on the floor, the only globe at IWE; and on the table, a handy blue box of chalk! The teachers are required to keep all student notebooks and exams in boxes on the shelves for 5 years in case of a dispute! |
