High school teachers leave for Rwanda on UW-Madison Fulbright grant

This week, the African Studies Program is taking 15 high school social studies teachers and curriculum planners from across the United States to Rwanda for 30 days.

This endeavor is made possible by the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad from the United States Department of Education.

The teachers, most of whom hail from Wisconsin, will focus their attention on the theme of youth and development, and will incorporate topics ranging from coffee production, water hauling, Rwandan popular culture and the Rwandan diaspora into five comprehensive learning expeditions. The African Studies Program is partnering in this project with Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound (ELS), a national nonprofit educational organization.

The group will visit five cities, including the capital city of Kigali, with video cameras, audio recorders and photo cameras in tow, to meet with Rwandan educators, students and community leaders. While traveling, participants will post entries on the Badgers Abroad blog. The curriculum the teachers produce will be available online later in the 2009-10 school year.

Sharon Hutchinson, director of the African Studies Program and specialist in the cultures of East Africa, will travel with the group as a project leader and cultural specialist. Two staff members associated with the African Studies Program will also assist the group.