It’s hard to believe that it has been over a year since Elizabeth and I first went out to the Akilah campus in Bugesera. The mayor of the district first suggested the idea that Akilah could renovate this old government school. At first it seemed too good to be true. Elizabeth and I walked the site for the first time, stunned by its potential and overflowing with excitement and ideas for how we could transform this into a campus full of students.
I am now living in Hong Kong, while Elizabeth has been managing all the day to day operations on the ground in Rwanda. Volunteers in the US have been organizing fundraising events and helping with operations there. It feels like our team is spread around the globe, but we make it work! I just spent 2 weeks in Rwanda. We have tons of work to do since we are starting classes in February!
The first year of Akilah classes will be held in the capital of Kigali while we renovate the Bugesera campus. The classrooms are actually being constructed right now, but will be finished before the end of the year. They are on the site of another organization called REACH.
REACH is run by a close friend of ours, Philbert Kalisa, and a member of the Akilah Advisory Council. Elizabeth first met him years ago because his family is living in Florida so that his children can attend school there. Philbert is a Rwandan pastor and REACH works with genocide survivors around the country.
Examining the construction of the Akilah classrooms in Kibagabaga with Joseph and Philbert from REACH
The REACH compound is located in Kibagabaga, a neighborhood of Kigali. We are close to MTN Center and Kimironko Market, and right next to the Kibagabaga Hospital. Once construction is finished, there will be three large classrooms and three offices. The classrooms have huge windows that look out over the Kibagabaga valley. Akilah students will enjoy beautiful views as they study and work.
The Akilah classrooms and the stunning view of the Kibagabaga valley
My time in Kigali wasn’t enough because our team had so much work to get done. A few of the things I worked on while there:
- Several new people have joined our team over the last few months. Interviewing potential candidates was fun but challenging.
- Met with a USAID funded project to discuss the possibility of getting support for the Foundation Year classes.
- Elizabeth met with UNIFEM to discuss potential partnerships.
- Got to catch up with other members of our advisory board and long time friends of Akilah, including Dr. Prince Bosco, Jesse Hawkes, Muhire Enock, and others.
- Talked to experts at Electrogaz, the public utilities company, to gather information about connecting the Akilah campus to the grid. There is no electricity out there right now! So either Electrogaz will help us do the necessary installation or we will have to depend on solar. Both are very expensive.
- In addition to working on Akilah stuff, I also met with the Minister of Sport, Joseph Habineza, about my project to bring a Rwandan rugby team to Hong Kong in March 2010 to play in a tournament there. Learn more at www.rwandarugby.org
Dinner with Elizabeth and Philbert Kalisa of REACH. (Nice hat Philbert!)
With Muhire Enock, Akilah Program Assistant, at the campus in Bugesera
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