Towards a Christian School of Excellence in Rwanda

Nancy and I were pleased to host a delegation from Greater Atlanta Christian School and Oklahoma Christian University over the past few days. The group's primary purpose was to meet key Rwandan government leaders especially in the field of education and to present a proposal for a school of excellence to help train the next generation of Africa's leaders in Central and East Africa, thus the acronym 'CASE' for Central Africa School of Excellence. At each meeting the GACS/OC group sought the wisdom and advice of Rwandan leaders to help shape the dream to fit the African and Rwandan cultural context and the educational needs of the region.

CASE is designed to be a boarding school with a projected enrollment of up to 2000 students. It will be a 'sister school' to Greater Atlanta Christian School and will feature a teacher and student exchange program to foster both excellent education as well as the forming of lifetime friendships between Africans and Americans. The project would also feature a university-level teacher training college to produce skilled teachers both for CASE and for Rwanda's educational system. A third component of the proposal is an agricultural training program to offer the best in innovative and environmentally-friendly farming methods for Rwanda.





Meeting with the Minister of State for Agriculture






The size of the project is going to require a significant amount of land. So a second purpose of the delegation's visit was to seek the Rwandan government's help in identifying potential sites for the school. Some sites were considered both in the capital, Kigali, as well as in surrounding areas.
The people from GACS/OC were deeply impressed with the dedication and commitment of Rwanda's leaders to sacrificially serve their people and to use all resources at their disposal to overcome their recent tragic history. They were also grateful for the warm welcome they received in Rwanda.