RGI Blog

"A good teacher is like a candle- it consumes itself to light the way for others."  Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

This quote sums up the spirit of the teachers at Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST). We are so proud of our entire staff and their selfless commitment to help raise the next generation of leaders and empower the young women at GGAST to reach for their dreams.

We are honored to introduce you to one of our English teachers, Catherine Abuko Ecoku.  I hope you can sense the passion she has for teaching and how proud she is to be part of the student's lives. Thank you Catherine!

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My name is Catherine Abuko Ecoku.  Teaching as they say, ‘is a calling’. I cannot refute that as I have a profound love for it.  Here at Gashora Girls Academy, I teach the English language for grade 10 students. Additionally, I mentor the Poetry Lab Club, which took home the title of Champion in the 2017 “Battle of Poets” competition.  I also had the honor to mentor the students in the Peace and Love Proclaimers (PCP) Club. It is fascinating to mingle with the girls outside of class activities. 

It doesn’t seem long ago that I walked outside my door one misty morning, drops of rain and the whirling winds tempting to mess my neat hairdo.   I decided to call a “taxi moto” to drop me at the bus park where I could catch a bus to Kigali and later to Bugesera. It was the day for the interviews for an English language Teacher at Gashora Girls Academy. The thought of potentially being a part of the Gashora team and making a difference in the lives of young Rwandan women thrilled me to the core. Once I arrived at the school I was filled with a blend of excitement and anxiety. I must have done okay, as I was thrilled to later find out I had the job!   Again, anxiety filled me. Will I sail through this competitive yet educative environment successfully? Will the students and staff be receptive? These questions puzzled me.

I had always dreamed of working in a highly competitive school with rigorous academic and co-curricular programs.  This meant facing challenges head on- I was ready for it! I had equally looked forward to navigating the world of technology which Gashora Girls was highly respected for.  I was full of unstoppable determination to work more closely with young ladies as I admiringly watch them grow into phenomenal and sensational leaders of tomorrow who are likely to bridge the gender inequality gap rampant in not only Africa but the world at large. That dream drove me to Gashora Girls Academy.

As a language teacher, I find activities designed for the study captivating and my most amazing experience was the presentation of documentaries organized by my students; some of them were full motion pictures. It was mesmerizing to see the girls take on the commentary, directing and the production roles of the documentaries.

As an educator, I would give Gashora Girls Academy an A+ for reflecting on all the educational domains- cognitive, psychomotor and the affective domains. This has helped shape the completeness of humanity.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

This is one of my favorite learning quotations by Mahatma Gandhi. As an individual always ready to learn, I grasped that being the best of the best is absolutely no crime and the disposition to listen more crowns it all. Diligence, impartiality, compassion, creativity and courage are some of the great lessons I have learned from the girls. My relationship with the students is much more of a “big sister” role.

Am currently involved in a creative writing project with an 11th grade student who is writing a novel in the fantasy genre. I am super excited to be a part of her journey into the fantasy world. I cannot wait to see her work published.  

My connection with the Gashora community is undoubtedly unique and that explains why this institution will forever have a place in my heart.

In celebration of International Women's Day, we are thrilled to highlight one of the amazing and inspiring women who co-founded Rwanda Girls Initiative and Gashora Girls Academy, Suzanne (Soozi) Sinegal McGill.  Soozi is a dedicated and inspiring voice advocating for girls education and women's empowerment in Rwanda and around the world.  

Below is from the speech that Soozi gave at the Women of the World Breakfast this year.  We hope that her story of overcoming fear will inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and inspire others.

"Not only can we, as women of the world, be inspired, but we can also be the ones to inspire - to fill others with breath and spirit to do more, to no longer be small, but to dream big and encourage and amplify other women’s voices."

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Sometimes the enormity of the challenges in the world can make you feel powerless, small, leaving you wondering what can I possibly do? And sometimes, as women of the world, those challenges can make you feel even smaller.

But we all have a choice to make: stay small or get big. 

I don’t have a background as an education expert. But sometimes opportunities are placed in front of you. This is my story of how I chose to get bigger and take a risk. And, with the support of those around me and with the inspiration of the Gashora Girls themselves, I became an accidental education entrepreneur and philanthropist. 

I always thought you had to have a triple doctorate in order to dive into global work.  That you had to have all the answers and years of experience before starting anything.  Maybe some sort of secret handbook was given out. I know it might sound crazy, but the overriding feeling was that there are people out there somewhere who were supposed to do this work, experts who had all the answers, fancy titles or foundations. And that wasn’t me and one of my best friends, Shal Foster. 

