RWANDA - GIRLS INITIATIVE

Beginnings… By Suzanne Sinegal McGill

It’s hard to believe that less than 3 years ago Shal and I were first in Rwanda trying to decide where best to fit in to support education in the country.  On Friday, February 25, we stood up to welcome the first class of 90 amazing girls, their parents, more than 400 people from the local community, the Governor of the Eastern Provence and the First Lady of Rwanda to the opening of Gashora Girls Academy.  It was a dream come true to see the determination and hope in the faces of the girls. We listened to one of the girls eloquently speak on behalf of her fellow students to welcome everyone and talk about what the school means to them.  I had tears in my eyes watching some of the students perform a traditional Rwandan dance and sing so beautifully during the opening celebration. 

The First Lady told the girls, “There is a saying that goes ‘Necessity is the Mother of Invention,’ but I wish you young ladies to be the true mothers of invention.”  With those words she gave a call to action to the first class at Gashora Girls Academy and told them they are the future and with this opportunity comes responsibility.  The girls were listening intently, absolutely rapt in her words.  Here was the woman the majority of the students identified as who they admired most in the world, telling them she believed in them and what they would achieve.  It was a truly a magical day.

It is a bit of a surreal feeling to be honest, thinking about where we started and now standing looking at the beautiful campus filled with life.  There have been so many joyful, nearly miraculous things that brought us here and certainly a number of struggles and tears.  Although we have always intended to support the school for 7 years as part of the business plan toward sustainability, I think we also naively thought this opening day was the goal…the finish line in a way that we were working toward.  What I realized is that all that led up to this was really just like all of the marathon training to get to the starting line. Standing up at the opening ceremony was like the gun going off and now we have a long run ahead.  But instead of just Shal and I out for the long training run alone, we are joined by these incredible students, all of the dedicated staff that have taken the leap of faith with us to join the school, a village full of people who are embracing the school in their community, all the beautiful friends and partners we have in Rwanda and all of our unbelievable friends back home who have joined us either running along beside us or manning the water station! We are all doing this together.  The good news is that we have never claimed to be the fastest runners; our strength is our stamina that will carry us through.  We know these girls will be capable of fulfilling their dreams and leading their communities in the future and we can’t wait to watch them fly! And we know that this amazing community and country will continue to nurture this seed long after we are gone.

So cheers to the real beginning!

Soozi