The Secondary School Project is in Kigali, Rwanda which is in need of a Christ-centered secondary school (equivalent to junior and senior high school in the U.S.). Rwanda is continuing to rebuild itself from the devastation of the 1994 Genocide, and educating the next generation of Rwandans to lead their country as deeply committed Christians, is mission central for ABFM to strengthen Rwanda against future tragedies. ABFM, in collaboration with AHM will undertake to raise support for this high school project, which will be owned and operated by Calvary Temple Churches, similar to Bright Future Christian Primary School, located in Nyagatare, Eastern Province, Rwanda.

Project estimates prepared by Gilgal Architects, translated into U.S. dollars based on 2018 construction estimates:
Phase One – $1.5 million
Phase Two – $1 million
Phase Three – $1 million
Total projected costs – $3.5 million

The progress to date

The 7.7-acre site is located approximately 10 miles south of the capital city of Kigali in the Kayenzi village area of the Nyamata sector, Bugesera district (Eastern Province). The site is situated along the route between the current Kigali airport and the new international airport 25 miles to the south and east, currently under construction in the Rilima sector of Bugesera district.

Site location

Property Photo

Several outside parties have been involved to prepare for construction. Engineering Ministries International surveyed the land in May 2017, and architectural drawings and plans were prepared in May 2018, all in support of construction permit applications to local authorities. The construction permit was received in May 2019, allowing the next step to proceed – securing bids for components of the project cost, including site preparation.

Construction is anticipated to take 15 to 18 months for Phase One, assuming no unforeseen interruptions and adequate fund raising. Securing funding commitments during 2019 and 2020, plus 3-5 months for contracting, could put the first school year for Phase One students as early as January 2022.

Rendering of Boy’s’ and Girl’s Dormitories

The Future of Rwanda Depends On the Future of Christian Education
The Case for Bright Future Secondary School
By Holly Owens

With gangly arms, long legs, and a tentative smile, twelve year-old Kayitare Godfrey represents the future of Rwanda. Born in the decade after the genocide that claimed more than a million lives in just one hundred days, children like this pre-teen boy will one day hold positions of power Rwanda.

But, like Rwanda, Kayitare is caught between two worlds - between the past and the future - and both futures hang in the balance.

Caught Between Two Worlds

One year ago, Kayitare Godfrey graduated from Rwanda’s Bright Future Primary School in Nyagatare. His Christian education in primary school taught him to respect others. Teachers gently discipled him with God’s love. He graduated with a love of learning.

Bright Future Primary planted in him the seeds of truth, goodness and beauty…everything virtuous that the genocide sought to destroy in Rwanda’s people.

But with no sister school to transfer to, and secondary school options extremely limited and lacking, bright-eyed students like Kayitare are at the mercy of the government for their education.

The government makes the final decision for each child based on examination scores, and students are limited by available openings.

In Kayitare’s case, he landed far, far away in a secondary school on a hill in the far north bordering Uganda. The other 100+ sponsored students his age are likewise scattered all over Rwanda.

An Authoritarian Method

Thankfully, Jackson Gashumba, the full-time child sponsorship coordinator for Africa Bright Future Ministries (ABFM), checks on the welfare of all these ABFM sponsored students. He also delivers sponsorship funds and snaps current pictures.

To travel to Kayitare’s secondary school on the Ugandan border, he must designate an entire day round-trip.

Not only are these students placed in secondary schools far away geographically, but the current schools do not teach the Christian formation and virtue that the Bright Future Primary School instills in students.

Dylan Thompson, the 2017 summer student intern for ABFM, observed this inadequacy firsthand as he traveled the countryside with Jackson. “Rwanda’s school system is very authoritarian.”

Pastor Patrick Twagirayesu serves as Founder and President of Africa Bright Future Ministries (ABFM) in the U.S. and also Africa Harvest Mission (AHM) in Rwanda. AHM is the sister organization that started Bright Future Primary School. He believes part of the reason why Rwanda remains in an authoritarian teaching method is that the teachers have not been trained on how to form mutually respectful relationships with the students. This approach may contribute to future college degrees that don’t measure up to the level of an American college degree because the students are not always taught critical thinking skills.

Students like Kayitare still desperately need an education, as well as continued sponsorship. But the Christian foundation they knew in primary school is no longer present.

The Vision Takes Shape

Pastor Patrick, a visionary and a man of prayer, believes the key to Rwanda’s future lies in building a feeder secondary school for future graduates of Bright Future Primary School.

So, in 2016, ABFM purchased a 7.7 acre parcel of land located just 10km south of Kigali. Future facilities will include the secondary school, specialized classrooms (for science, art, music, and special needs education), dormitories for 900 students, staff housing, and a dining hall.

Engineering Ministries International Canada (EMI) drew up a Master Plan in March 2018. Based on these conceptual designs, a local architectural firm in Kigali, called Genesis Gilgal Group, will create the official building designs.

Key design elements include locally-sourced materials and “environmentally sensitive and sustainable processes for its water, sanitation, and power infrastructure.” Once the government grants formal approval for construction, fundraising can begin in earnest this Fall 2018.

The Need

Bruce MacMahon, board member of ABFM, predicts that the project will need $1 million in order to begin construction on Phase One. As fundraising efforts get underway this Fall in the U.S., he shares that, “ The vision to educate our sponsored secondary students continues to take shape. While our students currently attend local public schools, one day they will receive guidance from teachers who love Jesus, much like students all over the world who attend classical Christian schools.”

To summarize the scope of the project, EMI’s Master Plan states that, “The Bright Future Secondary School endeavors to be a boarding school inclusive of grades 7-12, subsidized beyond the standards of typical public schools in Rwanda, while maintaining standards as high as that of a fully private international school. Its goals are to provide an excellent education in an atmosphere of solid moral teaching and to give students an opportunity to pursue meaningful and successful careers, becoming people of positive impact within their communities and on their country.”

Dylan is eager to see such a high school become a reality for the young girl his family sponsors, an adorable five year-old named Lucky Naila. He and Pastor Patrick believe that this school will be just what Rwanda needs...a community that will foster a Christ-centered education for Lucky Naila and other students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“This Building Will Be A Catalyst”

As Pastor Patrick explains, the genocide occurred even though people knew their Bibles and believed in Jesus. But they lacked the ability to ask the moral questions that would have prevented them from killing their neighbors. Christian knowledge, virtue and discernment would have stopped them from ever blindly considering picking up an axe.

Ultimately, Pastor Patrick’s vision for the secondary school involves the healing of the nation.

Standing on the property, he pointed out that, “The land is going to be the seating or the place of Bright Future Secondary School. This land has been purchased. Our next challenge is now to raise a building that will be a catalyst for the godly leaders that will influence our nation toward the right direction. You can be a part of this.”

One day, Jackson won’t have to travel all day to reach these sponsored students. Students like Lucky Naila can go directly from primary school to a secondary school that will continue her Christian formation. Rwandan children will not have to scatter all over the country, like Kayitare and the first generation of BFS graduates.

And these like-minded students can stay together under one roof learning all that God has for them as future leaders of Rwanda.

The sooner the better for these students…and for Rwanda.

Visit www.africabrightfuture.org today to donate funds to help make Bright Future
Questions? Contact us at info@africabrightfuture.org or 208-871-1075