Rwanda

This unique program, Story-Based Learning: Training Teachers in Rwanda, focuses on utilizing STORIES as the curricular platform in the classroom. Moving the class content from the student’s brains (thinking) to their hearts (feeling) by using their bodies (doing) to create their personal stories exposes valuable lessons in community building, conflict management and identity exploration. By engaging with deep Rwandan partnerships (over 12 years), the student delegation will immerse themselves in unique and authentic experiences in schools, Genocide memorials, safaris, urban and rural villages, local markets and personal cultural connections. Buffalo State’s Anne Frank Project is proud to partner with multiple Rwandan government, education, and cultural institutions to ensure the most respectful, safe and transforming experience possible. Buffalo State's Anne Frank Project is proud to partner with multiple Rwandan government, education, and cultural institutions to ensure the most respectful, safe, and transforming experience possible.

Program Overview

Dates

Travel: June 2-18, 2024

Study:
Pre-Travel - Spring 2024
Post-Travel - Fall 2024 (THA470)

Accepting Applications: ongoing

Application Deadline: November

Location

Kigali, Rwanda (view map) is the capital and largest city in the Republic of Rwanda. Just a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is an East Africa country bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda is highly elevated, with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savannas to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. Average daytime temperatures in June are 80F. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by most Rwandans, with English and French as additional official languages.

Costs

The current program estimate of $5000 includes: round-trip flight, lodging, group ground transportation, group cultural excursions, travel health and evacuation insurance, administrative fees, and passport. Final program costs are determined once all participants are enrolled. Some expenses are included in a one-time fee applied to participants' Buffalo State tuition. Other expenses participants direct-pay to vendors before and during travel.

Partnership

Buffalo State Leaders
Drew Kahn, Anne Frank Project
Jonise Hall, Anne Frank Project

Buffalo State Partners
Academic Affairs
Anne Frank Project

International Partners
Global Engagement Institute
Urukundo Learning Center/Foundation
Kigali Genocide Memorial

About the Program

Why Stories?

The educational power of stories through performance can address crucial areas of learning. From the shaman of Mesopotamia 7,000 years ago using chanted stories to communicate survival strategies to their tribes, to the masked chorus of Greek tragedies in 6th century B.C. who translated the complexities of the gods to eager Athenians, to the soul stirring Intore dance of Rwanda where Ignoma drums bring century old rituals to us today—Stories remain at the heart of who we are, how we communicate and what moves us forward. Surfacing, developing and sharing stories through performance helps us to process huge events into tangible entities--the indescribable becomes understood and the overwhelming becomes manageable. StoryBuilding is the universal processing vocabulary of the human race.

Program Components:

Bi-weekly, spring semester training in Story-Based Learning preparing student delegation to be teacher trainers in Rwanda.
Rwanda trip (minimum 2 weeks): 2 days of teacher training and 1 day of teacher observation per week in public schools in Rwanda’s Gasabo District; additional time for guided processing and experiential learning.
AFP Annual Social justice Festival: Present personal Rwanda stories in the Anne Frank Project’s Annual Social Justice Festival.
Register for fall semester’s THA470: Ensemble Theater, processing the student Rwanda experiences through the creation of a short play which tours local high schools. EDU credit can be substituted for THA.

How to Apply

clipboard with pen Applicants must fill out this online application from SUNY Buffalo State's International Education Office. Interviews will take place after the application process.

Eligibility:

- Educators, students, administrators and professionals also from related disciplines (e.g. social work or conflict mediation) may be eligible to participate. In particular, faculty members interested in leading their own Rwanda delegation are encouraged to apply.
- University students of all disciplines are welcome to apply. Previous delegations included: Education, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, Theatre, Philosophy, and Art Education.

Click Here to Apply