Grace Rwanda opens the books

Posted on May 16, 2015 by admin

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Here at Grace Rwanda, we place a high value on transparency and accountability.

So it’s very important to us that all our supporters can be assured that their donations are managed carefully and go straight toward our literacy projects in Rwanda.

The entire Grace Rwanda executive team and staff work on a volunteer basis, out of a passion for our mission, so that none of your valuable donations go toward administration.

To ensure our accountability, we are accredited yearly as a registered Canadian charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.

This past fiscal year, for the first time, we took the extra step of undergoing a voluntary financial audit, to offer further proof of our financial transparency.

We’re making our 2014 Financial Audit Report available here online to any of our interested supporters.

We hope you know that you can always feel secure in the knowledge that at Grace Rwanda, your donations are a sacred trust!

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.

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We’re moving!

Posted on May 4, 2015 by admin

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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.

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Make a difference, join our board of directors

Posted on March 7, 2015 by admin

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Are you looking to give back and do good while gaining valuable executive experience? Why not join our board?

Grace Rwanda is currently seeking four general board members to serve on the Board of Directors for our volunteer-run Langley-based charity.

Grace Rwanda society’s vision is that every child and youth in Rwanda has the opportunity to live in a supportive, vibrant, literate and healthy community. We believe access universal education and literacy for all is essential to building this kind of community. We focus on improving literacy and health in rural Rwanda villages. We provide educational support for children and youth in Rwanda, building collaborative partnerships and sharing resources, skills, and funds. We also have a mission to educate Canadians about Rwanda.

The ideal candidate(s) will have previous board or committee experience, and bring professional experience in one of the following areas:
* Board governance and advising
* Charity Income generating/ fundraising and/or social enterprise business
* Finance (accounting, budgeting, banking or investment)
* Human Resources (recruitment, succession planning or general HR)
* International development: policies and projects implementation in developing world
education/literacy and/or health programs

Board members’ duties include:
* Committing to the mission and vision of Grace Rwanda Society
* Forming a clear understanding of (or making a strong commitment to learn about) non-profit governance
* Contributing in the areas of board governance, strategic planning, the not-for-profit sector, finance, human resources, resource development, education
* Preparing for and attending monthly board meetings
* Supporting special events as required
* Acting as an ambassador of Grace Rwanda Society to external stakeholders

Board meetings are typically held once a month. Directors are expected to read all materials in advance and come prepared to contribute to the discussion.

Approximate Position Start Date: May 2015
Approximate Position End Date: June 2017
Time commitment: 3-5 hours per month

For more information or to apply, please send us an email at info@gracerwanda.org. Applications should highlight the skills you can bring to our board, with subject line: Board of Directors Application.

We look forward to working with some inspiring new members!

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.

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B.C. students help give books to Rwandan students

Posted on February 18, 2015 by admin

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This month, Grace Rwanda’s in-country team members are hard at work promoting literacy during the country’s Book and Reading Week, running February 16 to 20. With help from our supporters, Grace Rwanda was able to donate an additional 1,300 books to two schools in Muhanga, at Biti and Gitongati elementary schools, continuing our rural school mini-libraries program.

On February 17th, Grace Rwanda will host an outreach event at Biti Elementary and on 18th, the team will be in Kayonza at the Youth Centre. Our Rwandan volunteer project coordinators, Beline Uwizeyimana, and Hyacinthe Munezero, are stepping in to run these initiatives and engage local youth to join our efforts. Having dedicated team members on the ground in Rwanda not only helps minimize the cost of travel for the Grace Rwanda team, but encourages locals to take ownership of literacy programs.

Meanwhile, here at home, Grace Rwanda is continuing to work towards raising enough funds to cover the cost of our planned third youth centre community library in Kimisagara. We’ve got a ways to go, but every little bit helps.

We’d like to applaud Victoria’s Oaklands Elementary School for doing their part to help bring books to Rwandan youth. On a recent visit there, Grace Rwanda co-founder Elizabeth Johnson was delighted to learn the students had raised over $3,700 in donations for our cause, which will go to supply books in rural schools.

Have a peek at part of Johnson’s presentation to the Oaklands students in this video. Johnson is available to come to your child’s school for presentations too, contact us at info@gracerwanda.org for details.

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.

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African Students Rally for Grace Rwanda Fundraiser

Posted on January 26, 2015 by admin

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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.

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Thanks for making our Indiegogo campaign a go!

Posted on January 18, 2015 by admin

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We’d like to thank all of the Grace Rwanda supporters who helped contribute to our goal of stocking a new YEGO youth centre community library by donating to our Indiegogo campaign over the past two months.

The online fundraiser, called “Ring in the Season with Reading for Rwandans“ on Indiegogo reached our goal and raised $2,005 toward books and e-readers that will stock our third youth centre library, which is planned for Kimisagra this spring. We still have a ways to go to raise all the funds we need for this project, and are excited about the upcoming assistance of UBC and SFU students in an innovative new charitable contest. Stay tuned for more on this event!

Thanks again for your support. It means so much to us, but more importantly it means the world to the children of Rwanda who are so appreciative of the chance to read and learn.

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