What is the word that might come to mind if you hear that 2 moms with 7 children between them, were planning to start a girls’ boarding school for 275 high school girls 8,866 miles away in Rwanda?  Maybe it would be improbable?  Unlikely? Impossible is the word I would have chosen if anyone told me 11 years ago that Shal and I would be the founders of Rwanda Girls Initiative and the Gashora Girls Academy.

What did we know about starting a school in Africa? Frankly, not a lot. But as moms, we realized how fortunate our kids were to be born in a country where education is a given. We shared the belief that education is a human right. That we all do better when everyone has the chance to succeed.  Not all children are so lucky, as we all know, and in many places around the world adolescent girls are especially disadvantaged. 

Over 10 years ago, Shal and I first began working in Rwanda fueled by the belief that educating girls is the most powerful tool we have to create systemic change and break the cycle of poverty in low income countries. I’ll be honest, there was a certain amount of naiveite about the challenges we would face. I supposed it’s a bit like parenting, if you really knew all the challenges you were going to face, you might not ever have children. But fortunately, you don’t know it all up front and you learn and grow along the way, crossing each bridge as you come to it.  Along the way you realize it’s impossible to have all the answers, and you just have to keep doing the next right thing.  I believe this lack of preconceived ideas helped us with our success. It forced us to really listen, do our research, foster trusted connections on the ground and learn where the need was and how we might add value to support their vision. 

We went on what we now refer to as our “listening tour” in May of 2008, meeting with as many people as possible to get an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the country. Overwhelmingly, we were asked to build a secondary school for girls that would help to educate the future women leaders of Rwanda. They knew in order to reach their development goals, girls’ and women’s engagement was the solution.  I’ll never forget the trip back on the airplane when Shal and I looked at each other with what was, I’m sure, a sort of deer in the headlights look and said, “Did we just say we were going to build a girls’ school in Rwanda?” That was the first of many such moments when things grew incrementally from what we expected.

One of my favorite modern poets, Cleo Wade writes:

“When we overcome our fear of failing, we have the power to step into the magnificence of our resilience.  Do the things you are afraid to do.  Do the things that feel big. Do the things that show you what you’re made of. “

The people we met in Rwanda believed we could do it. So we set aside all (well maybe not all) our fear of failure and we summoned all of our courage to do something…

It was terrifying some days (frankly, sometimes it still is).

But we were so inspired by the people of Rwanda who, despite their difficult history of a horrific genocide, were courageously rebuilding their nation.

They had been through so much and survived so much it made my fear of failure seem self-indulgent.  I was astounded by the courage to not just move past, but to attempt to forgive the unimaginable. The massacre of nearly one million people in 100 days in 1994.

The courage to move forward with dignity and resolve to redefine their country with a sense of purpose. Many didn’t believe it was possible, but here they are today as a model on the continent in so many ways. 

Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, has one of the lowest corruption rates on the continent, and has the world’s first female majority parliament.  In fact, the constitution mandates that it must be 30% women. It currently stands at 61%.  The country is ranked #4 on the World Economic Forum gender parity index and it is the 9^th safest country in the world as of 2017 according to the World Economic Forum while the US comes in at 84^th.

For these reasons and Rwanda’s dedication to gender equality, we became convinced that Rwanda was a great place for our investment.  So, we set out on the improbable journey to build the Gashora Girls Academy.

As I reflect on some key moments on our journey, I remember bouncing along in a jeep on the dusty roads through the rural villages of Rwanda with the former Mayor of the district where we planned to build the school, looking for the perfect land.  Mayor Gaspard was so kind, and if he had his doubts about these two crazy western ladies, he didn’t let on.  He patiently rode with us for nearly an entire Sunday because he knew we didn’t have much time in the country as we were always racing back to our own young children at home.  We found the perfect piece of land in the village of Gashora, sitting on a hill overlooking the beautiful Lake Milayi.  That’s a moment I’ll never forget.  Standing there on the land that was nothing but bushes and weeds looking out at that lake.  We tried to imagine the possibility that lived on this ground beneath us, but it was still difficult to envision. 

In 2011, we opened Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology, an all-girls boarding high school for the top academic performers in Rwanda, focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, after hearing from the government this was their greatest need for development. 

When we were there for the school opening, I remember standing in what I imagine was close to the very same spot as 2 ½ years before; it was a surreal moment.  There it was in front of me – the buildings and the students in their crisp uniforms walking and laughing together. Some holding hands, or with an arm around the other, and I was overcome with emotion.  That was the moment I fully reflected upon all the careful planning, learning, and challenges.  But that all fell away, and it became something so much more profound.  It wasn’t just girls’ education in the abstract any more. It was these girls: Witness, Celeste, Yvonne, Jocelyn, Martine, Mereille, and many more. Ninety girls that first year, each with their own stories, fears, and dreams.  They and their families were entrusting us with these beautiful, courageous dreams which is such a big responsibility, but also has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. 

