Sandhurst School has been running its ground-breaking Reaching Rwanda project in partnership with Survivors Fund (SURF) since 2008. Pioneered by the Sandhurst School Deputy Head Sam Hunt, who is also Chair of SURF, the Reaching Rwanda project has worked extensively in Rwanda by linking UK school students with survivors. The aim of the project is:
- To inform students about the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and of the continued plight of survivors today.
- To connect students with genocide survivors and enable them to become friends.
- To enable students to become actively involved in improving the life chances of genocide survivors and to see the difference their efforts make.
The young people of Sandhurst School are highly engaged in supporting survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi thanks to the efforts of Samantha and its dedicated teachers.
Sandhurst School Sixth Form students and local community volunteers have made eight visits to Rwanda through the project. An enduring relationship for survivors and the school is now in place with regular skype calls between the students and the survivors. Students have been so moved through their experience and have supported the project raising approaching £300,000 for genocide orphans.
Devoted to improving education and livelihoods across Rwanda the project has in particular supported ‘Ntarama Survivors Village’ in Bugesera, Eastern Province.
In February 2025, the 9th Reaching Rwanda visit arrived in Kigali. SURF Chair, Sam Hunt MBE, who developed the educational programme and led the first visit in 2010 in her professional role as Deputy Headteacher of Sandhurst School, was accompanied by a group of students and supporters from the UK who have long–supported SURF and the Reaching Rwanda project.
Each person brought with them gifts donated by themselves and well-wishers, including toys, educational materials, and toiletries which were distributed to hundreds of children that the project supports. Also, the group bought various livestock to distribute to vulnerable survivors in need of support.
As well, the group visited Philly’s Place, a unique children’s centre which opened in 2020 through the funding and support of donors to Reaching Rwanda. The centre is equipped with 2.5 tonnes of the best educational equipment from the United Kingdom, including 4,300 books, donated through the Reaching Rwanda project. It is currently operating from temporary rented premises in Nyamata whilst awaiting completion of the construction of the permanent site in Ntarama.
Philly’s Place offers free tuition in Kinyarwanda, English, maths and science, technology, art, music, drama, sport and dance, as well as teaching valuable skills like sewing, knitting and beadcraft to over 1,000 local children of all ages. The aim is to provide fun, learning experiences for children in the Bugesera area in after school programmes as well as every Saturday and throughout school holidays in order to support children’s learning by providing exciting, enriching experiences to children of all ages. All services are provided to the children free of charge. The centre is over run every week and is becoming an important community hub.
To learn more of the current visit, then please visit https://www.facebook.com/ReachingRwanda