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RISING ABOVE the STORMS Essentials

We still cannot believe our inaugural Rwanda Immersion Trip has come and gone. ❤️🇷🇼 For this first journey, 10 of our donors and supporters from across the United States, led by our founder @alphonsine_ras, came together in Rwanda to experience the heart of @risingabovethestorms firsthand—to learn, serve, connect with our students and staff, and better understand the communities behind the work they have helped make possible. Over the next few posts, we’ll take you back through this unforgettable week, beginning with Day 1. We started at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest. It was a solemn and essential beginning—time to learn, reflect, and honor the lives of our loved ones who were taken simply because they were Tutsi. From remembrance, the day opened into Rwanda’s culture, creativity, energy, and beauty. We enjoyed lunch with live music, visited Irebe Arts Center to watch a weaving demonstration and support local artisans, experienced the lively Kimironko Market, and ended the afternoon watching the sunset at Nyandungu Eco Park before gathering for dinner. Day 1 gave our guests important context. To understand the work of RAS and the young people we serve, it matters to understand both the history that shaped Rwanda and the resilience, beauty, and hope that define the country today. And that was only the beginning. ❤️ #RiseAbove #RisingAbovetheStorms #Rwanda #Kwibuka32 #VisitRwanda #Community #Impact

4 days before our first RAS immersion group arrives, final preparations are in motion. Our founder, @alphonsine_ras has arrived in Rwanda ahead of the group and is working with our Rwanda team to prepare student activities, coordinate supplies, review logistics, and get ready to welcome our visitors. Thanks to generous donors, the laptops and community service project have been funded. Additional gifts will help us purchase and provide more of what students and families need while we are there, including school supplies, groceries, program materials, and items identified by our Rwanda team. We are grateful for everyone helping make this visit meaningful for our students, staff, and community. There is still time to support the campaign: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/rising-above-the-storms/ras-immersion-trip-to-rwanda-2026 More to come as our guests arrive #RiseAbove #StudentSupport #WholeChildSupport #EducationAccess

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲. ❤️🇷🇼 Nearly 40 RAS students, from fourth grade through university, joined us at the Center for a day intentionally built around connection. 🎨 Through icebreakers, LEGO, origami, puzzles, games, and conversation, our students and guests quickly connected. Christy designed and led the activities, while Idrissa—our first college graduate and one of our earliest students—stepped in to translate and support others. #Teamwork 🙌🏾 📸 By the end, no one seemed ready to leave. Students and guests lingered for photos, laughter, and more conversation. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥. ☕ We capped the day with our first 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚, joined by @cisco employees around the world and special guest Fran Katsoudas, @Cisco’s Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer. Fran shared powerful lessons on resilience, leadership, knowing your values, taking ownership of your future, and using success to create opportunities for others. Our students also had the opportunity to ask her questions directly. ⚡ Even a brief power outage couldn’t stop the momentum—we adapted and kept going. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. ❤️🇷🇼 #RiseAbove #RisingAbovetheStorms #Rwanda #Education #Cisco #Community

Students need support that reaches beyond the classroom. At RAS, education support includes more than school fees, uniforms, and supplies. It also includes trusted adults, counseling, creative expression, life-skills activities, sports, and spaces where students can build confidence, discipline, teamwork, and resilience. These are the supports that help students stay steady, connected, and ready to keep learning. Because helping a child remain in school also means supporting the whole child. #RiseAbove #WholeChildSupport #StudentSupport #EducationAccess #YouthDevelopment

❤️🇷🇼 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 🌿 We closed our journey at Ishobe, a cultural farm outside Kigali where 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. 🌾 Our group experienced how earlier generations prepared food and worked the land—grinding sorghum by hand, preparing cassava flour with a traditional mortar and pestle, learning how bananas were ripened and made into juice, and watching traditional cow milking. We even helped cut a bunch of bananas that later became part of our lunch. ♻️ We loved seeing how everything on the farm connects—cattle, crops, food, and natural fertilizer all supporting one another. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭. 🥁 Young Intore (traditional Rwandan dancers) and drummers brought incredible energy before we gathered for a traditional lunch of plantains, beans, cassava, potatoes, cassava leaves, fresh banana juice, and banana beer for those who wanted to try it. 🤝 It was a beautiful way to close a week that took us through Rwanda’s history and culture, into the homes of our students, alongside our staff, and into relationships none of us could have fully anticipated. ✈️ Then came the bittersweet goodbyes. Some members of our group headed to the airport while others continued exploring Rwanda. 🙏🏾 To our inaugural group: thank you for traveling thousands of miles, giving your time and resources, opening yourselves to our students, families, staff, culture, and stories—and for trusting this vision.❤️ 🇷🇼 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬. And we have a feeling this is only the beginning. ✨ #RiseAbove #RwandaImmersion #Culture #VisitRwanda

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟒 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧—and our final day with the students—gave us so many reasons to celebrate. ❤️🇷🇼 ⚽ We started on the soccer field with our team from the RAS street-connected program. They won 6–4, and our group cheered with pride, but what impressed us most was their discipline, teamwork, and respect. For some of these young people, that represents tremendous growth. When an opposing player had a minor injury, one of our boys immediately went over and embraced him. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 🙌🏾 💃 Back at the Center, our students shared an incredible dance performance before we moved into a storytelling session. Students and guests exchanged stories of successes, failures, lessons learned, and perseverance. The questions, laughter, and openness made the room come alive. ✍🏾 To keep our students practicing, we launched a storytelling contest, with awards for the top five stories. We want them to become confident in telling their own stories—in their own voices. ❤️ And then came the goodbyes. We talked, hugged, took endless photos, and lingered far longer than planned. There were tears on both sides. In just three days together, our students and guests formed connections far deeper than we could have imagined. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭. What an extraordinary three days with our students. We are deeply grateful to everyone who made them possible. 🇷🇼❤️ #RiseAbove #RisingAbovetheStorms #Rwanda #Education #YouthDevelopment #Storytelling #Teamwork #Community

Fabrice is a freshman studying Quantity Surveying at the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology. During a recent visit by our staff, he shared that his studies are going well and that he is working hard to achieve his goals. Fabrice has a 1:1 sponsor today. That support helps him stay focused and keep moving forward. But more students are still waiting for that same opportunity. Sponsor a student like Fabrice today. 👉 Link in bio #RiseAbove #EducationMatters #StudentSuccess #SocialImpact #StudentSponsor

❤️🇷🇼 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭. At @risingabovethestorms, we can count school fees paid, meals served, students enrolled, laptops provided, and young people progressing through school. 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚. 😊 Laughter with friends. ⚽ Teamwork and discipline on the soccer field. 💃🏾 The confidence to perform. 🎨 The freedom to create, play, and discover. 🤝 Friendships, connection, and a sense of belonging. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐨𝐨. Our Center is more than a place where needs are met. It is a place where students learn, build confidence, discover their abilities, form friendships—and have space to simply enjoy being young. 💛 Because growth is not only reflected in a grade or an exam result. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐲. ❤️ And we believe our students deserve space for all of it. #RiseAbove #Education #YouthDevelopment #StudentSuccess #Community

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