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Wellspring Foundation News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Wellspring Foundation for Education hires Andy Harrington as its CEO.

LANGLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- May 16th, 2012 -- The Wellspring Foundation for Education is pleased to announce the hiring of Andy Harrington as its Chief Executive Officer, effective September 2012.

Andy will work closely with the Wellspring Board, founders Richard Taylor and Jeffery Komant, and the entire Wellspring team to provide critical leadership for organizational growth as Wellspring envisions the future and seeks to expand its impact in Rwanda and beyond.

Andy is one of the most respected Christian leaders in Canada. He has a successful track record in organizational growth, strategy and planning, youth ministry, and international development. Since moving to Canada from the UK in 1999, Andy (with strong support from his wonderful wife Helen) has helped lead a dynamic team of 65+ staff and over 300 volunteers at Greater Vancouver Youth for Christ (Youth Unlimited).

Andy has served on the YFC national leadership team, worked in partnership with many other leaders on youth and social justice issues, and mobilized hundreds of youth to care deeply about what God is doing in the World. He is a gifted speaker, a team builder with a pastoral heart, a passionate advocate on social justice and poverty issues, and a long time friend of Rwanda. Andy has been to Rwanda eight times and forged a strong partnership with Rwanda Youth for Christ. The resulting Elevation Project has benefited Kigali Christian School (KCS), created scholarship programs for needy students, job opportunities for the most vulnerable, and life changing engagement between Canadian and Rwandan youth.

Andy fits with Wellspring's values and culture and passionately believes in our calling and potential. For Wellspring's founders and board, it has become increasingly clear that we will benefit from working together as we enter the next stage of organizational growth. We are 100% behind this hire and are committed to working closely together with Andy to grow Wellspring.

We would like to thank the Board of Greater Vancouver Youth for Christ (Youth Unlimited) for their support for Andy and The Wellspring Foundation in this process. They have set an incredible example and we pray that God will bless their ministry and provide the right leadership for Youth Unlimited as the organization moves forward. Andy will remain at Youth Unlimited until September 2012 to ensure a proper transition.

We look forward to introducing you further to Andy when he officially joins Wellspring in September. At that time, we will explain in more detail how we specifically envision his role as CEO and how we see the role of our Founders moving forward.

Until then, please feel free to engage with us and ask any questions you may have.

Your fellow servants in Christ,

Stephen Bennett
Wellspring Board Chair

Jeffery Komant
Founder and Rwanda Country Director

Richard Taylor
Founder and Executive Director

Why do we do what we do?

All organizations can explain what they do and how they do it. Not all organizations can explain why. At Wellspring, why is at the heart of what we do, and we are constantly seeking to come back to the unique calling God has placed on our lives.

So…why do we do what we do?

It is part of our calling as Christians to walk alongside the hurting and rebuild ancient ruins, raise up age-old foundations, and repair broken walls (Isaiah 58:12).
We are compelled by the vision the Rwandan people have to rebuild their country and transform the lives of their next generation (40% of whom are under age 15).
We have personally witnessed how a quality education infused with Christian values helps improve school communities and breaks cycles of poverty and dependency.
We believe learning is contagious and provides the necessary spark to unleash the latent creativity and capability of the Rwandan people.

Our approach is people-first. Our primary focus is on developing and multiplying new solutions for the education sector that will change the status quo, bring fresh ideas, and encourage an abundance mentality. Improvements in knowledge and skill sets must be accompanied by heart change and spiritual transformation.

WF-2011-annual-report-cover Thanks to the support of many faithful donors, volunteers, and institutional partners 2011 was a major step forward. It brought us within striking distance of finishing infrastructure for the flagship Wellspring Academy, launched the next phase of growth in transforming Rwandan schools, saw 40 trainers certified in a Biblical approach to Peace and Reconciliation, and launched a major organization wide conversation about the next steps in accomplishing vision and mission. That exciting conversation continues.

We are a step closer to seeing the entire system of education in Rwanda permanently changed by the love of Christ, and a new generation of leaders emerging with the ability to positively change their families, their communities, their country, and their continent.

This annual report is designed to give you, as a stakeholder or future stakeholder, a clear account of what we have accomplished together in the past year. But it is more than that. We hope it will serve as a testimony of God’s faithfulness and an inspiration to continue working with us towards a common vision.

Download our 2011 Annual Report

"I would much rather spend a day like this…

…than visit Kruger National Park."

Canadian businessman Brad Malchuk was exuberant as our van wound its way up a dusty dirt road to Gasabo Primary School. The one hour trip to this hilltop school—one of forty schools currently partnering with The Wellspring Foundation—was full of scenic vistas and dynamic rural life.

Brad and his family—including wife Rene, daughters Rachel and Brittanny, and brother Terry—came to Rwanda as part of a unique Donor Insight trip for Canadian business people. The trip was run in partnership with Opportunity International Canada (majority stakeholders in Rwanda’s leading microfinance institution) and on this particular day we were taking a busload of business people to see Wellspring’s work firsthand.

We entered the gates of Gasabo Primary and were greeted by hundreds of children singing and dancing. I was as surprised as anyone. We had not arranged this in advance. Cultural barriers dissipated. Our Canadian guests joined in and soaked in their unadulterated joy, the joy of children unaffected by their long walk to a small school dealing with seemingly overwhelming circumstance.

The tone for the day was set. Teachers at Gasabo explained that their entire attitude towards teaching and success in the classroom had changed through working together with Wellspring. This was only partly true. It was equally true that the school leadership and staff had chosen to take ownership for their school community and the children entrusted to them. Their clear success and improvement in a short time frame was their own.

The day was particularly sweet for Brad Malchuk because his company—Fastik Label and Supply—had invested thousands of dollars in partnership with Wellspring, to empower a new generation of Rwandan leaders. He was witnessing the difference that investment was making for hundreds of children at school like Gasabo. He was forming his own Rwandan story to take back to his family, friends, and employees—a story that was changing his life. And he realized that even a day in the world’s best game park could not compare to that.

Made in Rwanda Follow Up Press Release

Download the Made in Rwanda Follow Up Press Release

Made in Rwanda Leadership Summit

KIGALI, RWANDA February 22, 2012 – A select group of 120 Rwandan business leaders and 15 Canadians gathered on February 15th, 2012 at the beautiful Serena Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda to discuss the ambitious plan that is being implemented to raise the people out of Rwanda and to transform the country into a middle-income economy, with a strong emphasis given to innovation and entrepreneurism. The Made in Rwanda Leadership Summit was hosted by Opportunity International Canada and The Wellspring Foundation for Education. The Summit proved to be an innovative think tank centered on the themes of leadership and the development of human capital.

Operations Team gains Phocas

The Wellspring Foundation is excited by the addition of Phocas Ngendahayo as our Rwandan Director of Operations. Jeffery Komant, co-founder and Country Director, experienced great joy when inviting Phocas to join our team as a key leader in our organization.

Meet Phocas…

As a Rwandan who was born in Burundi, grew up in DR Congo, I have lived in one of the most troubled regions on the planet. Although there are periodic seismic and volcanic calamities in this region at the heart of Africa, the most disastrous, tragic experiences in this place have been manmade. As I was reflecting on what could be done to improve the condition of our people, God’s people, it became obvious that an informed, transformed, mission minded new generation of leaders is needed.

With God’s call and help I moved from my medical career as a Physiotherapist to invest myself in educational ministry where the mind and actions are shaped. I am delighted to partner with the Wellspring Foundation in striving to empower the next generation for my country’s development and God’s glory.

Phocas Ngendahayo, Rwandan Director of Operations

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