Happy International Day of Happiness! In honour of this day dedicated to recognizing the power and importance of happiness in our lives, we are sharing some testimonies from parents, teachers and school leaders, sharing how Wellspring’s training and support has brought them happiness! We hope you’re encouraged by these stories.

Happy at School

“I have three children; the first is 8, the second is 7, and the last is 4. The first has a disability. Since I brought her to school, many things changed. I talked to the teachers, asking them to be patient with her if she’s late for school. They have received her and teach her. Since the teachers started to help her, now she is happy, she learns, she plays, and I also feel comfortable and happy that my child is well at school. 

What I’m grateful for is that I brought my child; she has been received, and now she is developing and learning. I am grateful that the parent committee at school has helped me to integrate my child among the others. Thank you very much for being here and for showing us that we are not alone in this.”
— Yvonne, parent of a child with a disability

“Because I got close to one student and cared for him, he was excited about learning and staying in school. I also noticed in the classroom that he is happy and always takes care of his school materials. The transformation that I have seen in him is incredible!

I noticed he started to miss days of school. When he was in class, he wasn’t engaging in the lessons. I sat down with him and listened to his challenges. He shared that he came from a broken family. His parents were not able to provide school materials, and they couldn’t always afford to eat at home. Often he would come to school hungry and unable to focus. I learned that he was eager to learn and wanted to continue his studies. He asked his me to pray with him—that God would meet his daily needs, and that he would be able to keep learning despite his obstacles.

I looked at this child the way I see every child in my classroom—they can learn. Whatever I had to do to support this child, I did. I provided him with school materials and food to eat. Now, he doesn’t miss class or his lessons. He is happy, and he loves school! He feels safe, and whenever he lacks anything, he knows that I will support him.”
— Bibiane, primary school teacher

Happy at Home

“The very evening of our training by Wellspring on Healthy Families and Communities, when I arrived home, I found my husband and greeted him. We sat and started to chat, asking him how his day was. I shared with him also how mine was, and I told him that we learned the importance of increasing communication in the family. I also called our children, and we had a conversation. This surprised everyone, but they were happy and committed to change. 

Before this training, I used to be silent at home and never talked to my husband or to my children. We never made time to plan home activities together as a family. Our children never saw us sitting together and talking with joy. Anyone who met us could see our poor communication skills. This situation affected our children because they could not share with us anything about their lives and learning, and we parents never asked them. After the training and after talking together, we all recognized that with such attitudes of not communicating, we were afflicting one another. Personally, I confessed my weaknesses regarding family communication and promised to change and work for its betterment.”
— Mother from a Rubavu School

Happy to Learn

“At Isangano Primary school, we have new young teachers who need to keep up with the upcoming technology. After receiving the invitation, we were happy because we know we were going to acquire knowledge and skills that will be vital in our teaching and also our daily lives. 

When we consider the daily lives of women in general, we find that most of the time, women are shy when it comes to using technology, and [they] don’t get enough time for it because of a lot of tasks she is handling all at the same time such as taking care of the family, children and also the job activities. Because of [these] reasons, she doesn’t get enough time for [technology]. But when she is equipped with skills on technology, it will be easy for her to do all that quickly and then save the time she was wasting while doing it without technology. So as a woman, I can say that it is a blessing that we got the opportunity to get some training on technology. It made me happy because before today that I wasn’t familiar with the difference between folder and file. Today, I’m happy that I know it.”
— Chantal, Primary School Head Teacher 

“Information and communication technologies (ICT) training is one of the most important things in life, Mostly in our daily activities as teachers, because ICT is something used by all categories of people, both young and older generations. Most importantly in education, it’s something the Rwandan government is trying to reinforce so that we can keep up with this ever-changing world. I’m very happy to attend this training; it’s a valuable thing that I was able to attend.”
— Emmy, Primary School Head Teacher

Happy to Support

“Since I started paying for my daughter’s school fees, her performance has improved! I am happy for her, and from that day, I committed to being a part of the community mobilizers for the school feeding program!

When the school feeding program started in the schools, I didn’t support it because we live close enough for my daughter to come home to take her lunch. But sometimes, she could not find food at home when her mother was not there. One day I found her crying, and when I asked her the reason, she said that she couldn’t find food at home and I had not paid school feeding fees for her to have lunch at school like other children. She even added that she wouldn’t return to school until I paid for her school feeding. This challenged me, and I told her I will pay for her. Now she eats lunch at school and is happy and doing well in her studies.”
— Father from a Rubavu School

Thank you for being a part of the community that has made these stories of transformation and happiness possible. You make us happy!