At Grace Rwanda we love inspiring Rwandan youth to read. We also love telling stories to inspire Canadians to reach out to help Rwandans.

That’s one of the reasons our recent spring trip to Rwanda was so exciting: it was documented on film so that we can share our message with a wider audience. We think seeing the impact of our efforts on the ground will help others understand the power of Grace Rwanda’s literacy work.

UBC PhD student and volunteer videographer Jordan Levine accompanied Elizabeth Johnson and the Grace Rwanda team on our recent distribution trip to the country and is preparing a documentary film about our organization. Levine is studying international development issues at UBC’s Liu Institute for Global Issues. He is a co-founder of the Institute’s International Development Research Network, and he is also a freelance videographer with Transliminal Media and a skilled photographer: the photo above is his work.

Here’s what he had to say about his experience:

“With respect to the work Elizabeth and her local collaborators are doing through Grace Rwanda, all I can say is that it is truly invaluable, and viscerally inspiring for the children and youth who are directly empowered through the access to libraries, e-readers, laptops and the growing array of indigenous literature that they would otherwise never see… Rural Rwanda has a long way to go to reach full literacy, and succeed, as per Elizabeth’s goal of cultivating a permanent indigenous reading culture… But with people like Elizabeth and her local Rwanda supporters working hard on their side, Rwandan youth have never had a better chance of success on that front.”

We are looking for additional funding and/or sponsorship to help Jordan complete his documentary, which will serve as an invaluable educational tool for Grace Rwanda for years to come. Jordan is also looking for any student volunteers with experience logging footage to assist in this effort. If you are interested in helping this special film get made, please contact us at info@gracerwanda.org or jlevine@interchange.ubc.ca.

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