Project UpdatesNew ORI Student Government Elected at All-Student MeetingAt an all-student meeting on Saturday, March 20th, ORI’s students elected the new representatives of the Student Government Association (SGA). Prior to the voting, all candidates gave speeches presenting their qualifications for the respective posts. Nicholas Rutikanga, a civil engineering student who will graduate from the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in 2011, is the SGA’s new President.  Back row: Jean Bosco Gatanazi, Nicholas Rutikanga, Evary Ndabarinzi; Front row: Emile Turatsinze, Francine Uwimbabazi, Eric Zibukira 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. 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!). 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 participate in major youth conference in KigaliTwo ORI students — Charles Habonimana and Jackson Vugayabagabo — participated in a major youth conference this weekend that brought together young people studying both in Rwanda and abroad. At the conference, Jackson had the honor of speaking with President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame and, in the photo below, he is sitting next to the First Lady (whose Imbuto Foundation organized the event).  Jackson and First Lady Jeannette Kagame The New Times, Rwanda’s main paper, reported on the conference. Congratulations to Charles and Jackson on their participation and invitation to the conference! Rwanda 15 Years On: ORI article in NY TimesThe blog of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently published an article co-authored by ORI Board member Josh Ruxin and Executive Director Michael Brotchner on Rwanda 15 years after the genocide. The article, which discusses Rwanda’s tremendous strides forward since 1994, can be found on the Times website here. ORI featured in Miller-McCune MagazineOrphans of Rwanda is the feature story of the latest issue of Miller-McCune magazine. Writer Colleen Shaddox spent time with our students and team in Rwanda, spoke with co-founders Dai Ellis & Oliver Rothschild, and had the opportunity to speak with some of our key partners. You can find the article — titled “Simply Rwandan” — here!
Introducing new ORI scholar Timothee MwizihireJanuary marks the beginning of the academic year in Rwanda and the time when ORI’s scholars return to the nation’s top universities to continue their studies. It is also the time when our newly accepted students begin their university careers. One of the 46 new ORI scholars is Timothée Mwizihire, who has just begun studying computer science at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. Click here to read more about Timothée! |
