Maranyundo School

 

 

December 9, 2022

 

Visiting the MGS Maker Space

 

The sounds of the early morning at Maranyundo are a pleasure to wake up to. There is a rooster’s assertive call, then a variety of bird songs mocking in return. Then the girls appear in small groups walking to their study time; sometimes seemingly in quiet conversation. Sometimes giggling as they walk toward the study spaces. This morning we noticed a new energy to that strolling. The girls emerged from their study spaces and jogged around the quad several times before going to breakfast. It was fun to see. Even under a cloudy sky in what Rwandans call the “rainy season,” the light is soft and the sun tries to appear through dusty clouds. With study time, exercise and breakfast, the day has begun.

 

As much as I miss traveling here with Maranyundo Initiative friends, it has been a delight to see Joni’s reactions to this place. Joni is such a careful observer of things and she is always eager to see, to try; she always asks thoughtful questions. Sister Laetitia was eager to give Joni a tour of the campus yesterday. When we came to the Maker Space, I felt as if I were Joni, seeing it for the first time! I remember the March 2019 trip when Sara Wilner-Gweric and I brought the first stuff to MGS to start a Maker Space at the school. At that time, this is what I thought:

 

Whereas I envisioned teacher workshops to train teachers to use the 3-D printer, the robotics material, etc. Sara had a different idea. “I’ll train 10-12 interested students to become Maker Space Ambassadors. They will learn to use the Space and they will have ideas about how to make it an integral part of the school.” Although I was skeptical at first, after only a few days of working with the students to set up the space and begin training the girls, I could see that Sara’s vision was very successful.

 

Visiting the 2022 version of the Maker Space, it was clear to me that since Sara brought the first materials and  making ideas to the Library and STEM building in March 2019, Clementine and the students have transformed it into a remarkable space of design, creativity, problem solving and promise. Truly a reflection of the young women who are using this space.

 

The first thing that caught my gaze as we walked into the space was the way students are using the wall space to share their creations. The ways on which the students have used materials to capture traditional Rwandan images, art and cultural connections were remarkable. It seemed to me to be the best example of STEAM…artifacts that were artistic and creative along with craft that demonstrated symmetry, mathematics, even chemical changes in materials such as when students dipped yarn into paraffin to make it pliable yet able to maintain shape and style. My description here does not do these creations justice. Only a photo gives the true evidence of this example of how the students are making this space reflect their own cultural connections.

 

 

In a corner of the room, underneath the art display, Clementine showed us the technical challenge the students are working on for a competition among schools on the area to be held this weekend in Kigali. Again, my vocabulary fails me to describe how carefully the students are using their proficiency with LEGO robotics to solve energy challenges in their area. This is a photo of the layout the students are entering in the competition for solving energy challenges.

 

Talking with Clementine about her dreams for the next phase of the Maker Space, she wants to encourage the students to continue to design items that could be sold for household decorations. In concert with the entrepreneurship course all students are required to take, the work of the students could become a revenue stream to support the Maker Space as it continues to grow. It is amazing to consider that this space can be a space that communicates so much about the interests and talents of the students and how they will contribute to the future.

 

All the best

 

Linda V. Beardsley