The newest class of scholars with Generation Rwanda staff at orientation.

Generation Rwanda is proud to announce that last month we welcomed our new class of scholars! Our incoming class of 14 students participated in a five-day orientation session to introduce them to the Generation Rwanda program and staff. Additionally, our new students had the opportunity to hear from current Generation Rwanda scholars and participate in workshops focusing on time management, women’s empowerment, health, and confidence building. New student Christopher R. commented on how thorough the orientation session was: “I feel as if I already started university because of all the useful knowledge I am acquiring here at orientation!”

One of the trainings that took place during orientation involved introducing our students to theories about leadership. Our new student Soubirous said, “In orientation I have learned about functional and transformative leadership theories and now I know that I can give a contribution to resolve conflict and achieve peace.” The prevailing sentiment among our new students is excitement about beginning the next phase of their lives. New student Sabine said it best, “I am feeling as someone new. Now I have an open mind and I am looking farther than I used to.” Welcome to the 8th class of Generation Rwanda scholars!

As we recently announced, Generation Rwanda scholars Juliet Busingye and Jean d’Amour Mutoni were awarded prestigious Global Health Corps Fellowships, and they have spent the past few weeks in the U.S. training at Yale University. This past week, Juliet and Jean d’Amour were honored along with the other GHC Fellows at a cocktail party in New York, where Jean d’Amour was one of two fellows who spoke on behalf of the new class of 68 fellows. His polished and heartfelt speech focused on his life story, the role Generation Rwanda has played in his life, and how it has inspired him to believe that when one has been helped, it’s a form of credit that has to be repaid by in turn helping others. This ethos is one that Juliet and Jean d’Amour will embody as each returns to Rwanda to work as GHC Fellows with healthcare organizations – Juliet with Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) and Jean d’Amour with FACE AIDS. Generation Rwanda is incredibly proud of its GHC Fellows and the roles they will soon take on in Rwanda.

Read more about Juliet and Jean d’Amour’s GHC Fellowships.

Evary Ndabarinzi is Generation Rwanda’s Student of the Month for June! A student of Business Administration at the School of Finance and Banking (SFB), Evary has excelled academically and has shown himself to be an exceptional leader, serving as Vice President of the SFB Student Parliament. He was recently elected President of Generation Rwanda’s Student Government Association (SGA), building on his experience as SGA Disciplinary Director in 2010. He has achieved extremely high grades in the past year, particularly in the fields of Quantitative Methods, Accounting, and Organizational Theory and Behavior, earning a spot on the GR Honor Roll in January 2011.

Evary also has demonstrated an enterprising spirit. Earlier this year he founded, along with other Generation Rwanda scholars, a consulting company called Max Impact Consulting. The company aims to provide high-quality, affordable consulting services to Rwandan businesses while simultaneously utilizing and developing the unique portfolios and skills of the young professionals it employs. We are extremely proud of Evary’s accomplishments and we can’t wait to see what he does next. Congratulations, Evary!

One year ago, six Generation Rwanda students – Yassin Nsabimana, Diane Uwayo, Consolé Nibagwire, Justine Ingabire, Tharcisse Ngarukiyintwali, and Simon Mvunabandi – began working as interns with one of our partner organizations, Ready for Reading. Recently, Ready for Reading broke ground on a Library/Learning Center to support educational development in the community of Rwinkwavu, in eastern Rwanda. In addition to its function as a community library, the center plans to deliver programs in language and computer literacy, as well as educational and job skills training.

Generation Rwanda’s student interns took an active role in the development of the center and helped organize nineteen local focus groups. “Last spring, we had the pleasure of working with six Generation Rwanda students [on this project],” said Katie Uher, Ready for Reading’s Country Director. “The students were incredible assets and it was wonderful to work with such bright and eager interns.” Each week during April and May of 2010, groups of two to three Generation Rwanda students traveled to Rwinkwavu to meet with community members, building local trust in the project and gathering feedback on the community’s needs. The students’ support will enable the center, which is scheduled to open later this year, to create a lasting, positive impact in Rwinkwavu.

You can read more about this ongoing project and our students’ work in Ready for Reading’s blog entry titled “Meeting the Generation Rwanda Interns.” At Generation Rwanda, we look forward to the library’s upcoming launch, and we are proud of the role that our students have played in making it happen!

Above: Generation Rwanda student interns with Ready for Reading staff

Earlier this week, we reported that two Generation Rwanda scholars had won Global Health Corps fellowships. Now, we are proud to announce that yet another one of our students has won a prestigious fellowship: Patricie Mavubi Uwase has been admitted into the 2011 MILEAD Fellows program! Patricie is a Civil Engineering & Environmental Technology student at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). She visited North America as one of Generation Rwanda’s two Student Ambassadors in 2010 and she is also serving as KIST’s Minister of Gender. The MILEAD Fellowship is a program of the Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa. Only 25 young African women from throughout the continent and African diaspora are chosen to be MILEAD Fellows each year. The MILEAD Fellows program will run for a full year, and Patricie will receive training and support to help her build her leadership capacity and professional network. Patricie will also be making a trip to Ghana as part of the program. Congratulations, Patricie!

