Savannah- It's good to be back!

One breath of the fresh, tropical, Rwandan air stepping off the plane made twenty-one hours in flight and twenty-six hours of layovers completely worth it. I’m so happy to be back!

One of the few frustrating things about Rwanda is how difficult it is to articulate what is so wonderful about being here. It’s the beautiful, green, rolling hills dotted with banana groves. It’s the smiles and spontaneous hugs from small children. It’s the palpable hope that seems to hang in the air. I’m not the only one who senses this. Before I came for the first time I heard from many people that, “It’s like you’re at home instantly- you can breathe easy.” Why does this sense of peace surround Rwanda, particularly when it has seen so much unrest? I don’t know. I guess that is part of what I hope to understand better one day.

In the meantime, there’s plenty to be done. School begins tomorrow (January 12th). This is the beginning of their school year. Unlike us, they begin the year in January and end in November. I am eager to get to Kagugu Primary in the morning to see all of the teachers and students I have only been able to correspond with via email for the past few months. I look forward to continuing the dialogue about how IEE can best partner with the government and teachers to improve public education in Rwanda.

This year marks an important transition for Kagugu. They will begin teaching all courses in English instead of French. This is going to be quite a challenge because the majority of the teachers speak only beginner English. One of the things teachers have always asked us for, English class, will now become even more important. Until we are able to begin a full-fledged Teacher Training Program that will include English lesson, I’m pinch-hitting and teaching them what I can. The teachers are fun students, and I’m excited to get those classes going again as soon as they are ready.

While I was back in the U.S. the International Education Exchange as an organization was strengthened by the time we had to work together as a team face to face. We also created some great partnerships with American Universities that I believe the teachers at Kagugu will be excited about.

As you can see, the future holds many possibilities for IEE and its partner schools. Alongside the Government, teachers, students, and people of Rwanda, I sincerely think we can do some great things. I look forward to seeing it all happen!