Elizabeth Davis, CEO
The Opening Ceremony at Akilah
On Saturday, February 6, the first class of Akilah supporters were joined by their family and friends, the Akilah team, and other supporters from around the world to celebrate the official opening of the Akilah Institute’s campus in Kigali. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time; I am so grateful to all the people who have helped to make this possible.
The crowd starts to gather for the beginning of the opening ceremony at the Kigali campus of Akilah
Each student brought 2 guests: a family member or friend who would be supporting them throughout their time at Akilah. They all participated in an info session and asked lots of great questions about the curriculum and program of the Foundation Year. The students and staff spent a significant amount of time the week before discussing the significance of the Akilah Community Pledge. This was signed as a whole class with their families present.
Akilah student with her brother (and wearing her new Akilah polo!)
Kinyarwanda speech
I welcomed the students, families and special guests with a speech in Kinyarwanda (video coming soon). I wish that I could say that I speak Kinyarwanda fluently but it took a lot of practice to stand up and give a long speech in a language that is so difficult. But I am trying!
Didier Munezero, from the Workforce Development Authority, spoke about the importance of
Didier Munezero from the Workforce Development Authority
developing the vocational training system in Rwanda and the WDA’s committment to working with Akilah.
Valentine Kamanya, one of the Akilah students, spoke on behalf of the student body. (Read her full speech in another blog post here.)
The American Ambassador addresses Valentine, an Akilah student
American Ambassador Stuart Symington gave a wonderful presentation about the need for education in Rwanda and the importance of Akilah’s programs.
Rosette Rugamba, the Deputy CEO for Tourism & Conservation, at the Rwanda Development Board delivered the keynote speech at the opening. She discussed the development of the Rwandan hospitality industry and the critical importance of providing high quality education and training for this sector. She emphasized that Akilah students will be leaders in this field and that their skill sets will be in very high demand. Rosette explained how the Rwandan government made the decision many years ago to focus on the development of tourism in the country, even though many people were skeptical of the potential because of Rwanda’s violent past. But they are now expecting that tourism will bring $650 million into the country by 2020!
Rosette Rugamba, Deputy CEO from the Rwanda Development Board
Inside one of the Akilah classrooms
The Ambassador and Rosette cut the ribbon and then visitors had the opportunity to tour the classrooms.
Troupe gets ready to perform a traditional Rwandan dance
Member of the dance troupe
Congrats on your opening. Best of luck!
[...] after our opening ceremony, I went back to the States for 3 weeks to speak at TEDx in Tampa and to meet with Akilah [...]
Congratulations Elizabeth and your team at AKILAH! I personally know how long the journey has been and I commend you and thank you for loving Rwandans and Rwanda. Urakoze cyane!