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This month, B2R commissioned its tenth cohort of 24 Bridge2Rwanda Scholars who earned university scholarships to study abroad this fall. The event included speeches from Group 10 Scholars, Brave Jeremie Mugisha and Jeielle Habinam Claudia; B2R Founder and CEO, Dale Dawson; and Group 5 Scholar and keynote speaker Christelle Umubyeyi. Watch the full event here.

We are so excited to officially announce that our first Isomo Academy summer boot camp will be held at Maranyundo Girls School, which is located in Nyamata, right outside Kigali. The school includes beautiful classrooms with smart technology and a large computer lab, as well as spacious dormitories where students will stay during the 8-week residential program. We look forward to selecting 120 students to join the first cohort of Isomo Academy beginning July 18! 

Before graduating from Middlebury College with a double major in Neuroscience and Psychology and minor in Education Studies this month, B2R Scholar, Francoise Niyigena, had the opportunity to speak at a TEDx Middlebury event. In her talk “Why re-thinking the role of schools is key to ending global poverty,” Francoise named different ways that the school system fails to serve and truly empower the most marginalized, underrepresented and underserved communities. 

“My biggest passion is empowering young people and I hope to do that through a career in rethinking education systems. I have always believed so deeply in the words of the late Nelson Mandela that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to change the world.'”

JASIRI is supported by Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy and seeks to attack poverty by investing in, nurturing, and empowering responsible entrepreneurs and leaders who benefit society by accelerating meaningful employment and ethical leadership. Learn more about the JASIRI Talent Investor.

We are excited to announce that B2R Fellow, Olivier Munyeshyaka has been selected to join the first cohort of JASIRI Talent Investor, a fully-funded, one-year high-impact entrepreneurship program that will guide them from idea generation to venture creation. 

Congratulations to B2R Scholar, Diane Kabanyana, a senior business administration and economics major at Birmingham Southern College, for her work on Plant Space, an agricultural sustainability project which received international praise and advanced to the semi-finals of the Wege Prize 2021. Kabanyana and four other undergraduate students worked together to design Plant Space, a solar-powered hydroponic system that increases the supply of fresh, high-quality produce in Rwandan communities.

Working on this project has provided me with opportunities for research and has broadened my horizon in my longed-for career. I’m appreciative of my BSC education for inspiring me to think outside of the box and motivating me to work on life-changing issues.

 Learn more about Plant Space and the Wege Prize 2021. 

We are so excited to announce that all 24 Group 10 B2R Scholars have received international scholarships to some of the top universities in the world! Despite an incredibly challenging year of distance learning, Group 10 Scholars have excelled academically and maintained high ACT and TOEFL scores this year. We are excited to see what the New Year holds for the remaining five Scholars. Check out the complete list of where Scholars will be studying this fall below.

B2R Farms is excited to announce the launch of its second cohort of University of Rwanda agriculture interns. The selected 15 UR graduates come from 11 different districts in Rwanda, covering all four provinces of Rwanda and the City of Kigali. The graduates’ home towns also cover 6 distinct agro-ecological zones. For the next three months, the UR Interns will get trained in Foundations for Farming at B2R Farms demonstration farms. We hope to see these 15 young men and women accelerate the adoption of Foundations for Farming and conservation agriculture in Rwanda! 

In May 2020, B2R Scholar, Bienfait Mugenza foundedCongo Dynamique Initiative (CODI),  a non-profit and non-governmental organization committed to empowering youth and women in his home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

The goal of CODI is to generate a steady flow of accountable leaders, ethical entrepreneurs, and new businesses to increase jobs and wealth and eradicate poverty in the DRC. As an incubator and micro-finance institution, CODI accelerates and systematizes the process of identifying, developing, empowering, and mentoring entrepreneurs in the DRC by

providing them with a range of support, including micro-loans, incubator space, business support services, and networking opportunities. Bienfait will graduate from the University of Rochester this May with a degree in Political Science and plans to return home to work on the growth and sustainability of CODI and identify more societal challenges that may require collective efforts and innovative solutions. 

“One Saturday evening, my dad said to me: ‘In the mental realm of being, things are quite simple. You can be part of the problem or be part of the solution. Assuming you are part of the solution, always do your best and never stand aside to watch.’ So, I try every day to be part of the solution.“

B2R Fellows, Norris Kayitare and Chaste Niwe, have been promoted to Director of College Counseling and Director of Academic Services, respectively. In addition to leading the B2R Scholars Program, they are responsible for launching B2R’s new Isomo Academy summer boot camp program for rising S5 and S6 students and providing English and college preparatory services to educational institutions throughout the year. 

C H A S T E   N I W E
Director of Academic Services
Chaste studied Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University. As a Prep Teacher at B2R, he introduced new classes in African thought and literature and helped Scholars significantly improve their English proficiency and critical thinking skills. He played a key role in designing the Isomo Academy program model, which uniquely positions him to take on the role of Director of Academic Services. Chaste also served as a member of a task force for Rwanda’s Ministry of Education with other leaders in the country’s education sector. He is bringing with him a love for research, an avid sense of urgency, and a great love for education.

N O R R I S  K A Y I T A R E 
Director of College Counseling
After earning his undergraduate degree in Mathematical Economics from Pitzer College, Norris joined the B2R team as a College Counselor. The past three years, Norris has done an exceptional job recruiting, preparing, and guiding top students through the college search and application process. As Director of College Counseling, Norris will use his experience and leadership skills to help more talented students gain access to better universities in and outside of Rwanda. We are excited to see how his passion for students, contagious energy, and servant leadership will define the next chapter of the program.

B2R Founder & CEO, Dale Dawson, sat down for a virtual interview with Patrick Nsenga, CEO of AC Group, to discuss leadership and entrepreneurship. The event, hosted by the Kigali Foreign Affairs Council, is part of webinar series focused on educating and engaging Rwanda’s global community through conversations that inspire others to share Rwanda’s remarkable achievement over the last 26 years.

B2R Scholar, Billy Byiringiro, has become the first Rhodes Scholar from Rwanda in the 117-year history of the Rhodes Scholarship. As the world’s oldest graduate fellowship, the Rhodes Scholarship program, based at the University of Oxford, awards over a hundred fully-funded Scholarships to students with proven academic excellence, exceptional character,  and a commitment to solving the world’s greatest challenges each year.

Billy will graduate next year with a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. At Oxford, Billy intends to read for an MSc in Computer Science and a DPhil (PhD) in Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems.

“I am incredibly grateful and honoured to have been selected as the Rhodes Scholar from East Africa 2021. I can’t wait to continue my further studies in AI and Computer Science, exploring ways to employ them to make a positive impact in my community.”

Three of the eight Rhodes Scholarship finalists from East Africa were Bridge2Rwanda Scholars

This month,  B2R Fellow, Denise Wanyana was appointed to an advisory role by the President’s Cabinet. Denise graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2018 and received her Master’s from the University of Global Health Equity this year. 

She has been appointed as Advisor to the Minister of State in Charge of Primary Healthcare in the Ministry of Health. We are incredibly proud of all her accomplishments and look forward to seeing the impact she has in her new role.

“I’m excited to work at the Ministry of Health as Advisor to the Minister of State in Charge of Primary Health Care because of the exposure it affords me to learn about Rwanda’s health sector extensively and the opportunity to be at the frontline of innovations happening in my country’s health field.”

– Denise Wanyana, B2R Fellow