We are excited to announce that our student Juliet Busingye and recent graduate Jean d’Amour Mutoni have been accepted into the Global Health Corps (GHC) Fellows program! GHC provides opportunities for young leaders from a wide range of fields to spend a year working with local health organizations. As part of their fellowship, Juliet and Jean d’Amour will come to the U.S. this July to participate in a training program at Yale University. After they complete their initial training, they will be paid staff for a year at their organizations in Rwanda, where they will work on projects related to global health equity. Juliet – who will graduate later this year with a degree in Business Administration & IT – will be working at an organization called Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE). Jean d’Amour – who graduated with a degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences – will be working for FACE AIDS. Juliet and Jean d’Amour are the first two Generation Rwanda students to receive prestigious fellowships and we could not be more proud of them.

In late 2010, Generation Rwanda was proud to see two of our students – Jacqueline Tumukunde and Timothée Mwizihire – intern for a week in Uganda with Invisible Children. This well-known and award-winning nonprofit seeks to combat the use of child soldiers in Uganda.

Jacqueline, or “Jackie,” is a third-year Environmental Management student at the National University of Rwanda, and Timothée is a third-year Computer Science student at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. In 2010, they were both finalists in the Generation Rwanda Student Ambassador competition, and this internship opportunity was their prize for performing so well in the competition. In their week with Invisible Children, Timothée worked in their main Uganda office as an IT Assistant. He helped their IT Officer set up the organization’s computer network and cleared malware and viruses from the machines. Timothée says, “I learned a great deal…The team [at] Invisible Children was super-welcoming.” For her part, Jackie spent her week working as a Field Supervisor with a branch of the organization called the Cotton Conservation Initiative Uganda (CCIU), which helps local farmers find markets to sell their cotton. Jackie assisted with the design of training sessions that will help local farmers increase their marketing skills. She was excited to learn more about the cotton production process, as well as to gain relevant experience in her field.

The votes are in, and Eric Zibukira is Generation Rwanda’s April Student of the Month! Eric received this honor thanks to his outstanding leadership skills, which he has displayed both in his work with university student associations and – in 2010 – as the representative for all university students from the Ngororero district at the National University of Rwanda. As we mentioned in our most recent newsletter, Eric was recently elected as Ngororero’s Commissioner in Charge of Culture and Sport. He also serves as a member of the district’s Sector Consultative Council.

This spring, Eric has worked on projects with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), where he was a surveyor, and with Operation Smile, which he served as a translator when the organization’s doctors visited Rwanda to perform medical work. Last but not least, Eric earned a place on the Generation Rwanda Honor Roll in both July 2010 and January 2011. Congratulations, Eric!

Generation Rwanda is proud to introduce our March Student of the Month, Germaine Uwabareze. Dedicated and committed, Germaine is also an extremely talented scholar and young entrepreneur. Germaine is currently a third-year physical therapy student at the Kigali Health Institute (KHI). She is one of the founding members of the Generation Rwanda Entrepreneurship Club (GREC) and she also serves as the group’s Director of Membership and Events. On top of her active involvement in GREC, Germaine recently won an election to become the Minister of Protocol for the KHI Students’ Association. Germaine has demonstrated significant commitment to her professional development by participating in seminars, workshops and trainings on issues such as Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets. Last but not least, Germaine has already started her own company: AFRIBAG, which produces fantastic bags and clothes and which has begun to attract a strong following in Rwanda. We are very proud to share the news about all of Germaine’s accomplishments. Congratulations, Germaine!

At our all-student meeting in January of this year, something unexpected happened just as the meeting was about to conclude. Third-year student Grace Tsuni Uwase presented Executive Director Michael Brotchner and Country Director Charles Rukikanshuro with a large object covered in wrapping paper. After the paper was removed, the entire room saw what Grace had created: an enormous version of the Generation Rwanda logo on a canvas. Grace had recreated our name and logo out of recycled bottlecaps – but it was more than just our logo: tucked in each bottlecap’s circle of metal was a small picture of a Generation Rwanda student and each student had a place on the canvas!

The creativity and talent demonstrated by the work was exceptional but it did not come as a surprise: Grace recently won the “Miss Talent” title while competing in the Miss Campus competition at the National University of Rwanda. Enjoy these photos of Grace’s amazing work, which now is the centerpiece of our Kigali office!