“We must raise the final £60,000 or our Foundation Rwanda programme closes in 2016.” 

Yes. You read that right. It is a stark headline but it is the truth. We are a small team and we believe in full transparency, both with our donors and our programme beneficiaries.

When we told the mothers that money was running out for our Foundation Rwanda programme, which supports the schooling of children born to women survivors raped during the genocide, they prioritised education for their children over their own trauma counselling and financial literacy – and decided to collectively pay 40% of the education programme budget to keep ALL of their children in school.

Twenty-one years after the genocide and eight years after we started supporting students’ secondary school education, our staff on the ground and local partners run an extraordinary programme. But funding is hard to come by.  We rely on pro bono help and volunteers.  But it still isn’t enough. When asked how she felt about the possibility of the program closing, 42 year old Mukagema replied:

“Without Foundation Rwanda, my son would not be in a good school. He would be a casual labourer in our village. The program has been very valuable because it has given my child a chance to study and helped me to meet other women. “

THANKS TO MANY OF YOU, AND A SMALL NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONAL DONORS – WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM THIS YEAR WITH THE MOTHERS COVERING 40% OF THE BUDGET.   

Together, with the Foundation Rwanda families, we are on a mission to ensure every one of our students will graduate secondary school or receive vocational training by 2019.

We are so close to fulfilling that mission. Of the total budget required to support all 735 students who have been enrolled in the programme since 2009 – we only have 6% left to go!  As little as £60,000 will fund the program at the 40% reduced program budget, and £100,000 will fully fund the programme and fulfil our mission of allowing every FR student to graduate secondary school or access vocational training by 2019.

We will be launching our LAST EVER campaign for the Foundation Rwanda programme on the Change Heroes platform to see if we can complete the work.

I hope you’ll join us by giving one last gift or by SIGNING UP HERE as a Change Heroes Survivors Fund (SURF) Team Leader to empower your network to give the gift of education. Help us fulfil the mission of our Foundation Rwanda programme. Together, we have the power to do something extraordinary.

Onward & Upward,

Sam, David and all the Foundation Rwanda Team