|
|
|
|
|
Discover Worlds Umubano
Sister School Program
|
|
|
|
Dear Friends,
|
Just months after the official launch of the Umubano Sister School Program, Melissa and I have very exciting news….
We are thrilled to announce our new partner organization in Rwanda: Rwandans Allied for Peace and Progress (RAPP)! The Umubano Program is dedicated to working directly with schools in Rwanda to create sustainable relationships with schools in the US. We have been looking for a partner organization to help us with this goal, and are so excited to finally have one! RAPP was founded in 2004 by a team of Americans and Rwandans. As the parent organization of a variety of social action organizations, RAPP is dedicated to the prevention of HIV/AIDS, the promotion of education, and the development of women’s economic welfare through a variety of different programs.
We are very lucky to be partnering with this terrific and respected organization, and look forward to expanding our school partnerships as a result. For more information on some of RAPP’s programs, visit: www.rwandaknits.org or www.rapsida.blogspot.com.
The mission of the Umubano program is to empower students in the US and Rwanda to cultivate sustainable cross-cultural relationships with the goal of increasing global awareness, compassion, critical thinking, and grassroots activism.
|
In Kinyarwanda, the native language of Rwanda, the word umubano means a relationship between friends
|
|
|
 |
|
|
News and Updates
|
| Two new schools have joined the program!
Blaine Middle School, Blaine, Washington
We are excited to introduce Paul Minckler’s 6th grade Language Arts/Social Studies classes to the Umubano program! These 6th graders will be partnered with a school in Kigali, Rwanda called Kinunga Primary School. Mr. Minckler’s class has already received letters from their pen-pals and is in the process of writing their response letters.
Charles Wright Academy, Tacoma, Washington
Umubano is pleased to welcome Nick Coddington’s 12th grade Genocide Studies class to the program! Mr. Coddington’s class is currently being matched with a high school class in Kigali. They are also in the process of planning a trip to Rwanda in June where they will visit their sister school!
We have also received requests from several more schools and groups in the US who want to participate in the program. Now, more than ever, we really need your help. The cost of shipping material back and forth from Rwanda is expensive, but we don’t want to turn interested schools away from the program. Please consider making a tax-deductable donation to the Umubano Program today!
|
Meet Our Newest Chapter Director!
|
We are thrilled to introduce Noah Gehling, our Umubano Chapter Director for Wisconsin! Noah is a senior at the University of Wisconsin – Milwakee. Last summer Noah traveled to Rwanda with Global Youth Connect. While there, he volunteered with CIMS, an organization that advocates for land rights. Noah also became involved with the Umubano program while in Rwanda, and spent several days visiting our partner schools there and hanging out with students in the program. Since his return from Rwanda he has been very involved with a number of political and social action campaigns. Noah is excited about partnering with Umubano, and is already working with one of our US sister schools in Wisconsin!
|
Get Involved!
|
We need your help!
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation of $10, $25, $50 or any amount today.
You can send a check to:
Discover Worlds – Umubano
10969 Wellworth Ave #107
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Or, donate securely right now using PayPal!
$50 sends a school’s letters to their partner school in Rwanda
$25 purchases pens and paper for a partner school in Rwanda
$10 prints pictures of a Rwandan partner class for their US pen-pals
Please help keep Umubano operating by making a tax-deductible contribution today!
We are still looking for Program Chapter Directors in the US!
A Chapter Director is responsible for locating a partner school in the US, and then coordinating the logistics between that school and the Umubano staff, including giving presentations to the class about the program, human rights, and Rwanda. Don’t worry – Umubano has curricula and presentations already prepared! If you have any experience in Rwanda or an interest in education, we want you to get involved!
We are looking for teachers and schools to participate in the program!
Participating teachers and schools are responsible for working with the Umubano staff to bring the program to their class or school, working with Program Chapter Directors on workshops and other educational activities, organizing their students to write letters to their partner schools in Rwanda, and potentially expanding this relationship to include the exchange of other things (i.e. books, school supplies, art projects). If you know of anyone who might be interested, please let us know and we will send them more information!
|
Stories From On The Ground
|
Our latest partner school…
Last July I visited out newest partner school, Nyamata Catholic Primary School, with a group of American delegates on Global Youth Connect’s Rwanda delegation. When we arrived at the school there were several hundred students playing in the school yard. There were groups of students in a circle singing a song, another group of students playing vollyball, and another group of students passing a ball down a long line of students while playing some sort of game (check out the picture at the top of this email!). When our group entered the school yard we dispersed and joined in the fun. Before long, I found myself in the midst of a “high-five” game with a group of young girls. Although we couldn’t speak the same language, we spent a long time laughing and giggling about the silliness of the game and asking each other basic questions in our respective languages.
Later that day we met with a group of teachers from the school. We asked them if genocide ideology was still present in their school or community, or if they ever worried that there would be discrimination amongst students again. One of the school directors mentioned that the teachers implemented a class at 7:45 a.m. each morning where students could come voluntarily to discuss ways to eliminate genocide ideology permanently in Rwanda. As it turns out, in order to encourage students to come for the early class, the school provides breakfast to the students. We were so excited by this idea and learned that since the program had started, not only had incidents of discrimination at school decreased, but so had the dropout rate! Nyamata is a city in Rwanda that was profoundly impacted by the genocide, and in the years since it has experienced one of the nation’s highest dropout rates. Through programs like this, Nyamata Catholic Primary School is advancing education in Rwanda, and we are proud and excited to be partnering with them through the Umubano Sister School Program!
For more information about Discover Worlds and the Umubano program check out our website: www.discoverworlds.org/umubano. If you would like any more information about the program, are interested in becoming a chapter director or partner teacher, or are interested in joining the Umubano staff or Board of Advisors, please contact us at umubano@discoverworlds.org. We want you to get involved!
Thank you so much for your support.
AMAHORO! (Peace in Kinyarwanda!)
Marie Berry & Melissa Cushman
Co-Program Directors
Umubano Program
Discover Worlds
www.discoverworlds.org/umubano
umubano@discoverworlds.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
