PREFER Preschool and the Students
Children Attending Prefer Preschool, January 2010
PREFER students are from single parent or teen head of household families, or are orphans now living with a local family.
The School's Senior Class, December 2007
We have 159 students attending preschool in 2010. We have 109 free students and 50 paying students. Our goal is to have 50% paying and 50% vulnerable that will not be charged.
2010 is the first year of charging tuition for a portion of the students. Any parent/guardian that had a signed letter from the local government stating that they were not able to pay school fees was able to enroll their child for free. Those who have business or other means of income were not given a letter and have been charged 5,000 RWF per child per month. 5,000 RWF = 8.75 US$.
PREFER Preschool students, April 2010
We have been able to increase our teacher wages in 2010; they are now comparable with other teachers in our area. Our teachers have worked for very small wages knowing that the funds were going towards the construction of the school. We have 4 teachers and 2 assistants as well as 4 staff members that are in charge of the school, gardens and property, but the volunteer help we receive is invaluable.
School begins each morning at 8am. The children study a variety of subjects including...
The Boys New Uniforms, January 2008
- English
- Kinyarwanda
- Mathematics
- Geography
- Science
- Sport or Physical Education/ Teaching (P.E. or P.T.)
- Art
The children are a pleasure to work with and arrive at school each morning bright eyed and eager to learn.
As at the end of 2008 construction has now been completed resulting in 3 classrooms plus 1 office building. As of 2010 we have also begun to purchase land for the building of our new primary school. See the New Building page.
Primary One, New Uniforms, April 2010
We sent our 60 graduates off to primary one at other schools outfitted in new uniforms, boda bodas and all school supplies. Teste received a phone call from the head mistress of Gashangiro primary saying how beautiful the children looked as they arrived at school together.
There are 60 street children in primary school, and 20 in Catch-up school, each one has received a new uniform and all school supplies, plus we meet each Saturday morning for a game of football followed by bread and sorghum. Each child takes home a bar of soap so they can be clean for school.
This is our first year to sponsor a university student; Jean Baptiste is enrolled at INES in sciences, his goal is to become a doctor. We have 23 of the brightest students attending various secondary schools throughout the country and one primary student, Bongwe; he is at Wisdom Primary here in Musanze.
Our primary and secondary students will begin their 3 week break on July 24th 2010. We will continue with preschool each day, plus our secondary students will come and take a group of primary students to tutor each day. Our newest secondary students have promised to practice English so they may write a letter to their sponsors while they are home.
