A project by JCI Hesse
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The project

We are aiming to build a school in the rural regions of Rwanda – where access to education is so urgently needed. Thus please support this international charity project, which we Jaycees carry out in cooperation with the renowned foundation FLY & HELP.

  • Since 2009, the foundation has already implemented more than 330 school projects. Every cent donated is used 1:1 for construction. The foundation bears the administrative costs itself.
  • The project initiator, entrepreneur and philanthropist Reiner Schmidt (WJ Limburg-Weilburg-Diez) will double the amount donated up to EUR 25,000.
  • Target total volume: EUR 25,000 to EUR 50,000.

A donation of only 10 EUR enables a child in Rwanda to go to school for a whole year! Even a small donation has a great effect.

Why our support is so important

The poorest countries of the world are far behind on their way to an education that is equal to opportunities and of high quality. According to the World Education Report 2019, around 64 million children of primary school age have no opportunity to go to school. More than 35 million of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa. The report further states:

  • The poorer the population, the worse the chances of obtaining a school-leaving certificate. In emerging countries, children generally have no or only insufficient access to education.
  • Educational opportunities also vary greatly depending on where the family lives and their disposable income: Children and young people in rural areas finish school less often than their peers in the city. This is also due to the fact that investment in schools and other educational facilities is often only made in the cities.

How the project Schools for Rwanda came into being

The roots of the project go back to the year 2012: The project initiator Reiner Schmidt was at that time local president of Wirtschaftsjunioren Limburg-Weilburg-Diez. At the local presidents’ meeting in Berlin he got to know and appreciate Markus Buhr, the president of the neighboring chapter of Westerwald/Lahn. Markus Buhr reported on his idea to build a school in Rwanda with the FLY & HELP Foundation. Reiner Schmidt was immediately enthusiastic about this project and advocated that his chapter should also support it financially.

One year later the two of them flew to Rwanda with the founder of the foundation, Reiner Meutsch. During this delegation trip a school was inaugurated, which was built with the help of JCI.

Our project initiator Reiner Schmidt remembers:

“The school inauguration at that time, the country Rwanda and the people there impressed me very much. Especially the honest and deep gratitude that was shown to us has left a deep impression on me. But also the small means with which effective and sustainable aid can be provided in Africa. Amounts that are manageable for us are changing the lives of many 100 children there – in the long term!”

After this formative experience, Reiner Schmidt was convinced that this project would have to be repeated on a larger scale.