MIZERO JESUIT ACADEMY PROJECT

MIZERO TVET SCHOOL is a Jesuit technical school. The school started as a Centre catering for the 1994 genocide orphans who were accommodated within the Jesuit novitiate premises. Years later, the former orphanage was transformed into a vocational training center, with the aim of helping genocide orphans unable to attend classical education, to learn some technical skills such as tailoring, culinary art, plumbing, and construction. Today, the school continues to welcome young girls and boys, particularly those from poor families, especially young girls as they are the most vulnerable, for vocational and practical formation. Most of these youth are the first-generation in their families to attend High school.

Today, the Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Education and Rwanda TVET Board (RTB), intends to significantly increase the number of students in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools to help young women and men study more practical and competitive skills to become job creators for themselves and for their peers instead of graduating as job seekers. “Mizero” means “Hope”. To give hope to the young women and men whose future depends on quality education and considering the need of increasing both the number of students and quality of education we provide in Mizero, Jesuits desire to grow and develop further the existing Mizero TVET School. We also plan to add a nursery, primary and secondary schools to respond to the need of the youth in the region who need quality education for their better future. This is also a response to the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus inviting the Jesuits to accompany the youth and be on the side of the simplest and the marginalized. The school serves mostly young women and men from poor families of the country.

To successfully do so, we need to boost infrastructure of the Technical School by building student’s dormitories, workshops for practices and adding more classes and other relevant infrastructure. The entire Mizero project is intended to be realized in three phases and it is will cost over Four million three hundred sixty-five thousand US dollars ($4,365,000).

The first phase is composed of the technical school that we currently have and that we are in the process of upgrading. The second phase will be the ordinary level program. Phase one and two will have two dormitories, a dining hall, a multipurpose hall, four workshops, an Administration bloc and recreational facilities. The third phase includes the primary and nursery schools and administrative offices. This will need classrooms, furniture, equipment and recreational facilities.

Any contribution to the Mizero Jesuit Academy project will be very much appreciated as it will help Jesuits and our lay collaborators to provide education to more young women and men from poor families in Rwanda and empower them with education and skills for their hope-filled future.

Your donations can be directed to the treasurer of the US East Jesuit Province who will send them to the Jesuit of Rwanda, or it can be directed through African Jesuit Assistance or directly to the Jesuit Region of Rwanda-Burundi.