Project trip to Rwanda

Jan. 2023

Drei Männer mit Maskottchen

From local vocational centre to national model school: Supporting the PATRIZIA Vocational Training Center Ntarama in taking the next step

Founded in 2008, the PATRIZIA Vocational Training Center Ntarama in Rwanda is a leading vocational school in the Bugesera District where young adults learn how to be masons, tailors, craftsmen, and many other occupations. The school has already provided 1.500 young professionals with the tools and skills to navigate the challenges of the 21st century – and now wants to take the next step in its development.

Next steps

After overcoming the immediate challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic with the support of the PATRIZIA Foundation, the vocational school already constructed their own ICT Lab with 40 laptops, printers, and projectors. To ensure that the ICT room has a reliable and affordable source of electricity, the Foundation connected the school to the PartnerAfrica. This program was initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as part of the Marshall Plan with Africa and the G20 Investment Partnership Compact with Africa with the aim of creating more and better employment opportunities for the rapidly growing young population in Africa. It was out of this idea, that the Handwerkskammer Koblenz came up with an initiative where teachers and students would be trained on how to repair and maintain solar plants in Rwanda. A group of teachers and students from the PATRIZIA Vocational Training Center Ntarama have thus been trained to maintain their solar plant self-sufficiently. This means, the school now has constant electrical energy to run and sustain the ICT Lab.

Upon this excellent base, the PATRIZIA Vocational Training Center Ntarama wants to build and develop its network of national and international institutions to acquire the needed resources, skills and know-how to become a self-sustaining and model technical secondary school in Rwanda.

To this end, Otto Dodoo visited the school and spend two weeks with the headmaster, teachers, and several institutions in Rwanda to support in connecting the school with various relevant stakeholders in the country.

During this time, the headmaster and Otto met the mayor and responsible persons at the educational unit of the Bugesera District as well as the Director General of the Rwanda Technical and Vocational Education and Training Board (RTB) to discuss further development of the school. Additionally, Otto worked with the school committee regarding their application for the Rhineland-Palatinate and Rwanda school partnership program and met with the executives of a Rwandese solar company focused on inclusive energy production (ARC Power). As part of empowering the school’s management, Otto in accordance with the headmaster also arranged a networking session with the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in Rwanda to discuss possible funding options.

“The meetings were highly successful! We were able to raise awareness for the needs and wants of the PATRIZIA Vocational Training Center Ntarama and establish connections with future-relevant partners”, Otto said, drawing a positive conclusion to the networking efforts.

New cooperations

With the support of Otto, the school was able to secure immediate cooperation with a Rwandese tech company: Zatec Rwanda will initiate a proof-of-concept IT-program to train 10 to 15 students of the PATRIZIA Vocational Training Center Ntarama in technical, digital & soft skills critical for a career in the digital world.

“In sum, I can say the trip was a success”, Otto said upon return. “I think we can be proud of the support we provide in Rwanda!” Our sincere gratitude thus goes out to all those supporting the PATRIZIA Foundation. Your contribution makes sustainable digital education accessible to children and young adults around the world!

 

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PATRIZIA School Buyamba: a school for the whole region

The school for 5 to 14-year-olds is currently very full with 882 pupils. Nevertheless, it is in good condition and lessons take place according to plan. The school is so important to the children that they walk up to ten kilometres a day to learn here. There is no public transport. This is why the boarders stay in two dormitories. They receive additional lessons, some of which last until 9 pm.

You can hear the school choir singing ‘Welcome, welcome, you are very welcome’ from afar as you approach. The pupils form a guard of honour for us. They give us an incredibly warm welcome, dancing and clapping. As a representative of the foundation, Jowita Fuchshofer is invited on stage to greet everyone and express our gratitude for the welcome. The subsequent dialogue with school director Sylvia Nalusuuna is purposeful and very informative for the foundation. It is very important that we meet our partners at eye level and can openly discuss mutual needs and wishes – as in this case.

Group photo with Jowita Fuchshofer, some children and Father Charles
Class visit

We are allowed to follow the lessons in various classes and share the porridge with the pupils, which they receive during the first break. It is very nutritious and for many children the first meal of the day if they don’t get breakfast at home. During the breaks, it’s all about playing, playing, playing – whether with the foundation’s new balls or with toys they’ve designed themselves. I also tell them stories from Germany with the help of our mascot Hope and teach them a few German words. They say ‘Jowit!’ from everywhere. That’s what the little ones call Jowita Fuchshofer. They want to have her around as a playmate and are always shyly handing her personal letters.

School fees are an obstacle

The school fees are 20,000 Ugandan shillings per term, the equivalent of around 4.50 US dollars. A school year consists of three terms with short or long holidays in between. With an annual nominal per capita gross national product of 747 US dollars, the annual fee of 13.50 dollars is already difficult for some parents to cope with financially. Hardly anyone in Buyamba is employed either; most people here live from gardening or manual labour. Around 100 boarders currently sleep in the dormitories, which were designed for 80 children. The school also houses an improvised pre-school for children from the age of four in a separate area of the dining hall.

children running

As all primary school lessons are taught in English, the preparatory year is very important for the acquisition of language skills. A separate building for the pre-school children could solve the acute lack of space. The headmistress also sees a need for a wall around the school building to ensure the children’s safety. Above all, it should prevent wild animals from entering, but also protect against theft.

So poor and yet so rich

smiling children

During our time on site, you can see that poverty is tangible everywhere: many children have no shoes, their school uniforms are broken or don’t fit properly.

As in many parts of Africa, drinking water is a problem. There are no wells. This makes the two rain collection containers that we have donated all the more important.

Together with a third one, they provide all the water needed for drinking, personal hygiene and washing clothes – for all the pupils and the parish hall.

Apart from the biros that every child has, there are no private possessions. But that doesn’t seem to be important to them either. Instead, you realise how much they value the community. They help each other and share generously. They seem happy and are always very open and interested in us.

Long-term help pays off

Our first impulse was to hand out sweets to make everyone smile at the same time. But when you take a step back, long-term help is more important. As we have also heard in discussions with those responsible on site, we are on a solid path together. PATRIZIA School Buyamba offers many opportunities to deepen our cooperation. As a foundation, we continue to focus on ensuring that the pupils lack nothing in terms of infrastructure and can concentrate fully on their school education.