Our kids arriving at Mpanda Vocational Training Center
At the end of 2017, we had 16 kids take the national exam in Rwanda. This exam is an educational milestone for all Rwandan children. At MindLeaps, all 16 of our kids passed with impressively good scores! They were admitted to good schools; in January, they started their lives in formal education.
MindLeaps kids getting ready for school
Additionally, MindLeaps Rwanda celebrated another critical milestone as 2017 passed into 2018. For the first time in the organization’s history, all of the kids enrolled at the MindLeaps Center in 2017 were sponsored to go to formal education in 2018! In addition to the 16 who passed the national exam, another 28 kids were entered into the appropriate grade level for their ability. These kids join our existing 46 sponsored youth – bringing the total number of MindLeaps-sponsored former street children in school to 90 children in 2018! Twenty-eight of these children are in primary school, another 43 are enrolled in secondary school and 19 are following vocational training in trade schools.
Through hard work and resilience, it is such an honor to see our kids leaping forward in life – irrespective of their backgrounds. As they enter these schoolrooms, they are “equal” to their peers and now have the same chance to improve their lives as others. Beyond reasonable doubt, we believe that these are the next generation of leaders who will transform Rwanda – and the African continent.