Pathway to success: scholarships to needy students

During the period from October 1 to December 31, 2023, we were able to provide four additional scholarships to children from impoverished families in the Musha community. These students had participated in our Saturday tutoring program, where teachers conduct review sessions for ninth graders to prepare for national exams. In Rwanda, passing the national exam is a critical milestone in the educational journey since it determines the school you go to for grades 10 to 12. If students score high enough, they are allowed to enroll in boarding schools, which provide better learning conditions and more opportunities for tertiary education and employment.

The scholarship package includes year-long tutoring, full tuition, transportation to and from school, school supplies, and spending money. Below are the short bios of our new scholarship students:

1. A determined 17-year-old young man from a modest background faced financial obstacles in pursuing education. Despite passing the national exam, he couldn't continue his education. His parents, struggling to pay for his education, sold their livestock to cover two semesters of tenth grade, leaving the last unpaid. Now, with the risk of expulsion looming as he couldn't take year-end exams, REAP, through a generous donation through GlobalGiving, provided him with a scholarship. He remains resolute in his pursuit of education and overcoming challenges to achieve his dreams.
2. A 17-year-old girl lives with her 75-year-old grandfather and never knew her father. Her mother was raped when she was a teenager. When she still lived with her parents, her mother had her, and she moved with her when she got married. The girl grew up at her parents’ home until her mom died last year. She dropped out of school when she was at the end of the first term of grade 11 to take care of her mom, who was sick at the hospital. She spent three months at the hospital taking care of her mom, who finally died in December last year. When her mom died, she spent a few months with her stepfather, who promised her to continue paying her school fees, but later he wanted to make her his wife. The girl refused, left him, and moved to her 75-year-old grandfather. She and her grandfather can hardly get one meal a day, but they cannot afford to pay school fees. 

3. A 17-year-old girl hardly finished grade 11 because she was sent back home four times in a year to pay school fees. She couldn't afford tuition last year. Her 58-year-old mother sold all the goats and other things she could sell to pay for her. Her mother survived the 1994 Tutsi Genocide. Her first husband and all their children were killed during Genocide. She married another husband who again died when the girl was three months. During Genocide, the girl’s mother was thrown in a pit which caused her a chronic back pain until now.  She cannot work on the farm. To get food, the neighbors grow crops in her land and share the harvest with her. 

4. A 17-year-old boy lives with his mother and 3 siblings. His father left the family to marry another woman. His mother digs the small land they have and works in neighbors farm to get daily meal for the family. He dropped out of school in grade 10 last year after doing two terms because her mother failed to pay school fees. Another nonprofit organization used to pay for him, but it stopped the sponsorship promptly in the middle of the year. The boy was on the verge of dropping out last year when REAP offered him a scholarship.

During the last three months, we were able to provide eight full-ride high school scholarships to children from impoverished families in the Musha community. These students had participated in our Saturday tutoring program, where teachers conduct review sessions for ninth graders to prepare for national exams. In Rwanda, passing the national exam is a critical milestone in the educational journey since it determines the school you go to for grades 10 to 12. If students score high enough, they are allowed to enroll in boarding schools, which provide better learning conditions and more opportunities for tertiary education and employment.

The scholarship package includes year-long tutoring, full tuition, transportation to and from school, school supplies, and spending money. Below are sample short bios of our scholarship students:

1. Alice is a 16-year-old girl. She lives with her parents and three siblings in their two-roomed, unfinished house. Her parents work on the neighbors’ farms to feed the family. Alice’s young brother dropped out in sixth grade because the parents failed to pay for him. Alice passed the grade nine national examinations with a good score high enough to enable her to enroll at a school of excellence, but her family couldn't afford it. Thanks to a scholarship from REAP, she is majoring in language education at a teacher training college, which is a school of excellence.

2. Marie Ange is a 17-year-old girl. She lives with her two parents and four siblings. Her father is mentally disabled. Her mother takes care of the family alone. Her old brother dropped out in grade 10, while her old sister dropped out in grade 11, because the mother failed to pay for their school needs. Thanks to a scholarship from REAP, she is now in grade ten, studying building construction at a school of excellence.

3. Celestin is 15 years old. He lost both of his parents and lives alone in his house, which was built by the government as support after his older siblings left him to find employment in the capital city. He could eat only one meal per day at school. The teachers and the students contributed to buying him some school materials. Despite all the struggles, he studied hard enough to be the top student in his class. Thanks to a scholarship from REAP, he is now in grade 10, majoring in automobile technology at a school of excellence.

4. Claudine is an 18-year- old girl. She is living with her stepsister, one step niece and one step nephew. Her mother married a man who had another daughter from another marriage. After birth, Claudine lived with her mother, stepfather, and stepsister. Later, the stepfather died, leaving Cladine with her mother and the stepsister. Later, Claudine’s mother left the house, after she had conflicts with her stepsister who had already had two children in the same house as a single mother. That is how Claudine found herself living with her stepsister and her two children in very difficult conditions. She hardly got food to eat, teachers and neighbors contributed to give her some school materials. Despite the difficult conditions, Claudine managed to continue her studies, passed the grade nine national examination, and enrolled at a school of excellence thanks to a REAP scholarship. She is now in grade ten doing Food and Beverage operations.