Welcome to the first edition of our new Ignite newsletter!
Written exclusively for you as a monthly partner, this newsletter will provide you with regular updates about the work you’re supporting, the people you’re partnering with, and the lives you’re impacting. We’re so grateful for your faithful partnership, and are excited to give you a deeper glimpse into the very real difference you’re making. So grab a cuppa, pull up a chair at the Wellspring “kitchen table,” and enjoy!
A Reminder of Your Impact
Before we get you caught up on what our teams have been up to in Rwanda & Uganda, we want to start by reminding you of the difference you’re making through your monthly support. It’s the sustained commitment of faithful partners like you that makes Wellspring’s work effective, impactful, and sustainable. Why?
You’re placing RELATIONSHIP at the centre, and relationship is at the heart of everything Wellspring does! Your gift represents an ongoing partnership—as you journey alongside our team, and the teachers, parents, and students we serve—and through these regular newsletters, our goal is to deepen that sense of relationship.
You’re building CULTURE by allowing Wellspring’s team to build on training with ongoing coaching and mentoring that helps schools and communities to flourish (check out some joyful examples here!)
You’re ensuring SUSTAINABILITY by supporting our long-term approach that seeks to bring about change that is lasting and will impact generations to come. This work is a marathon, not a sprint, and our monthly donors are with us along every kilometre!
And you’re allowing us to plan and steward our resources well, as reliable recurring gifts provide a solid FOUNDATION for our work today and for the opportunities ahead.
THANK YOU!
The Goals That Guide Us!
Our work at Wellspring is driven by a vision to see every child thrive—intellectually, emotionally, physically, relationally—in classrooms, homes, and communities that nurture their growth and unleash their potential. With your support, we have incredible opportunities in the months ahead to work towards this vision as we focus in on these 3 crucial areas:
- Bringing Life to Learning: Sparking joy, fun, and engagement in classrooms as we invest in teachers and leaders.
- Nurturing Healthy Homes: Cultivating supportive, engaged, empowered communities as we invest in parents and families.
- Building Inner Strength: Developing emotional health, wellbeing, and resilience as we invest in young people and their futures.
And now let’s see what this is all looking like in practice, in Rwanda and Uganda, as we share a few highlights from the past couple of months!
Bringing Life to Learning
as we Build Teachers’ Digital Skills
We’re now providing an innovative hybrid version of our training that’s not only increasing access, particularly for women who have often lacked opportunities to grow their technical toolkit, but is also developing crucial IT skills that will set them up for success. Teachers can watch our training online when it’s most convenient for them, follow up with coaching from our team during regular school visits, and can also use these new IT skills to create more diverse and engaging lessons for their students. In recent weeks, our Blended Digital Learning team has been writing, editing, designing, recording, filming, and sharing digital training for teachers in the important areas of lesson planning and gender-responsive approaches. This approach is making a huge difference to teachers and leaders in Rwanda’s Rubavu district, including 58 year old Aurea:
“I used to fear technology, saying that I am not concerned as a woman and especially an old woman. But after the training… I send emails, SMS, and WhatsApp messages to colleagues. I am no longer afraid of teaching subjects like science and elementary technology where ICT lessons are taught. I will use this training to help others, specifically old women like me working here in my school, to try to use computers by themselves. I will assist others who are struggling.”
You can read more about Aurea’s inspiring story here
Nurturing Healthy Homes
as we Invest in Families and Communities
It is really exciting to see our Life in Families and Communities module, which has been so impactful in Rwanda, being rolled out now in Uganda’s Rakai District. In late January, three of our Wellspring team members headed to Rakai to support the team of Kuwasha trainers as they ran this 3-day training with 60 enthusiastic and engaged parents. This training provided parents with practical tools, while also enriching their understanding in the two key areas of positive behaviour management and gender & inclusiveness. Following the training, it was wonderful to hear the feedback of participants:
- “This training has given me insight on how we as parents can create an environment of equity and equality, especially with our girls both at school and home.”
- “This has been a very good training, it has opened my eyes to my family’s foundation and how that affects not just my family but also the community. I am going to go back and do something about it and even start using positive discipline, not just beating my children whenever they do something bad.”
- “The training has created in me the desire of looking back in my life. I identified that I have never created time for my family members. After knowing that among the best gifts you can give to your family members is time and having fun with them, I tried it and all my family members were happy about it and were asking why we did not have this before.”
Building Inner Strength
as we Equip Young People with Essential Life Skills
Through CorStone’s Youth First program, which we are delivering in 55 schools across 7 Rwandan school districts, we are having the incredible opportunity to witness real change in the lives of students. Teenagers in these schools are being equipped with skills and knowledge for social and emotional wellbeing and resilience, and their teachers are being impacted too.
One mature student shared recently about how this training is helping him to thrive in the midst of significant challenges. As a young adult in his late teens, he was hesitant to stay in school alongside much younger classmates, fearing that he would be bullied, laughed at, or isolated. However, when the Youth First sessions started at his school, he became part of a small group and began to feel much more welcome at school. The guidelines set up for this group have fostered a sense of equality and respect, and created an environment in which students feel engaged and free to share ideas. This young adult student has set a goal of completing his studies, and shared that the Youth First training has equipped him with the tools to be resilient as he works towards this goal. This is reason to celebrate!
What’s Coming Up in Canada?
We’re thrilled to be running in-person events again, and hope that this will give us the opportunity to see you face-to-face before long. In particular, we’re excited to invite you a brand new event for 2023 … and an old favourite too!
This April, we are launching a new series of events called Drive for Dignity, and the first of these (featuring real live in-person Rwandan team members 🎉!) will be taking place in:
BURLINGTON, ON on April 19th
VANCOUVER, BC on April 25th
Click on the links above to learn more and to register today!
We are also excited to be running our 2023 Lake2Lake Ride for Rwanda in BC’s Okanagan region and in Southern Ontario too. Learn more about these plans and how you can be involved at lake2lake.org.
Would You Pray With Us?
We are so grateful for the prayers of our partner community as we rally together to see every child receive the quality education they deserve. Would you join us in praying for:
- God’s provision in every area of our work, and that God would grant our team—in Rwanda, Uganda, and Canada—strength and peace in this season.
- Our team in Rwanda’s Rubavu District as they continue visiting schools to understand issues of dropout and absenteeism, and work to identify good local responses to these challenges.
- Our upcoming Drive for Dignity events: that logistics would come together, we would have a full house, guests would enjoy their time with us, and that Libby, Amina, and Gilbert—our visiting Rwandan colleagues—would experience safe travel to Canada.
- Our brothers and sisters in Rwanda, as they prepare to enter into a national time of remembering and mourning this April. Please join us in praying that God’s steadfast love will bring comfort, assurance, and hope.
How can we be praying for you?
We invite you to reach out if our Wellspring team can be praying for you, or if you would simply like to connect. We always love to hear from you!