Stacks of notebooks with lined paper, cases full of pens. In the Global North, these items are listed on back-to-school shopping lists, but not everywhere in the world has these resources at their fingertips. As a teacher, how can you teach a student to write without access to pen and paper? Many schools in Rwanda suffer from low literacy rates due to this exact reason. Being illiterate can have drastic effects on a child’s future. This is why Wellspring works with teachers, leaders, and communities to find sustainable solutions to issues like this.

At Mbandazi Primary, a school in Wellspring’s School Development Program, the teachers used our training about making locally sourced and sustainable teaching aids to combat the issue of low literacy rates. In the rural Rusororo sector, where Mbandazi is located, clay and sand are in abundance. Teachers brought these materials into class and taught the students to mold letters in the clay and write in the sand. Literacy rates rapidly began improving.

Soon, the whole sector caught on to this unique solution. Teachers visited Mbandazi to observe this practice and take it back to their own school. Thanks to this ingenious use of sustainable teaching aids, literacy rates among children are dramatically increasing throughout the whole sector. Now, students are learning how to read and write at a young age, which sets them up for success in the later grades and empowers them for the future.

Because of Wellspring’s training in the use of sustainable teaching aids, these children are now learning to write, a skill that is invaluable. This would not be possible without your support. Your partnership allows our trainers to visit schools and offer training to leaders, teachers, and parents. 

Your partnership is transforming lives.

But this story is not the end. There is so much more to be done as Wellspring expands to a new region of Rwanda, the Rubavu District. We want these children receive the same quality education that they would anywhere else in the world. Will you help us?