http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org Updated daily to provide up-to-date information. Suzanne McGill describes how she and Shal Foster, two Seattle moms, built a girls school in rural Rwanda while being interviewed for Rainmakers.TV.  Th documentary series communicates stories of leadership, innovation and social responsibility that inspire global transformation. ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/61 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/61 11.1.11 has been proclaimed by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn as a day to recognize the accomplishments, innovation and impact of Washington State’s growing global development sector. Global Action Day is an opportunity for Washingtonians to learn about, support and join Rwanda Girls Initiative and more than 140 members of Global Washington who are working to create jobs at home and impact lives abroad by reducing disease, providing educational opportunities and strengthening communities and economies around the world. Please show your support by joining Rwanda Girls Initiative in celebrating Global Action Day! visit http://www.globalwaday.org/ Washington: The Global State from Incite on Vimeo. ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/60 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/60 As the leaves on the trees in Seattle are beginning to change colors and we are settling into fall and a new school year, the girls at the Gashora Girls Academy are nearing completion of their first academic year.   It’s truly remarkable how quickly the time is flying by…  it seems like just yesterday that Soozi and I, along with friends from the U.S. and Rwanda, celebrated the opening of the school.    Today, I’m pleased to give you a report card of the year to date and to share with you that not only are our students exceling in school, they are thriving!    The girls are happy and healthy and exceeding their wildest dreams of academic success.  Peter Thorp, our Head of School, reported to us that the bar that ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/58 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/58 Lessons Learned by Lisa Rico   Falling in love with 90 young women was not in my thoughts when I volunteered to teach at Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST) this summer. I am not a teacher. I’m an artist who happens to love Rwanda. I paint women and children survivors of war, most of who are from Rwanda. So when asked if I would consider teaching art at the school, the decision was easy: I would love to.   For months I focused on creating lesson plans, acquiring sponsors to cover the cost of art supplies and figuring out how to get the 200 pounds of paints, pencils, brushes and sketchbooks over there. Luckily, my friend and colleague, Shawn Lum, offered to go and help. Eventually, details were worked out and we were on our way. ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/57 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/57 Rwanda Girls Initiative is proud to have been selected by local non-profit BEAN as their 2011 Think Global Act Local (TGAL) campaign fundraising recipient. Founded in 2003 BEAN is a volunteer-run charitable organization that seeks to connect young professionals through leadership, friendship and service. Originally based in Seattle, BEAN now has over 10,000 members in 11 chapters located in major U.S. and international cities.   In addition to numerous volunteer, social and networking opportunities, each year BEAN members devote their time to two annual initiatives: Think Global Act Local (TGAL) and a scholarship campaign.  TGAL is an annual campaign where all BEAN chapters rally to raise funds and awareness for international causes and partner with a local organizatio... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/56 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/56 Friends of Rwanda Girls Initiative gathered on May 13th in Seattle to reflect upon and celebrate the incredible progress of the past year as we moved the vision of providing a high quality secondary school education to the girls of Rwanda from a dream to a reality.   Co-founders, Shalisan Foster and Suzanne Sinegal McGill, spoke to guests of the many milestone moments in the journey to launch the Gashora Girls Academy and the many people who stepped forward to be partners, sharing their passion and commitment to girls’ education.    Throughout the evening our goal was to provide guests with a glimpse into life at the school. Through videos we were able to introduce guests to some of our students and allow them to hear, in their own words, the impact... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/55 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/55 By Peter Thorp, Head of School, Gashora Girls Academy   I’m writing this just an hour before our first term final examination Physics exam is about to start. After three years of planning and many months of construction, teacher hiring and preparation, national advertising and student enrollment, we are open and functioning just like a real school!   And real we are.  We have 90 amazing young women here.  Our Gashora Girls are ambitious, focused and hard-working.  If you ask them what they want to be, they will respond in one of three ways—a doctor, an engineer or an IT specialist. And trust me, don’t bet against any one of them!  Our day begins at 5:30 and from 6:00-7:00 they are in “preps” or study hall before... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/52 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/52 On the NYTimes.com today, Rwanda Girls Initiative is featured in a blog post by Josh Ruxin for Nicholas Kristof’s “On the Ground” blog.  We are fortunate to have Josh as a friend and supporter of the project, and loved reading his strong defense of the need for girls education in Rwanda.  An excerpt is below, and the full article can be read here: “Girls in the Spotlight: A Lesson from Rwanda".    A couple of years back, two women from Seattle approached me about the possibility of establishing a girls’ school here in Rwanda. I’ve grown accustomed to receiving countless entrepreneurial inquiries from well-meaning people and seeing little come of them, so I must admit that my first reaction was skepticism.   ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/51 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/51 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 traditio... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/48 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/48 Education for All recently published this progress report on girls education across the global and highlights interventions that work to keep girls in school.  The Gashora Girls Academy addresses many of the challenges that girls face through our girls' boarding school.  We were excited to read the report to learn the latest research about what works in girls eduation.   http://www.educationfasttrack.org/media/library/girls-report/1-FastTrackEd-Girls-education-report-full.pdf   I welcome this report. No issue merits more urgent attention in education than the glaring divide that separates boys and girls in many of the world’s poorest countries. Much has been achieved over the past decade—and the author highlights the policies that have... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/50 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/50 We have been honored and encouraged by coverage of the opening of the Gashora Girls Academy by Seattle-area media!  It is exciting to have the support of the Pacific Northwest community as we begin down this path of educating girls in Rwanda.  