Latest Blog PostsORI Students Excel at Indego AfricaIndego Africa, an innovative NGO dedicated to alleviating poverty by providing training and sustainable skills-building for Rwandan women artisans, is one of ORI’s closest partners. Indego currently employs six ORI students — five as part-time interns and one as a full-fledged employee. The ORI students lead Indego’s Hand Up Training Program, which enables Rwandan women working in local cooperatives to develop economic self-sufficiency through sales of high-quality handicrafts. The program also provides Indego’s artisans with a range of workshops in areas such as literacy, computer skills, Internet technology (IT), and financial management. ORI’s students deliver these trainings and, as they work with the women in Indego’s cooperatives, they develop their skills as leaders and managers. Eugene Nteziyaremye, a second-year student at the Kigali Institute of Education, says that one of the best things about the internship is getting to “train the women in reading and writing Kinyarwanda and English.” Valens Rutazihana, a third-year student at the School of Finance and Banking, originally interned for Indego Africa and — after excelling in his role — he was asked to become part of the staff (his official title is Management Team Leader). For Valens, his work at Indego “is my contribution to build my country because I am not able to help the citizens financially but I have knowledge needed by most people who did not attend school.”  Valens Rutazihana Our relationship with Indego is extremely special because it gives our students the opportunity to take what they’re learning in the classroom and through ORI trainings and put it into practice in a way that directly empowers others and supports Rwanda’s economic development. The ORI scholars are very pleased to work for Indego, which is one of many NGOs in Rwanda where our students are working either as interns or part-time employees. Our mission is not just about enabling students to graduate from university — it’s about preparing them to be leaders and dynamic professionals, which is why the Indego-ORI partnership is a model for our relationships with every company and organization that employs our students. ORI’s Medical Students Intern at King Faisal Hospital
ORI’s medical students: Carine Uwakunda & Emile Turatsinze Emile explains how the students participated in numerous aspects of the hospital’s operations: I worked in three services: Pediatrics, Surgical and Maternity. I used to do morning rounds with nurses and doctors. I always participated in the doctors’ meeting in the morning where reports of admitted patients during nights were given and some cases were explained by a specialist. In pediatrics, I mostly observed nurses’ activities but sometimes I would assist in the dressing and catheterization of patients. Both students enjoyed the surgery component of the internships, as they had the opportunity to assist in minor surgeries, including Caesarian sections and the dressing of wounds. As for what inspired Carine to pursue the internship, she said, “I wanted to practice what I had learned and, of course, get more knowledge.” ORI’s Newest Graduate: Charles HabonimanaORI is proud to announce the graduation of Charles Habonimana, our 10th university graduate. Charles graduated from the Universite Libre de Kigali and — in addition to graduating early by completing his thesis paper in two months instead of the usual six months — he also obtained the mark of distinction for his paper, which focused on the decentralization of government functions in Rwanda. Charles has worked in local government throughout his time at university and he is now the Personal Assistant to the Mayor of Kicukiro, which is one of Kigali’s districts.
In his spare time, Charles is the head coach of the APR Women’s Volleyball team. Charles is a former president of ORI’s Student Government Association and he has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills throughout his university education. We are extremely proud of Charles and congratulate him on his exceptional accomplishments. ORI Launches 2010 with All-student Meeting in KigaliOn January 24, ORI launched the 2010 academic year by bringing together its students from around the country to learn about new components of our education and leadership program. At the meeting, which took place in Kigali, the ORI team introduced students to new developments regarding our language training program, our computer training program and new opportunities for entrepreneurship and leadership development. The students also learned about enhancements to our career development program, which prepares students to obtain internships and part-time jobs that will launch students’ careers and enable them to develop their professional skills.
