Students move to ease access to scholarships

Nowadays, many people are increasingly aspiring for an education in more diverse communities. Over the past years, many Rwandans have been attending schools in the East African Community, North Africa, Europe, America, etc. However, most institutions require some common standardised tests for the college admissions process. Recently, Rwandan students in Diaspora started a nonprofit organisation to help students back home to prepare for standardised tests and increase their chances to pursue higher education. Anselme Mucunguzi, the founder of Inspire Scholars Foundation (ISF), said: “Being able to score high on standardised tests such as Act, Sat, or TEOFL offers thousands of opportunities of academic scholarships all over the world. Not many students have been taking these tests in Rwanda, but we believe that if they are provided with study materials, they can do well.”This last summer, ISF started its activities in Karongi, Nyamagabe, Gisagara, Nyamasheke, and Nyaruguru district, where they selected 25 Senior Five students based on their performance in a written exam, leadership skills, and involvement in the community. “We will also work more with the youth in rural areas. There, students usually have limited access to the internet, which comes in handy when one is preparing for standardised tests and applying for scholarships,” said Denyse Niwenshuti, the coordinator of the selection process. The selected students were provided with English books, flash cards, and interactive CDs to help them to prepare for college entrance exams required for undergraduate admissions. “Lots of scholarships for international students are provided in developed countries. Our vision is to bring awareness of these opportunities to Rwandan people. We got the idea to not only bring awareness but also to offer guidance, academic resources, and necessary funds important to meet the requirements needed to apply for those scholarships,” said Lea Sarabwe, the ISF chief operations officer.An intensive English language course will be organised in December. In upcoming years, ISF hopes to work with more districts. Ultimately, they hope that through this initiative potential future leaders will be able to get quality education and bring solutions to the challenges their respective communities face.