Hello, my beautiful friends and family!

This summer I will join Global Peace Exchange's research team in Kinyinya, Rwanda to conduct community-based research on the needs of the community and ways that these needs can be served. Kinyinya is a small village located just outside of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. After the Rwandan Genoicde, Kinyinya was developed as a community for the individuals who were most affected by the genocide; the majority of them were children.

While the intentions behind creating the community were good, the creation had an adverse affect, resulting in child-led households, low education levels, and economic stagnation.

While non-governmental and aid organizations have attempted to assist Kinyinya, we believe that there are community needs that are not being addressed because the individuals of the community are not being directly heard. Our three-month project will utilize interviews, surveys, and participatory video as medians for directly assessing the needs of the community. This three-fold research methodology will allow the community to speak on behalf of themselves and what their needs are, rather than them being assessed through an indirect lens.

This research will culminate with the production of an analytical report and an original video that will showcase community members\\\\\\\' opinions on what areas of development should be focused on within Kinyinya. This final product will be used to advocate for Kigali to non-governmental and development organizations. We hope that our assessment strategy will also be adopted by local non-governmental organizations as the main method for correctly assessing community needs thorough participatory research.

Every penny of your contribution will go towards the implementation of this project and the community of Kinyinya.

Please visit our website, www.globalpeaceexchange.org, for information on past projects, including our previous projects in Rwanda!

My sincerest thanks for your gracious support; I cannot thank you enough!