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.