School Rules

Today is my kids first day of school (Alexa 3rd, Moriah K.), they love it and are very excited, they think school rules. It so nice having young kids who still think school is fun and they actually look forward to going!

In Rwanda not everyone can go to school. In order to go to school, everyone has to pay for it. As far as I could tell, they did not have a law stating that every child must be in school either. Though education seemed to be valued by many, actually sending all of your children to school isn't always an option. We were told that many families can only send some of their children to school, often they send the boys.

ALARM has a training school called, "Kabuga Vocational Training Center." In Rwanda students go to high school for 6 years. The first 3 years they study general subjects, the final three years they have a specific focus. The Kabuga Center is a place of focus. Currently they have two classes (18 guys and 1 girl in one, and 9 guys and a girl in the other). At the center they teach how to build with wood and mason, basic carpentry skills, welding and electricity.
The first pic shows one of the classrooms, the second is their workshop. They have plans for expanding quite a bit, but for now they build and tear down each year in this spot.

They also do not have a lot of supplies. Many of the supplies they do have are not in the best of conditions either. I asked the professor what the success rate was for the graduates in finding a job. Without hesitation he said there was a 100% success rate in finding employment! It seems to me that this would be a great initiative for someone interested in doing these sort of things to get involved in. They are doing so much with so little. It is amazing to think of what they could do if they had a few more resources.

Though no one asked me to do this, and I wasn't planning on saying this when I started out writing this blog, supporting ALARM financially is a good idea! The funds will be put to good use and the work they are doing is making a difference! http://alarm-inc.org/