Project background
We are focusing on providing education to Congolese refugees living in Rwanda through individual sponsorships of refugees. Rwanda is a beautiful country located in the heart of Africa and it is known as the land of a thousand hills.  Rwanda went through genocide only 20 years ago, where they estimate 1 million people died in about 100 days. Well, in the past decade the country has rebuilt itself, but in neighboring countries like the Congo, the killing continues. Therefore thousands and thousands of refugees flee to Rwanda in search of refuge. Rwanda is largely a Christian country, the majority being Catholics and then Adventists. The refugees are almost all Adventist.

This summer some of us students were able to visit Rwanda at the invitation of ADRA Rwanda and Impact Hope. Our purpose there was to get footage and hear stories that would help us promote our project. While we were there we saw what life was like in the refugee camps. Among many hardships of living in poverty such as hunger, small living spaces and eight-mile walks to school where students face the threat of rape and violence, refugee teenagers are often unable to finish their high school education. We decided to partnership with Impact Hope (a non-profit based in Portland and co-founded by an alumni of WWU) to change this. What they are doing and what we will be doing is sponsoring refugee kids to finish high school. As students ourselves we know that education is the key to opportunity and it is no different for these students in Rwanda.

While there, we visited some of the refugee students who were currently attending Adventist boarding academies and we asked them to tell us their story. We heard stories of hardship but also of renewed hope and big dreams through the opportunity they received to finish school. This is why we are calling our project Hope in the Hills.

Project goal
It costs $600 to sponsor a refugee for one year of high school. This means they get three meals a day, a bed to sleep on, personal toiletries, books for their classes and their transportation. The school year in Rwanda starts at the end of January, so that is why it is vital for us to raise a bulk of our funds this first quarter.

Our hope is to raise a total of $75,000 to help refugee students in Rwanda complete their high school education in three years. That’s why our team needs your help.

If you and your friends are willing to dedicate some time to raise money to sponsor one refugee kid to go to school, please contact us at aswwu.globalservice@wallawalla.edu.

ASWWU Global Service history
ASWWU’s Global Service department was created for the sole purpose of providing WWU students with avenues to make a positive impact on communities around our globe. We have a rich history of working to raise money through events, sales and donations for global, humanitarian efforts. Two years ago we raised money and built an orphanage in Uganda where we currently have student missionaries and last year we raised money to build a school in Indonesia.