Empower Refugee Youth Through Dance

As another year comes to a close in Rwanda, MindLeaps reflects on the full cycle of our students’ progress:

Current MindLeaps Students
Our class of new girls who joined in 2017 have completed MindLeaps' full program and are ready to move on to school in January 2018. We are now finding sponsors to support them at the school that is right for their age and education level.  Some will go to primary school, others to secondary school and still others will enroll in vocational training.  The girls are looking forward to returning to school and pursuing their career goals, like Joyeuse who wants to become a doctor, and Francine who dreams of becoming a secondary school teacher. You can read biographies of our students who are ready for the next phase of their lives here: http://mindleapssponsorships.weebly.com.  

On November 4, several of our students performed at Heaven Restaurant.  This gave them the opportunity to collaborate and showcase their progress. The performance was staged by American dancers Chase Johnsey and Carlos Renedo of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

Graduated MindLeaps Students
For our students who completed MindLeaps program in 2016 or earlier, their schooling continues. They recently completed their Term 3 exams and will be moving to the next grade level.  Most of the students improved in GPAs over the course of the year and several scored in the 90% range and higher. You can see an example of the report of one of our top students, Ally, below. Several of our students are away at boarding school, and now that the academic year in Rwanda has finished, we are happy to see them visiting our Center again. Our alumni always know that they can come back to MindLeaps during school breaks to catch up on their dance classes and have a meal.

Future MindLeaps Students
In January 2018, MindLeaps Rwanda will welcome a new class of vulnerable youth. As always, they will begin with our dance curriculum that targets seven cognitive and social-emotional learning skills, followed by academic acceleration courses and IT training. In 2018, we will also be piloting an expanded sexual and reproductive health curriculum to help our adolescent age girls and boys. We look forward to sharing with you news of our new class of students in our next report.

From MindLeaps students and staff in Rwanda, we wish you a happy and healthy holiday season and new year.

Throughout the summer, our students leapt to new heights – on the stage and in the classroom.

In July, our students were invited to perform at the international Ubumuntu Arts Festival in Kigali, Rwanda. The festival aims to promote peace building and healing from violence. MindLeaps Rwanda teacher Ssali Eugene and American dancer Caitlyn Casson worked with several students to choreograph and stage a new work that was performed at the festival. The piece, called “Torn Together”, was performed on the first night of the festival in front of an audience of thousands. 

After the performance, Caitlyn said, “These children have come so far. When you see them on stage, you cannot imagine that they do not go to school or have a safe place to sleep at night. On stage, they are free – and they are artists.”

You can watch a video on MindLeaps' participation in Ubumuntu 2017 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHxCrm_vhUA

In August, MindLeaps welcomed two prestigious dancers from Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo to our MindLeaps Center in Rwanda.  Chase Johnsey, winner of The Critics Circle Best Male Dancer prize at the National Dance Awards, joined Carlos Renedo as part of MindLeaps’ Train the Trainers program. Chase and Carlos provided 40 hours of intensive classical ballet training and contemporary dance technique to MindLeaps instructors and advanced dance students.

Chase and Carlos also visited several of our kids' families to learn more about their lives and the challenging situations they face every day. After visiting one of the student’s homes, Carlos said: “The first thing that caught my attention was the size of what they call their home… a tiny bench, a mattress on the floor and a couple cooking pots against the corner. That is it… Despite it being the first time that I personally experienced real poverty first hand, Passy’s mom made sure I felt welcome... It certainly is a very humbling experience to get to see where and in what conditions these loving people live in.” 

Our partnership with Akazi Kanoze also launched over the summer. Akazi Kanoze’s mission is to provide Rwandan youth with the employability skills, capital, and support necessary to take advantage of economic opportunities. This partnership helped MindLeaps' students take the next steps in their careers. Our older students have frequently been out of school for many years, and it is too late for many of them to return to primary school.  For these youth, once they have been rehabilitated through MindLeaps dance program, we raise scholarships to send those children to vocational training centers rather than regular primary school. We have several students currently in vocational school, and several more that have already graduated. We partnered with Akazi Kanoze to provide our graduated VTC students with the employability, business, and entrepneurial skills needed to significantly contribute to the economic development of their families, communities and country. 

After a summer filled with dance, inspiring international guest artists and job skills training, these youth are taking important steps to becoming independent, successful members of their community.  Thank you for making this transformation possible!

Links:

• MindLeaps at Ubumuntu