In Rwanda, like the U.S. and many places around the world, this past year and several months has been unlike anything we've experienced before. With the length of the shutdown in Rwanda in 2020 because of the coronavirus and lack of resources to continue schooling in a remote manner, this one school year is ending up to be two years long. Whew!
Most of the students in our program have recently started their third and final trimester of the 2020-2021 school year(s). They will be finishing the trimester in July and some will be taking national exams (P-6, S-3, and S-6). We don't know yet when the next school year will begin, but hopefully they will get at least a little bit of a break before then. The lower primary students (P-1 to P-3) just restarted their school year in early 2021, so they are just beginning their second trimester which will break for a couple weeks in June and then they will continue to finish their third trimester in early September.
This has all been a shifting plan but thankfully our team in Rwanda is flexible and can accommodate the changes and really kick things in gear to get our students prepared for school when the new calendar announcements are made! Since the lower primary students restarted their "year" in January, we added one more student who had a birthday since the school "year" started in January 2020. She is Ikirezi Light Benitha and the youngest in her family. We are hoping she enjoys school and learning!
Thanks for continuing to support our families and students in Rwanda even in this year+ of changing plans and adapting to what comes our way. We appreciate SO much all of the unwavering generosity of our donors...YOU! We are hopeful for the days ahead.