The U.S. Embassy hosted a virtual graduation ceremony Saturday in honor of 150 students from Rwanda’s Southern Province who recently completed the Embassy’s two-year “English Access Microscholarship Program.” The secondary school students began the English enrichment course in 2018 at three different sites: College Immaculee Conception, Save, in Gisagara District; Groupe Scolaire Mater Dei in Nyanza District; and Groupe Scolaire Mere du Verbe Kibeho in Nyaruguru District.
U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda Peter H. Vrooman recognized the students’ hard work and their perseverance through a long delay in class sessions because of Covid-19 restrictions.
“I congratulate all of the students who have successfully completed the intensive two-year English Access Microscholarship program,” Ambassador Vrooman said. “The United States has invested in you because we believe in you and because we believe in the power of education to open new doors for you and your families.”
The English Access Microscholarship Program is a two-year English enrichment program funded by the U.S. Embassy that provides students with 400 hours of supplementary English instruction and educational activities. The program helps develop the capacities of rural Rwandan youth through English teaching and educational, cultural, and personal development activities, providing talented youth with the English language skills they need to achieve academic and professional goals. Since 2015, the U.S. Embassy has partnered with Congrégation des Soeurs Benebikira to implement the program, focused primarily on rural students in the Southern Province.
Since its inception in 2004, over 110,000 students in more than 80 countries around the world have participated in the U.S. government-funded English Access Microscholarship Program. In Rwanda, the Access Program began in 2010 and more than 1,000 Rwandan students have participated in the program since then.