Could you help to send these 3 children to school in Rwanda

Hello my friends. It's Edite Sammons here, reaching out to you to ask for your help in raising funds to send these children to school in Rwanda.

How did I get involved with this, you ask? It's a bit of a long story but please read on.

In August 2023, I, along with my Australian AIM Language Learning colleague, Jennifer McKinney, were asked by AIM LL if we would consider travelling to Kigali, Rwanda to teach the AIM Language Learning methodology to approximately 100 World Vision and USAID teachers who teach English to young children. AIM LL had been working tirelessly with World Vision and USAID to develop an AIM program to fit their requirements. The goal for Jen and myself being there was to train World Vision and USAID primary English teachers how to use the AIM methodology so that they could then use AIM in their own classrooms to achieve better and accelerated English language proficiency and fluency in their students, something that was lacking in the Rwandan educational system.

The week was absolutely fulfilling, with approximately 100 teachers travelling each day, many distant villages, to attend the week-long full day sessions. Jen and I observed such growth in the teachers own English language skills, their own confidence in teaching, and their passion to teach AIM to their students. It was by far the hardest and most exhausting but also the most fulfilling week of teaching that both Jen and I had ever experienced.

Unfortunately, with many restrictions in the Rwandan education department and many traditional mindsets about English education, AIM has not been supported by the Rwandan education department. Despite this, several Rwandan teachers have continued to reach out to me via What's App.

As you probably know, the financial support for USAID has since been withdrawn by Trump which has resulted in Rwandan UASAID teachers losing their jobs and salary.

One of these teachers is Daniel Ntirenganya whom you see here as the narrator of the final day of our 5 day session.

Daniel reached out to me last week asking for my help:

"I was working in Homes and Communities Project under USAID and as you know USAID projects canceled (sic). That shoked (sic) me so much economically....My kids can't go to school now because I can't get school fees ...The school where my old kid studied up to now the school fees is 400 US dollars..."

I was so moved by Daniel's message, him putting his pride and integrity in his back pocket, to reach out and ask for any help I could possibly give him, however small. These teachers with whom we worked were so dedicated and passionate and shared the same goal ... to improve the lives of children. But now, many are struggling to support their families, let alone give them an education. It's truly heartbreaking that they no longer can afford to send their own children to school.

So, friends, I am asking if you would help me to raise funds for Daniel's children to get them the education they deserve. A few dollars would go a long way.

Thank you for sticking this out to the end of my long story.

With gratitude,

Edite