Eager students

They spent the days showing everyone the many aspects of running a library, including:

• The importance of reading
• How to effectively market your library to encourage new patrons
• How to organise your library to maximize efficiency
• How to develop library programs

The workshop was a huge success and everybody left with some ideas to take back to their libraries.  It was such a positive and uplifting experience for everybody involved.

Support this team by clicking on the Donate button or on the gofundme page.

The Grace Rwanda team has been busy this week loading up our shipping container with generous donations from our local community.

The container is getting stocked with books and other supplies and will arrive in Rwanda this winter, ready to stock two more YEGO Youth Centre Libraries in needy communities. With these books, and with the generous donation of a matching grant from our Rotary partners and donations toward shipping costs, we are well on our way to establishing our next two libraries. These are planned for the communities of Kimisagara near the capital and Nyanza in the southern province.

Our dedicated volunteers — many from local Rotary clubs — have been helping load the container at the Rotary Help Warehouse at Riverview in Coquitlam. The container is nearly two-thirds full. We’re almost there!

Our next packing session is being held this coming Saturday Nov. 14. We’d love to see you come out and pitch in!

Among the goods we are shipping to students in need are thousands of books donated by local Rotary clubs and Langley and Abbotsford Schools, including 3,000 dictionaries. We have several computers donated by the Rotary World Help Network that will go to provide internet and computer access in our libraries.

In addition, there are more than 100 team soccer jerseys and sports equipment for youth in our YEGO youth library communities, donated by the Canadian National Women’s Soccer Team. A number of sewing machines and fabrics were donated by the Mennonite Central Committee to help Rwandans earn a living. Also included are some 800 hygienic sanitary pads made by the Riverside Calvary Chapel Sewing Bees group. And some office supplies to help establish our new Grace Rwanda office in Kigali.

All this precious cargo is scheduled to leave Vancouver on Nov. 21 and arrive 60 to 75 days later in Rwanda.

A heartfelt thanks to all our Rotary partners: from Rotary International to Rotary District 5050 and the Rotary Club of Langley Sunrise. Many thanks to individual Rotary volunteers and members of the Riverside Calvary Church who have come out to help us back the container.

Come be a part of loading up for literacy! To learn more about volunteering on Nov. 14 email elizabeth@gracerwanda.org.

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Thank you to all the supporters who came out to celebrate with us at the Grace Rwanda Dinner and Social hosted by the Riverside Calvary Chapel.

The event was a success, with inspirational speakers and delicious food. We raised more than $3,000 putting us a fifth of the way toward meeting our goal of shipping a container full of books to Rwanda this fall to stock up to 10 YEGO district youth centre community libraries.

The aim is to ship up to 30,000 books, plus more than 2,000 dictionaries supplied by Rotary Clubs, and 50 soccer team jerseys donated to our charity in the past by the Canadian women’s soccer team, which will support youth sports teams at the community centres.

We thank Riverside for their commitment to supporting our cause, and are also thankful for the ongoing support of the Rotary Club of Langley Sunrise and District 5050.

These dedicated supporters of Rwandan literacy have pledged to help collect books, supply dictionaries and assist in loading and transporting the container through the Rotary
World Help Network.

We hope to meet our $15,000 goal and ship the container by the end of September. If you’d like to assist, please consider donating via our secure web site.

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Three cheers of the Rotary Club of Langley Sunrise! These local Rotarians have recently pledged to help us raise funds to ship a container of books to Rwanda to stock new youth centre libraries this fall.

The club plans to fundraise and apply for a district grant to help support our latest initiative: shipping a container filled with enough books to stock up to 10 additional YEGO district youth centre community libraries in Rwanda.

The aim is to raise approximately $15,000 to ship up to 30,000 books, plus more than 2,000 dictionaries supplied by Rotary Clubs, and 50 soccer team jerseys which were donated by the Canadian women’s soccer team, which will support youth sports teams at the community centres.

Have a look at this presentation to learn more about how Rotary is helping Grace Rwanda change lives in Rwanda, one book at a time.

You can participate by dining for a cause this coming Saturday, August 8 at our Grace Rwanda Dinner and Social.The event will be hosted by the Riverside Calvary Chapel, at their church at 20178 96th Avenue, from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

The evening will include presentations from co-founder Elizabeth Johnson, as well as an address from Pastor Brent Smith, an authentic Rwandan dinner, tea and dessert, plus African craft sales.

Learn more about the event or to RSVP email info@gracerwanda.org.

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Help us send off the Grace Rwanda team as they set up the next phase of our mission in Rwanda and fundraise for a new book initiative!

Join us for an inspiring evening at next month’s Grace Rwanda Dinner and Social. The event will be hosted by the Riverside Calvary Chapel, at their church at 20178 96th Avenue on Saturday, August 8, from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

Come hear how Elizabeth and Paul Johnson were moved to embark on their work in Rwanda, learn about their calling and motivation to serve through their non-profit charity and new Ineza Foundation venture.

The evening will include presentations from the couple, as well as an address from Pastor Brent Smith, an authentic Rwandan dinner, tea and dessert, plus African craft sales.