That’s also when we realized that good enough simply isn’t good enough. 

We wanted to remove as many of the barriers that girls typically face as we could.

With barriers removed and supported by outstanding teachers, we would be able to provide a platform for the best and brightest in the country to have the opportunity of the highest caliber education. This gave them the courage to step into opportunities they might never have thought possible.

We knew the students had a strong work ethic and a drive to improve their communities as this is part of Rwandan culture, but our Gashora Girls have absolutely blown us away with their tremendous perseverance.  Their success exemplifies what’s possible when you combine talent, hard work, and committed teachers along with opportunity. 

I have to brag about our students for a quick minute because we are so proud of them. We now have 528 graduates.  We have a 95% graduation rate, a 90% matriculation rate to higher learning with graduates now studying in 24 countries around the world at 142 colleges and universities.  We’ve had at least 1 student attend every Ivy League school in the US and our graduates have earned over $41M in financial aid.  They won the All Africa Debate Championship last year and started a small peanut butter company a few years ago, Gashora Gold, that won a prize that year for the fastest growing small business in Rwanda.  They have excelled in every way academically, but also in the way they serve their communities.  Our students volunteer over 6000 hours each year throughout the surrounding community of Gashora.  To say that they have surpassed our wildest dreams is an understatement.

Our north star is to inspire a young woman who is brave enough to discover and begin to use her voice and who believes in her power to change her world.

I was reminded by a friend of mine recently that the original Latin meaning of the word Inspire is "to breath in - to fill with breath or spirit." We hope each student breathes in all the opportunties around her and breathes in the infinite possibility she holds!

There have been challenges and moments early on when we thought maybe we were in over our heads. When we thought maybe a few of the less encouraging “experts” might be right.

From the smaller more humorous things to look back on like dealing with hippos and monkeys eating and ruining our crops on the farm (yes an actual thing we talked about at board meetings!) or the fact that at our first open house for the school in 2010, despite radio and tv ads telling people to come and learn about the school, only 6 people came. And one of them, most definitely, was a friend of our country director Maria, who she pulled out of the hair salon mid-appointment because she was worried Shal and I would be so discouraged.  Another time was when we received our first bids for the construction costs in 2009 and bursting into tears because the bids were twice as much as what we had budgeted.  And then there are those that were much more serious. We had to learn to navigate conversations around loss and grief through genocide remembrances and the loss of parents or close family members because death can be more of a presence in our student’s lives than we are accustomed to.

Falling down can be so discouraging. But each time, with the advantage of hindsight, I can say that we learned something that helped us adjust and correct and has provided opportunities to build deeper trust with our team and our partners on the ground as we navigate our way forward together, a little bit stronger. 

In many ways, my own growth has paralleled what we encourage in our students.  I suppose I’m a bit of a late bloomer. The combination of watching our students, as well as my own two daughters, take risks, do bigger things, and grow into empowered young women has helped me to also grow.

Something has changed in me since we first began over 10 years ago. I began by questioning, how could I possibly do this and who am I to consider trying? But that doubtful line of questioning became, why not me and if not me, then who? I think this fundamental shift has guided me and made me act more bravely over the last decade. So many people believed in us and stepped in to provide their help, expertise, and “superpowers” when we needed it. They encouraged us, telling us “you’ve got this”.  They helped us to have the courage to try and risk failure. Their support inspired us – filled us with their breath and spirit so that we could continue to move forward.

One of the women who inspired and breathed life into our dream was Minister of Gender and Family Promotion in Rwanda, the late Aloisea Inyumba, who devoted her life to giving women a voice after years of being undervalued.  I will never forget her taking my hand and telling me she believed in us and the difference these future women leaders would make in the country.  Then there are our fearless students like Enatha, who managed to persevere in her education through middle school even after some jealous neighbors who didn’t think a girl should get an education burned her family’s coffee trees, which provided her family’s small income to send her to school.  She ended up coming to our school, scoring a perfect score on the national exam when she graduated and secured the Presidential scholarship that took her to University of Arkansas at Littlerock.  She’ll start her graduate studies next year in applied science and hopes to work toward a cure for sickle cell disease.   We have so many students who’ve stepped past their fear to pursue their dreams.  I carry their courage in my heart. 

