The school gets underway!

Exciting news from Rwanda...ground has been broken and the school construction has begun! Some photographs, taken mid-summer, are below.

A classroom block with just the foundation laid, walls are next.

The school will be built in three 4-classroom blocks, here is one block underway.














This is where the school latrines will be built.














Another view of the mid-construction classroom block.














Children's input is always encouraged and incorporated into Plan's work. Here some children map out how they envision their new school.

Plan Rwanda - an overview

Plan has been operating in Rwanda since January 2007, helping children to access their full rights to health, quality education and a sustainable future.

Rwanda’s children face great challenges as a result of poverty and historical circumstances such as the 1994 genocide, HIV and AIDS. Many children die from treatable and preventable diseases.

Plan currently works with 2,500 sponsored children, their families and communities in the Gatsibo district. We aim to open 4 more programme units within the next 5 years.

Plan’s core areas of activity include:
-girls’ education
-early childhood care and development
-youth empowerment

Background - what's this trip all about?

Hosted by Plan Canada, a select group of Canadian donors will visit a school construction project in Rwanda this September. Donors received a special invitation to join this exclusive trip when they made a significant contribution to help fund the education project.

This blog will chronicle our group's philanthropic journey halfway around the world: where they will meet with the local Plan staff who put their donation to excellent use; speak with the students who will benefit from the school they helped to build; and see, first-hand, how their support to Plan will positively change lives for generations to come.

We’ll visit with Plan communities to celebrate partnership, promise and hope, and meet with people who are leading lasting change for a better future. In addition to better understanding what it takes to build a school and improve education, we'll also learn how Plan Rwanda implements health, livelihood/micro-finance and child rights programs.

Along the way, the group will participate in one of the world’s best wildlife adventures – a private viewing of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. With only two populations (about 800 individuals) left in the world, a face to face meeting with these magical and majestic creatures is something very few people will experience and will no doubt be a personal highlight.

Stay tuned - we hope you will follow our adventure!

P.S. Big thanks to Uniglobe Geo Travel for all their work! Uniglobe has been a key partner of Plan's for more than 10 years, and in addition to sponsoring many children and funding education projects in West Africa, Uniglobe has generously comped Plan's land costs for this exciting trip. Thanks, Uniglobe!