Rwanda - New Hope Technical Institute
Instruction of Massage
The picture with the Vice-President of the Rwandan Senate
The school was established in 1996 in Kigali to support the rebuilding process subsequent to the end of the civil war and teach women vocational skills so they can be financially independent. Since 2000 with a promotion of the World Bank-sponsored project “Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Project” men and ex-soldiers were enrolled. Some graduates have succeeded as entrepreneurs, utilizing the skills and expertise they learned at this institute.
New Developments:
In the 2018 “20th Anniversary Celebration of New Hope Technical Institute” 200 people participated, including the substitution of the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, the Ambassador of Japan to Rwanda, the mayor of Kigali, and the participants from WFWP Japan. It was also aired as news on Rwandan National Broadcasting.
The Workforce Development Authority (WDA) mandated the establishment of a computer class and the school started classes four hours a week.
The employment rate for graduates was 54.2% (as of March 2019)
Voices of Appreciation from Foster Children
During the “20th Anniversary Celebration of New Hope Technical Institute (NHTI)” two graduate representatives gave messages of appreciation to Mrs. Hiroko Misumi (WFWP Fukuoka 1st District Federation of Japan, right in photo) who participated in the foster parent program.
Mrs. Uwineza Immaculee (center in photo): When I lost my parents in the civil war, became a genocide orphan, and had no dreams and hopes, thanks to the foster parent’s program of NHTI, I was able to enter this school and graduate from this school, and finally I was appointed as a chef at a restaurant. After that, I got married and could support my family. This support gave me the confidence to live that I was lonely after the genocide, and made me imagine a future I never thought of. Just like the school supported me, this time I would like to help current students give them opportunities for off-campus training.
Mr. Nishimwe Jean (left in photo): I lost my parents in the genocide, but somehow survived, returned home, and lived in a repaired house. The enemy race that killed my family came back home. They set fire to my house when I was there. I managed to survive from there, stayed in the hospital for a while, and was finally discharged. When I went to the house of my aunt who is my only relative, her husband refused to live together with me, and I was living as one of the street children who had no place to go. At that time, I met the former president of NHTI in town and she said to me, ’Come to study in order to get out of the current situation.’ With support from my foster parents, I was able to graduate and manage to start my own business. Without New Hope’s support, I am not here right now.
Currently, Mr. Jean has grown into a professional hairdresser who works with VIPs. He sets Mrs. Misumi’s photo on the mobile phone’s standby screen and treasures it because she was the only reliance during his school days.