We hope to raise an estimated $15,000 for an upcoming charity initiative: shipping a container full of books this fall. We plan to fill it with enough volumes to stock up to 10 YEGO district youth centre community libraries in Rwanda. The aim is to ship up to 30,000 books, plus more than 2,000 dictionaries supplied by Rotary Clubs, and 50 soccer team jerseys donated to our charity in the past by the Canadian women’s soccer team, which will support youth sports teams at the community centres.

To learn more about the event or to RSVP email info@gracerwanda.org.

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Grace Rwanda is out in the community this spring networking and sharing the news of our work with like-minded humanitarians.

In February, we participated in Missions Fest Vancouver, educating attendees about our literacy projects in Rwanda and seeking supporters.

On May 22, the Grace Rwanda team is travelling to Vancouver Island to participate in the third annual Powell River Missions Fest at the Evangel Church. The theme for the event is “Local Vision for Global Missions,” which is an excellent fit for our work and interests.

We’ll be learning from and networking with more than a dozen other B.C. based charitable organizations working in the missions field and on humanitarian causes. Learn more at PowellRiverMissionsFest.com.

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Grace Rwanda has a new mailing address! Be sure to update your files if you want to reach us by mail. We’re now at:

Grace Rwanda Society
#13 – 19889 96 Avenue Suite # 182
Langley, BC V1M 3C7

As always, you can reach us via email at info@gracerwanda.org.

And you can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Big news! This month students at two of B.C.’s biggest universities are rallying in support of Grace Rwanda and our life-changing youth literacy and library programs.

We are honoured that the students from two African Student Societies, the UBC African Awareness Initiative and SFU’s African Students’ Association, are joining forces to run a fundraising competition, with the proceeds going to benefit our work improving literacy in Rwanda. All funds collected will be dedicated to purchasing books and e-readers and other literacy materials for our third YEGO youth centre community library, which we plan to set up this spring.

Their fundraising effort, called The Giving Competition, starts February 1 and runs until February 28. The students will vie to see which university can raise the most funds by the end of the month. You can support their initiative by donating to your favourite team or your old alma mater. Contributions can easily be made online through the Donate page of our website at GraceRwanda.org.

To learn more, you can watch a short video about the event.

The UBC African Awareness Initiative (AAI) is committed to improving discourse surrounding and including Africa at the university. They aim to produce outstanding academic forums to encourage critical discussions pertaining to the relevance of the African continent, the Diaspora and its globalization. Their mission is to educate the public about how much Africa has to give to the world. To do so, the group hosts events featuring world-class African scholars, writers, artists and activists representative of the high standard of knowledge being produced about Africa. Read more about AAI’s work on their web site, Ubcaai.org, or their Facebook page, or contact one of their members at aai.vpfinance@gmail.com.

Simon Fraser University’s African Students’ Association (ASA) was founded to engage the interests, voice and issues of African students at Simon Fraser University. They are dedicated to promoting African culture and highlighting the importance of Africa’s historical, political, social and economic issues. The ASA strives to strengthen and promote African presence at SFU and educate the general student body about the true diversity of the continent. Learn more about the African Students’ Association on their Facebook page or contact one of their members at afra.sfu@gmail.com.

We’d like to offer our sincere thanks to these inspiring student leaders for choosing to make Grace Rwanda the beneficiary of their charity competition, and encourage you to get involved. And may the best team win!

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.

Grace Rwanda is ringing in the New Year with some exciting new initiatives we’d like to tell you about.

First off, our “Ring in the Season with Reading for Rwandans“ Indiegogo fundraising campaign is still running, and is now in its final week. The goal of the campaign is to raise $2,000 toward books and e-readers for our third youth community centre library planned for Kimisagra this spring. It wraps up January 15th and with just a week to go we’re at 60 per cent of our goal. So if you haven’t had a chance to contribute over the busy holiday season it’s not too late. All donations over $25 are fully tax deductible. Check it out on our Indiegogo page.

Next, our co-founder Elizabeth Johnson is back out in the community this month spreading news of Grace Rwanda’s work. On January 14 and 15 she’ll be visiting Victoria to make presentations at local schools. On January 23-25 she’ll be facilitating a Rotary youth camp and serving as a keynote speaker, helping to inspire the next generation of youth leaders to give back. And on January 30-February 1, Johnson and the Grace Rwanda team will be hosting an information booth and participating in a conference at MissionsFest Vancouver. Come on out and get inspired!

Plans for Grace Rwanda’s social business branch, the Ineza Foundation, are also ramping up this month. Learn more about our planned Rwandan eco-lodge social enterprise, which is being created to sustainably support Grace Rwanda literacy projects, at the new Inezafoundation.org web site, which is under construction.

Finally, we’re thrilled to announce that students from two African Student Societies, the African Awareness Initiative of UBC and the African Student Association of SFU are gearing up to launch an exciting fundraising competition on February 1 to collect funds on behalf of Grace Rwanda and our important literacy programs. Check out this short video to learn more about this amazing event! Stay tuned and check back for details closer to the launch date.

You can get regular updates on our work by following @GraceRwanda, liking us on Facebook, adding us in your Google+ circle, and watching our videos on YouTube.