Elizabeth Johnson and Kayonza’s Vice-Mayor present a youth with an award for participation in Rwanda Reads events at the Kayonza YEGO Youth Centre Library on Sept. 12.

Grace Rwanda co-founder Elizabeth Johnson is back from a busy and successful trip to Rwanda to participate in the country’s Rwanda Reads campaign. The nationwide, week-long literacy event was held to mark UNESCO’s International Literacy Day in early September. Our participation greatly increased our profile with the country’s literacy leaders and met our mission of spreading a love of reading among Rwandan youth. Check out our Flickr page for more photos of the events!

First off, Grace Rwanda hosted a booth at the main International Literacy Day celebrations at the Kigali Public Library on Sept. 8 where we conducted outreach and awareness. We were delighted when the Minister of Sports and Culture, Joseph Habineza, officially recognized Grace Rwanda for our work. Have a read of this news report to learn more.

We also participated in the official Rwanda Reads symposium on Sept. 10 at Kigali’s Novotel Hotel, hosted by USAID, Save the Children, and the Rwandan Ministry of Education. The theme of the national effort was Stand Up for Literacy: Duhagurukire Gusoma. At this event, we networked and shared strategies with 30 other agencies. We also awarded the 12 winners of the country’s “Andika Rwanda” youth writing competition, with gift packs of school supplies and dictionaries to further their literacy progress.

Later in the week, Grace Rwanda hosted two events at the youth libraries we’ve funded. First at our Muhanga YEGO Centre Library on Sept. 11, and then at the Kayonza branch on Sept. 12. The events included professional storyteller presentations, poem and story writing, literacy plays, and reading competitions. The 25 winners at each site were awarded dictionaries, thanks to donations from the Rotary Clubs of Langley Sunrise and North Delta. Among the distinguished attendees were the vice-mayor of social affairs and a representative from the Rwanda Library.

Elizabeth heard repeatedly from local youth about the difference our two Grace Rwanda-funded libraries made in their lives. “Every child we talked to was very happy that they have a library where they can come and read and do homework using the dictionaries and even access the internet and use e-readers,” she said.

Towards the end of the trip, Elizabeth met with high level government officials, including Rwanda’s Minister of State for the Ministry of Education, Olivier Rwamukwaya, and officials at the Canadian Consulate, working to foster more partnerships and secure local funding. She also continued to raise Grace Rwanda’s profile in the media, giving an interview for Rwanda TV that was broadcast on the local Utuntu n’Utundi show in Kinyarwanda.

In all, it was an exciting trip that furthered our on-the-ground literacy promotion goals and built bridges with officials that should bear fruit for our future projects!

Grace Rwanda’s co-founder Elizabeth Johnson is en route to Kigali, Rwanda, this week to participate in national events held in honour of UNESCO’s International Literacy Day on Sept. 8th.

Grace Rwanda was specifically invited by the Rwandan Ministry of Education to participate in their Rwanda Reads Assembly on Sept. 10th. While on the ground, we will join in on a week’s worth of national literacy initiatives, reading promotion programs, and networking with literacy organizations all working to promote a culture of reading in Rwanda.

We were honoured to be invited and hope our participation raises our profile in the country and helps us connect with partners who can further our cause. While there, Elizabeth will also attend events hosted at our Grace Rwanda-funded Muhanga and Kayonza YEGO Youth Centre Libraries. Stay tuned for pictures from the field!

Speaking of the Muhanga library, the YEGO youth library we created there just celebrated its first year of operation! We are proud to share that according to the annual report sent to us from library coordinator Josephine Umuhoza, our library served more than 1,209 youth in its first year.

The facility is now hoping to renew its subscriptions of magazines, newspapers and periodicals, which expire shortly, to continue to offer great reading material to local youth. To do so will require another $1,200 in funding. If you would like to see these valuable resources continued you can help us provide them by visiting our donate page.

Donors like you are the reason the spark of reading is catching fire in Rwanda! Thank you for all your support!