Rwanda

About

This unique program, Story-Based Learning: Training Teachers in Rwanda, focuses on utilizing STORIES as the curricular platform in the classroom. Moving the class content from the student’s brains (thinking) to their hearts (feeling) by using their bodies (doing) to create their personal stories exposes valuable lessons in community building, conflict management and identity exploration. By engaging with deep Rwandan partnerships (over 12 years), the student delegation will immerse themselves in unique and authentic experiences in schools, Genocide memorials, safaris, urban and rural villages, local markets and personal cultural connections.

Buffalo State’s Anne Frank Project is proud to partner with multiple Rwandan government, education, and cultural institutions to ensure the most respectful, safe and transforming experience possible. Buffalo State's Anne Frank Project is proud to partner with multiple Rwandan government, education, and cultural institutions to ensure the most respectful, safe, and transforming experience possible.

Location

Kigali, Rwanda (view map) is the capital and largest city in the Republic of Rwanda. Just a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is an East Africa country bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda is highly elevated, with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savannas to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. Average daytime temperatures in June are 80F. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by most Rwandans, with English and French as additional official languages.

Dates

Travel: June (3 weeks)

Study:
Pre-Travel - Spring semester
Post-Travel - Fall semester (THA470)

Accepting Applications: ongoing

Application Deadline: November

Partnership

Buffalo State Leaders

Drew Kahn, Anne Frank Project
Jonise Hall, Anne Frank Project

Buffalo State Partners

International Professional Development Partnerships
Academic Affairs
Anne Frank Project

International Partners

The Experience

Program Components

Bi-weekly, spring semester training in Story-Based Learning preparing student delegation to be teacher trainers in Rwanda.
Rwanda trip (minimum 2 weeks): 2 days of teacher training and 1 day of teacher observation per week in public schools in Rwanda’s Gasabo District; additional time for guided processing and experiential learning.
AFP Annual Social justice Festival: Present personal Rwanda stories in the Anne Frank Project’s Annual Social Justice Festival.
Register for fall semester’s THA470: Ensemble Theater, processing the student Rwanda experiences through the creation of a short play which tours local high schools. EDU credit can be substituted for THA.

Why Stories?

The educational power of stories through performance can address crucial areas of learning. From the shaman of Mesopotamia 7,000 years ago using chanted stories to communicate survival strategies to their tribes, to the masked chorus of Greek tragedies in 6th century B.C. who translated the complexities of the gods to eager Athenians, to the soul stirring Intore dance of Rwanda where Ignoma drums bring century old rituals to us today—Stories remain at the heart of who we are, how we communicate and what moves us forward. Surfacing, developing and sharing stories through performance helps us to process huge events into tangible entities--the indescribable becomes understood and the overwhelming becomes manageable. StoryBuilding is the universal processing vocabulary of the human race.

African American woman standing behind a set of African drums and a multi-colored car holding drumsticks in the air

More Information

Visit the Anne Frank Project

For detailed information about the IPDP Rwanda experience, including upcoming application deadlines, costs, and participant blogs, visit the Anne Frank Project website. While you are there, explore the Story Based Learning initiative and Sophia's Legacy!

Anne Frank Project

To Apply

Overview

The Rwanda experience is coordinated by the Anne Frank Project.
Applicants fill out an online application through the International Education Office. DO NOT complete the IPDP application through the School of Education.

Eligibility:

- Open to university students of all disciplines
- Open to all educators, students, administrators and professionals also from related disciplines (e.g. social work or conflict mediation).
- Faculty members interested in leading their own Rwanda delegation are encouraged to apply.

NOTE: Previous delegations included participants in: Education, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, Theatre, Philosophy, and Art Education

Questions

Email

Drew Kahn, Director, Anne Frank Project
Jonise Hall, Assistant Director, Anne Frank Project