Our Crowdfunding Groups
Due to the generosity of North Carolina State Engineering Foundation Board Member and College of Engineering alumnus David Whitley, we have reached our initial goal of $5,000 and have been able to double our project goal to $10,000!
Each year, NC State students have an opportunity to travel to Rwanda during spring break as a part of the Women and Minority Engineering Programs. The group travels to very remote parts of the country to do hands-on engineering activities with students and teachers in elementary schools. Students who have never traveled outside of the United States are encouraged to participate in this experience. All of the students who participate have their world radically changed by working with Rwandan students who may not have access to running water, electricity or even shoes, but who take on the challenge of the engineering activities with creativity and enthusiasm.
This project seeks to obtain funding to cover the cost of cultural engagement experiences for 10 students at $500 each, for a total of $5,000. Highlights of the cultural engagement experiences include a visit to the Red Rocks Cultural Center to meet local women who teach them cultural dancing, traditional cooking, pottery and basket weaving as a way to earn income. They are similarly taken to visit a Rwandan nongovernmental organization, the Nyamirambo Women’s Center (NWC) in Kigali, which aims to address gender-based violence, gender inequality and discrimination. Through education and vocational training for women who do not have the means to pay for such training on their own, the NWC helps these women gain better opportunities for employment. The women take the students on a neighborhood tour and explain what it is like to live in Kigali, finishing up with a meal in the home of one of the women. The students also go on a tour to view wildlife in one of the national parks of Rwanda.
All of these experiences will have a tremendous impact on our students’ engineering identity, preparing them to be the engineering leaders of the future.
Budget Breakdown:
The $10,000 will assist 20 students by covering their cultural engagement experiences on the trip at $500 per student. One way to think about this is that $500 covers an immersive experience at Red Rocks Cultural Center, a visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Gorilla Preservation Campus, a visit to the Genocide Memorial, a community tour and lunch at a home with the Nyamirambo Women’s Center, a visit to the Musanze caves and a game drive in Akagera National Park.
Funds will be placed in the Women and Minority Engineering Programs Fund. If the project does not meet its fundraising goal, exceeds the project need, or the project cannot be completed, the funds will be used for the overall enhancement of the Women and Minority Engineering Programs Fund.
Gifts are received by the NC State University Foundation, Inc. and may be distributed to an affiliated foundation that manages the fund supported by the donor.
