For years, Virginia Tech’s Linking Lives program has worked with NGO’s from Rwanda and Ethiopia to work towards goals of education, language, and human rights. This November, a group of 12 Virginia Tech Students will travel to Rilima, Rwanda to continue this work, teaching English to young children through the Fondazione Marcegaglia Onlus (FMO), an organization dedicated to the empowerment of woman and girls, gender equity, and general growth and development of African cities.

As a group we are committed to ethical and sustainable travel and experimental learning. We acknowledge that while we will be volunteering our time and talents in Rilima, we will be engaging in a mutually beneficial relationship with the community there. We do not aim to make assumptions about the local communities needs and wants, and thus we plan to give a donation to the community at the end of our stay.

Various families within Rilima will house each of the students for a short time. To repay the generosity of these families, we are asking for donations to help us fund small projects throughout the community. The funds will be divided with help from our partner in Rwanda to ensure that the community benefits as much as possible from your donations. Some examples of how the money will be used include Purchasing new furniture for host households, supplying school supplies for the children of the community, and funding projects to install cement flooring within homes. Some of these projects can be completed for less than $100, allowing us massive potential to create change.

We are proud of this opportunity to live with and learn from the communities of Rwanda. We hope you can help us achieve our goals. We cannot wait to update you all on the work we do! Thank you for your support.

If you would like more information about the program we are studying abroad through, Linking Lives, or the nonprofit we are fundraising for, FMO Rwanda, please visit their websites: https://www.linkinglives.org/ and https://www.fmorwanda.org/about