New ORI Honor Roll students with Executive Director Michael Brotchner & Country Director Charles Rukikanshuro At the meeting, we recognized the students who joined the ORI Honor Roll. Thirty-six students achieved this distinction, up from sixteen students in the Honor Roll named in September 2009. Honor Roll students have distinguished themselves academically and have also demonstrated their leadership skills, dedication to career development, and motivation to engage in extracurricular activities. As the 2010 academic year begins, everyone at ORI is looking forward to another exciting year of achievements by our talented and driven scholars. ORI’s newest university grads: Aimable and ChristelleORI is proud to recognize the achievements of our two newest graduates: Christelle Umutoni and Aimable Niyitegeka!  New graduate Christelle Umutoni
 Aimable defending his dissertation Christelle graduated from the Universite Libre de Kigali (ULK) with a degree in Social Sciences, and obtained an outstanding score on her dissertation! (The dissertation was about the work of ORI.) Aimable also graduated from ULK and his dissertation had the following title: Impact of Information Technology Applications to the Improvement of Services; Case of Electrogaz. Aimable, who also scored very highly on his dissertation, has worked for Electrogaz — a utility company in Rwanda — for the past two years and he will continue to work there. Christelle and Aimable are the 7th and 8th ORI students to graduate from university! Congratulations to them both! Now Playing at ORI: Rwandan Grand Prix!In November, Orphans of Rwanda was fortunate to have Matthew Harding conduct a workshop on Internet video production for our students. Matt is well-known for his “Where the Hell is Matt?” videos, which have been viewed by millions throughout the world. The workshop, which took place in Kigali, gave students an opportunity to develop their own ideas for a brief video and then film it. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing the students’ videos on our website. In the meantime, enjoy Rwandan Grand Prix – a new video that Matt himself directed and which stars two of our students, Janvier Kwihangana and Nicholas Rutikanga! ORI’s Newest Scholars Begin OrientationThis summer, ORI accepted its sixth class of new scholars — 27 extremely bright young people who possess an impressive combination of ambition, intelligence, and resilience.  ORI's Newest Scholars at Orientation We were fortunate to choose these new scholars from an extremely talented group of applicants: we received 2,700 applications this year, 80% more than we received last year. In September, the newly selected students began a 10-week Orientation & Training program that provides the scholars with the opportunity to improve their computer and language skills in advance of beginning their university educations in January. The first week of Orientation involves intensive workshops on subjects such as time management and study skills, and gives students a chance to meet and learn from each other and current ORI students (and recent ORI graduates!). Reflections from Rwanda by ORI Board member Eloise AustinThis summer, I returned to Kigali to spend time with our current students and to observe final interviews for the new class of ORI scholars. The student selection process is a four-month marathon that seeks to identify students with the greatest potential to develop into innovative thinkers and leaders in their respective fields. Our team assesses each candidate’s background, capabilities and motivation through a review of written applications, language exam scores, academic accomplishments and in-person interviews.  Eloise with students and ORI co-founders Dai Ellis and Oliver Rothschild New ORI graduate Gilbert NshimiyimanaORI now has its 6th graduate: Gilbert Nshimiyimana, who successfully defended his dissertation at the Université Libre de Kigali’s Sociology Department earlier this month. His topic was “Psychosocial problems of adolescents living in Rwanda’s orphanages: the case of Gisimba Memorial Center.” Gilbert not only passed, but he received the highest dissertation marks in ORI history. Congratulations, Gilbert!
 Gilbert just before his dissertation defense ORI students support the “One Dollar Campaign”Earlier this year, members of the Rwandan Diaspora launched an international effort called the “One Dollar Campaign.” The Campaign’s goal was to raise $1 from each member of the diaspora in order to build shelters for survivors of the genocide. The Campaign has been a huge success and has raised thousands of dollars in donations throughout the world. ORI’s students — led by Julliet Busingye, former Student Government Association president — played a part in this effort. An ORI supporter gave our students a challenge: she would match all contributions that the students made to the Campaign. Over the last few months, ORI students made their contributions, which totaled 50,000 Rwandan francs (about $89). The donor matched this amount and, earlier this month, Julliet presented the combined contribution to Robert Masozera, Director General for Diaspora Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation — and the person responsible for coordinating the campaign. Mr. Masozera stated that the donations from ORI’s students were extremely meaningful and he thanked the students for their generous support of the Campaign. Here is a photo from the occasion:  Director General Masozera and Julliet Busingye |
Two of ORI’s scholars — Carine Uwakunda and Emile Turatsinze — are medical students at the National University of Rwanda. Over their holiday break in late 2009, Emile and Carine interned at King Faisal Hospital, which is the top hospital in Kigali. In addition to becoming the first-ever first-year medical students to intern at the hospital, what was extremely impressive about this achievement is that Carine and Emile approached the hospital on their own. As Carine says, “I went there with a recommendation letter from ORI and just requested the internship.”
