Once they have finished secondary education, the children of the L'Esperance Children's Aid in Kigarama on the shore of lake Kivu have to leave the orphanage.

They leave the children’s village with diploma’s in accounting, nursery science etc. But in Rwanda it is very difficult to find a job without a University degree. That is the main reason why the majority of the children want to attend University.

Since they are orphans they often do not have a place where to go, nor do they have someone to support them financially while attending University. Most of the kids who go to University have to work for their living at the same time. Often they need to share poorly equipped rooms with many other students in Kigali, where most of Universities are located. Rwanda is one of the most expensive countries of the entire African continent and life in Kigali is extremely expensive.

The University expenses, including University Fees, registration fees as well as copy and material expenses make out an average of 80$ (approx. 70€) per month. Living expenses including expenses for water and food, rent, charcoal and electricity subsume at an average of 150$ (approx. 115€)monthly.

We believe in the future development of Rwanda by giving the children the chance to become medical doctors, lawyers, economists or whatever they would like to become. In the long run the Children’s Village Kigarama is aiming to build an Eco Lodge at the shores of Lake Kivu. The proceeds of this income generating project will be used exclusively to cover all the educational needs of the orphans from Kindergarten up to University.

The University Project is aiming to fill the gap until the Eco Lodge will be finished and will start to provide the financial support to the young orphans. At the moment, four young adults will be supported in finishing their studies with the financial support of the University Project: Dorothy, Odette, Eldad and Elisée.

Please visit the project website for more information: www.lesperancerwanda.org/uproj/