Last month, one of our alumnae, Darina spoke at our event.  Darina lost her mom 3 days after she received her acceptance to Princeton University and she faces many challenges.  She’s now a Sophomore at Princeton and shared this powerful message.

“What is so different about Gashora Girls Academy is that they focus on strength instead of weakness.  The question they ask is not ‘what do you lack and how can we give it to you’, but ‘what do you have and how can we help you use it to get what you lack’.  The truth is, trust takes courage.  It takes courage to invest in strengths instead of weaknesses, and even more courage to invest in strengths in spite of the weaknesses.”

My friends and family held up a mirror and reflected a strength they saw in me instead of seeing only what I lacked. So how can we today in our lives hold up a mirror to those around us – those we love, those we serve, those we work with – to show them their strengths as opposed to what they lack?  Can we also hold up this mirror for ourselves? Imagine if we all could operate from a place of inner strength and courage instead of fear, what we might all accomplish together. Not only can we, as women of the world, be inspired, but we can also be the ones to inspire – to fill others with breath and spirit to do more, to no longer be small, but to dream big and amplify other women’s voices.

That’s why we started Rwanda Girls Initiative: to educate and empower girls to become future leaders. Girls dedicate themselves to their dreams, return to their communities, improve the lives of their families, and inspire others to dream big.  Our girls’ hopes are so much bigger than we could have imagined. We are so thankful to be a small part of their story, but we’re even more grateful they’ve become such a big part of ours. Nothing is truly impossible. With hope, hard work and people who believe in you, you can turn the impossible into the improbable, and the improbable into the achievable.

I know everyone has an extraordinary story to tell.  Thank you for listening to my story and for being a force for good and love in the world!

My name is Vanessa Giramata, I am a junior at Washington State University, studying Agricultural Economics. Growing up, my dad worked for an international company that worked with local farmers of rice.  This was my first introduction to agriculture.  I, like most people, especially back home, once believed that agriculture simply meant cultivating and harvesting crops for food. But through my dad, and his work, I learned it was much more than that.  My curiosity grew as I wanted to know how our agriculture sector works.

In high school, I was blessed to attend Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST), where education was different than the norm in Rwanda. I was encouraged to think, to analyze, to dream big, and to be creative. It was at GGAST where I decided what I wanted to pursue in college, economics and agriculture.  I really enjoyed these two subjects because I had always wanted to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of my country, and the because of my family, the agriculture industry was one that had always been on my mind.

I was honored to receive an agricultural scholarship to Washington State University through the Howard G Buffett Foundation.   It is a privilege to have received this scholarship and I am thankful for my time at WSU which has provided me different opportunities to grow in my leadership skills and find my passion within the field.  The classes and opportunities I have been given at Washington State University has taught me the vastness of what the industry has to offer, it has allowed me to think at a much deeper level about how I want to contribute to the industry and my country.

 

The agriculture industry is much broader than I originally realized; it needs engineers, economists, analysts, and so much more.

One amazing opportunity that broadened my mind of how in-depth this agricultural industry is, was the chance to attend the Agriculture Future of America Leaders’(AFA) conference. AFA is an organization that works on providing personal and professional development programs to college students and young professionals in agriculture. The program bridges the gap between academic, leadership and work experiences while helping students understand the impact of their decisions. Students are given the opportunity to network with peers and leaders in the agriculture industry as well as increase their excitement about the future of agriculture.

While at the conference I attended different seminars and workshops where I was exposed to different sides of the agriculture industry. During the conference, we talked about current and future problems that the industry faces. A classic example is the population rising at a higher rate than available food to feed them. It sounds very simple to solve…..just grow more food. However, there is limited land to grow on.  In order to solve this problem, we must maximize the productivity of the land, but we also need to provide safe and healthy food.  This healthy food also must be affordable…... and it has to make a profit.  With all the additional costs the government might need to subsidize the farmers in order for them to stay in business. This could create, in turn, a government tax increase. This ripple effect goes on and on.  As you can see, the issue requires more than one industry to partner with in to find an efficient solution.

Perhaps the thing I treasure the most out of this conference is these wise idea exchanges I had with other students that attended. I have begun to identify the role I want to play in order to contribute to my country.  After graduating with a degree in Agricultural Economics, I plan on attending graduate school for a degree in public policy. I desire to work in policy analysis, to serve my country and to help develop policies that can be implemented to help Rwanda with a sustainable agricultural future that leads to food security.   My generation is the next generation in service, and we need to be more driven and devoted to lead our world, to make it better. I believe a new and better change will begin as we work on one problem, one industry, and one country at a time. I will start with policies in the agriculture industry in Rwanda.

Where will you start?