Human Rights Clubs in Rwanda (Youth Leadership Program)

After returning home from her exchange program on human rights in the United States, Sharon worked with 21 other Rwandan exchange alumni students and educators to launch high school human rights clubs throughout Rwanda. Sharon is an alumna of the U.S. State Department’s Youth Leadership Program. “[The Youth Leadership Program] really impressed us and we needed other children and other high school students to know about what we learned.” Through funding from the U.S. State Department’s Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund, and in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Kigali and the Rwandan Human Rights Commission, the young alumni group has launched five high school human rights clubs, one in each province of Rwanda. Through these clubs, they lead student workshops on leadership development, community building, and human rights. When asked why they do it, Sharon replied, “We found it very important for alumni like us who need to grow up - who are the future.”