Check out some of these great articles about the school and the opening:   The Seattle Times : 2 Eastsiders Give Global Reach to Girl Power   Two Eastside moms have made themselves part of Rwanda's transformation. Suzanne Sinegal McGill and Shalisan Foster are both from families with histories of local philanthropy, but their latest project is completely outside their previous experience. And it is full of lessons about how best to help others, and about growing personally and nurturing a legacy. ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/47 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/47 By: Esther Harder, Gashora Girls Academy English Teacher   Although we've only had students in their official combination classes (like a three-subject major in the British system) for exactly two weeks at this point, we had to give them a mid-term exam this week because our first term ends on April Fools Day. I've covered three topics with my upper level classes, so I decided that rather than giving them a drill and kill review and then a drill and kill test, I created a system of games they could rotate through as a review before facing the more objective test. Here's a brief slideshow of the students trying out the various activities.   They read How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz, which, if you haven't read yourself, you reall... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/46 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/46 We are consistently amazed by the creative ways in which people have come together in support of the Gashora Girls Academy.  Kim in Utah organized hundreds of people from church groups, families, and friends to tie the quilts that cover the beds in the dormitories.  The volunteers came from many ages, genders, and ethnicities, all with the desire to make a difference for girls in Rwanda.    These photos are from a group of 200 people that made 70 of the 300 quilts. Kim shared these thoughts on the experience:   “I think the photos were truly representative of the same experience that was repeated over and over in finishing those quilts. What I can say is that they were tied with love.  No one ever complained or did not finish what the... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/45 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/45 Rwanda Girls Initiative has been awarded a grant of $15,000 from the Seattle International Foundation Global Program.  This grant will support our investment in training and developing Rwandan teachers and administrators for the Gashora Girls Academy.   In Rwanda, 90% of children are enrolled in primary schools, but only 15% have the opportunity to enroll in secondary school.  The lack of trained and qualified teachers is a constraint to the delivery of quality secondary education in Rwanda.   RGI will hire qualified lead teachers to train and mentor local teachers in effective pedagogy and other important skills.  Through this investment, RGI will build a staff of highly trained and competent Rwandan teachers for the Gashora Girls Academy, while de... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/44 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/44 Rwanda Girls Initiative Co-Founders Shalisan Foster and Suzanne Sinegal McGill were invited to participate in the Women in the World Breakfast on November 16, 2010, sharing about RGI's work to educate girls to those in attendance.  Over 300 women from business, philanthropy, academia, and the media gathered to learn about and celebrate Seattle’s role in advancing the economic and social empowerment of women around the globe. The breakfast event featured keynote speaker Ambassador Melanne Verveer, the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassador at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.  Watch this video to hear from Ambassador Verveer about the importance of educating women and girls, and to see remarks from RGI's Suzanne Sinegal McGill at the event.   ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/43 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/43 The students pictured above were rewarded with RGI T-Shirts for their perfect attendance at our 10 week intensive English course.  We were very impressed with the dedication of all the students who gave up their weekends (both Saturdays and Sundays) in order to study at the Gashora Community Center.  Many of the students also walked a significant distance in order to attend.  The classes have concluded for this fall, but we are planning to offer the program again next year as a part of ongoing programming at the community center.  Most of the girls are in their first year of lower secondary school, so we hope to be able to enroll some of them at GGA in a couple of years!   Thank you to all of you who supported this program through donations to Rwand... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/41 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/41 Between now and December 6th we are collecting in-kind donations for items needed prior to the Gashora Girls Academy opening early next year.  The school will soon be filled with girls, but first we need to fill it with books, school supplies, linens, and other essentials.  We have a list going on signupgenius.com, so if you want to participate, just email info@rwandagirlsinitiative.org and we'll send you all the info that you need to participate.  The timeframe for this is very tight because a shipping container takes a long time to get to Rwanda, so please let us know ASAP if you are interested.   If you've already made a donation of school supplies, and want to make it a holiday gift, you can use this certificate to tell the gift recipient about yo... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/40 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/40 I’m sure my former students, who described me as “tough but fair,” would be surprised to hear how emotional I am these days.  But what has been a project in the abstract since I arrived on May 1, is now very immediate, very real, and very personal. This “doing good” industry is equal parts personally rewarding and personally painful—it is so clear that the Gashora Girls Academy will profoundly change the lives of girls who will be fortunate enough to attend the school, yet there are so many deserving girls whom we won’t be able to reach, and I have to decide which ones will come and which ones will not. My own “Sophie’s Choice,” alas.   But I would mislead you to leave you thinking that this project is anythin... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/39 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/39 We are leaving for Rwanda today with 12 bags stuffed full of fabric (for uniforms), office supplies, smoke detectors, and other items that have been difficult to find or expensive in Rwanda!  As usual, our itinerary is packed - we are looking forward to meetings with the ministry of education, the RGI team on the ground, and other partners thoughout the country.  Wish us luck! ... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/38 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/38 Promise. Hope. Strength. Gratitude. And People, people, people everywhere.   Last night Cameron and I tried to come up with five words to encapsulate our trip to Rwanda.  It was really hard to narrow it down.  Let’s start with people.   Upon arriving in Kigali, we headed out of town toward the mountains.  I was struck by the amount of people in the road, in the side streets, on the sidewalks, parking lots, hanging out in doorways etc.  Just a lot of folks everywhere you looked.  I asked our driver if there was a festival or something special going on, he couldn’t understand my question.  He finally realized what I was asking and laughed loudly.  He assured me that because it was Sunday, it was sparse and when I return... http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/37 http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/37