Maranyundo Initiative

Spring 2020

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COVID-19 Update: Students Remain Home

Our New Head of School | In Remembrance: Kwibuka 26 

Distance Learning Made Possible

Tufts Presidential Award for STEM MakerSpace Creator

The Inshuti Project

COVID-19 Update: Students Remain Home

Dear Friends of Maranyundo,

As we adjust  to life during COVID-19, we wanted to provide a glimpse into what it's like for the Maranyundo community. Rwanda’s response to the global pandemic has been swift and effective. The country has been on lockdown since March 15 with borders closed except for essential goods. Schools and businesses are closed. To-date, the number of cases has been small and contact tracing aggressive. The Government has waived payments of water and electricity, facilitated internet access, distributed food, and made education programs accessible online, as well as tv and radio.

The Maranyundo School is closed and the girls are home. There is vast disparity in their situations. Some have ample access to food, parents working from home and access to phones, computers and internet, and are able to access distance learning resources. Others are much more vulnerable. They lack food and essentials, and are disconnected from their schoolwork, friends and the MGS community.

Sister Laetitia, the new Head of School, is busy! She is working with faculty to design and implement distance learning. She has partnered with local companies, Mara Phones and Airtel, to provide low-cost smartphones and free internet to connect vulnerable families to the MGS e-learning platform and the social support of the MGS community. She is providing funds to help vulnerable families meet basic needs and continues to pay teachers and staff.  She is also planning ahead for an increase in needs in an uncertain future.

We are supporting Sister Laetitia in these efforts through the Maranyundo Hardship Fund. If you would like to support MGS families, we can assure you that your donation will go a long way. These are extraordinary times in our own communities and we thank you for always keeping these girls, this community, and the country of Rwanda in your hearts. 

Stay safe. Stay home. Amahoro!

Meet Our New Head Of School

As many of you may know, Sister Juvenal was asked to lead curriculum efforts as Benebikira Schools Coordinator for 17 Benebikira schools throughout Rwanda.  A very fitting promotion after leading the Maranyundo Girls School through the last 10 years to great success.  We wish her well in her new role, and we know we will continue to do great work together for the schools and girls in Rwanda.

With big shoes to fill, Sister Laetitia Musanabaganwa took over the Head of School duties in January 2020, and wasted no time in meeting with the community and evaluating the school’s needs. Sister Laetitia has a long history in science and education and served as school counselor at MGS before becoming the Head of School. Prior to MGS, she was the Headmistress of Fawe Girls School in Kayonza from 2011 to 2017, was Dean of Discipline at the College of Muramba and taught Mathematics at the College Immaculee Conception. She has her Bachelor's in Computer Sciences and her Master's in Educational Planning and Administration. 

Her strategic priorities had been in full swing, including investments in new faculty and professional development, strengthening STEM and library programming, and expanding college counseling and preparation, until the global COVID-19 pandemic reached Rwanda in March. We are grateful to Sister Laetitia for her experienced leadership to navigate MGS students, teachers, and staff through this difficult period.

Distance Learning Made Possible

Together with the MGS Dean of Studies, Sister Laetitia developed a preliminary distance learning plan using the TWIGE E-Learning Platform that faculty have begun to deploy.

TWIGE allows teachers to post courses, documents, demonstrations, videos, and assignments for their classes. The platform enables a virtual dialogue between each student and teacher, making for a richer distance learning experience.

In Remembrance: Kwibuka 26

Each year, on April 7th, Rwandans come together to commemorate the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsis.  2020 marks 26 years since more than a million Rwandans were killed in 100 days. 

Rwandans will never forget the individuals whose lives were cut short, but remain committed toward working together to build a better future. This resilience and determination will be critical as COVID-19 brings further hardship and challenges.

We share with you below this moving remembrance video from the Rwanda Embassy.

“Choose life over death, unity over division, hope over despair.”

 －Honorable Mathilde Mukantabana, Rwandan Ambassador to the United States