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At noon on June 13, we touched down at Kigali International Airport in Rwanda. We had left our homes on June 11, stayed overnight in Washington, D.C., and then had a 15-hour flight through Rome to Addis Ababa.

Finally, Kigali. It felt good to be in Rwanda.

The Koinonia Foundation’s mission is enhancing education. Over the past 10 years, we have primarily accomplished this through the provision of solar power to schools in Rwanda, a country where only 5% of the population has access to electricity. With a reliable source of electricity, children can study in a safe and lit environment that can run computers and other modern equipment. Our initial projects consisted of building schools and clinics and outfitting those schools with solar power systems and computers.

From these projects, we have branched out. Our solar power installations continue to be a main focus, and last year we provided and installed a solar power system for the Shyara School, a primary school that the U.S. Government donated to the Rwanda Ministry of Education. We also donated solar equipment to develop a solar installation and maintenance program at a vocational secondary school in the Gitarama province. But, in addition to our solar installation projects, we have also developed the Beacon Program, which creates sustainable businesses for unemployed mothers of school-aged children, and Wall of Words, which in 2008 brought thousands of textbooks and general reading materials to schools around the country.

On this year’s trip, our main projects will be to check on the solar power system and install additional lighting on the Shyara School, reconceptualize the pilot of our Beacon Program, and work on Wall of Words projects. We also have meetings with the Clinton Foundation, the Minister of Education, the DFID (the leading donor in education), and various non-governmental organizations to discuss future projects and solar installations. It will be a busy trip.

Ashley