Your Ongoing Support Empowers Us to Be Catalysts

There are few places more critical to the future of Rwandan children than their classrooms. It is in the classroom that the hearts and minds of Rwandan young people are most consistently shaped and influenced.

Perhaps this explains why many of the 300+ people in attendance at our recent Wellspring Ignite Gala were struck by a visible contrast in the quality of education between two seemingly similar rural classrooms, as portrayed in our new film, My Rwandan Journey.

The film starts by observing a Rwandan teacher who has not yet received Wellspring training. The camera powerfully captures the disheartening separation between teacher and student and the complete lack of engagement from students.

It then portrays a second teacher who has received training from Wellspring for just six months. She is thoroughly engaged, makes great use of homemade teaching aids, and has enthusiastic participation from the students in her classroom. Clearly, her students are learning in a completely different way.

The second teacher goes on to credit what she had learned from Wellspring's Rwandan teacher trainers with the change. This scene from the film clearly captures the impact being made in Rwandan classrooms today through our School Development Program.

                                                                 

This is only possible because individuals like you have faithfully chosen to give, even during this time of global economic hardship. While other organizations have had to either downsize or compromise their vision, mission, or core values in order to follow available sources of funding, Wellspring has steadily grown in its impact. As a result:

• The Wellspring Academy is thriving. It's a place where 400 of Rwanda's future leaders are learning about God, growing in their understanding of their world, and cultivating a heart to live out the school's motto: "not to be served...but to serve".
• Our School Development Program has also been a great success. We have achieved a tremendous amount of credibility and visibility through this program at a fraction of initially projected costs. We are directly training and empowering nearly 400 teachers, school leaders, and parent representatives in 40 schools, with a widely recognized approach rooted in our Christian faith and values.
• Wellspring has had a growing impact on government policy and the work of other organizations in the education sector. We are currently co-chairing a coordination platform with 25 member organizations that seeks to share best practice and streamline our efforts to improve education.
• Our partners at ACT Rwanda, with over 800 members nationwide, continue to mature in their love and care for each other and influence in their places of service in every Rwandan district. Many ACT members are being recognized in their home areas for outstanding performance as they encourage each other to get up each morning and fulfill their God-given calling as educators.

Your continued support has been critical in helping us empower a new generation of Rwandan leaders and serve as a catalyst to transform the Rwandan education system. Please continue to partner with us as we move toward the successful completion of Vision 2012.

Our sincere gratitude on behalf of the entire Wellspring Team,

Jeffery & Richard

Jeffery Komant, Country Director	Richard Taylor, Executive Director