Rwanda2Ireland: Seraphine To Grad School

Our friend Seraphine Habimana is an extraordinary woman. We first met Seraphine when she acted as interpreter and facilitator on field trips we attended in Rwanda from 2009-2012 as part of the MSc in Environment and Development at Trinity College Dublin.

At that time Seraphine was studying for her undergraduate degree at the National University of Rwanda, where she finished top of her class. Getting to university in the first place was no mean feat - like many Rwandans, Seraphine's life has been profoundly affected by the genocide of 1994, in which she lost both her parents.  Seraphine obtained a competitive scholarship in support of her undergraduate studies from Orphans of Rwanda, Inc. (now Generation Rwanda).  Her siblings have been incredibly supportive throughout her school and undergraduate years, and they are fully behind her travelling overseas for the first time to further her education. 

Since finishing her undergraduate degree, Seraphine has been working as a journalist for the New Times, an English language newspaper in Rwanda. Seraphine is great with people, and she has always wanted to make it as a journalist. To expand the horizons of her career, Seraphine has been looking into Masters courses. She recently heard the excellent news that she has been accepted onto a prestigious one year postgraduate degree programme in Ireland: the MA in Journalism at Dublin Institute of Technology, commencing in September 2014.

Seraphine will live with one of our families in Ireland for the year, which will cover accommodation expenses and breakfast/dinner. We're now looking to raise funds to cover university fees, transport, visa fees, and living expenses. The budget breaks down as follows:

University fees (international student rate): €11,500
Transport (student bus passes for 200 return journeys, Wicklow-Dublin): €2,020 (@€50.50 for ten single journeys)
Return flight (Kigali-Dublin): €1,000
Visa fees: €360
Living expenses (estimate based on this): €5,000

Total = €19,880, which we have rounded to give our goal of €20,000.

Please give generously - Seraphine really deserves this opportunity!

You can also follow our fundraising campaign on Twitter (@Rwanda2Ireland) and Facebook (facebook.com/Rwanda2Ireland).

Please share this page far and wide!

All the best,

Niall Blake, Matthew Collins, Ciara Commins, Stacey Dunne, Lindsay Hislop, Dr. Andrew Jackson, Prof. Jack Jackson, Catriona Kennedy, Madeleine Kuhns, Eoin Lane, Jane Maher, Fearghal O'Nuallain, Elizabeth Pepple, Jenny Quinn, Lisa Redmond, Jess Ryan, Ciara Smith, Vivian Simonato, Prof. David Taylor, Leona Tuck

Of Trinity College Dublin's MSc Environment and Development classes