How We Began…
In 2005 Gerlinde Klauser, a French teacher at Sacramento Country Day School, struck up a friendship with Fr. Bernardin Mugabo, a Rwandan priest visiting her Sacramento church. At the time he was head of the parish schools in Rulindo, a rural district in the hills of northern Rwanda, still struggling to recover from the devastation of the 1994 genocide. Madame Klauser started a pen pal project between her young students and Rulindo Primary School, which soon became a “sister school” relationship. In 2009 Miles Bennett-Smith organized a school-wide musical play-a-thon, which has continued as a strong annual tradition in Mdme Klauser’s honor.
When Mdme. Klauser died in 2010, music teacher Elena Bennett and Lower School head Christy Vail began coordinating Country Day’s relationship with Rulindo, expanding it to encompass eight schools. Those include six primary and secondary day schools, and two secondary boarding schools for girls. The SCDS/Rulindo service learning partnership continues today— driven largely by Country Day’s elementary students, but also supported by generous older students, families, friends, and faculty/staff across the campus.
In 2019 Rwandan Educational Enrichment was established in order to expand beyond the SCDS/Rulindo partnership. Besides working with rural schools in northern Rwanda, REE serves under-resourced schools in any district with urgent needs. It also responds to adults seeking micro-business funding, and is addressing health care needs in the remote community of Gitabage. Even as the organization and its mission broadens, it continues to honor the goals of that first pen pal project: to educate both Rwandans and Americans about each other’s culture, to understand each other better as human beings, in a spirit of friendship which transcends nationality and socio-economics.
Our Leadership Team:
Elena C. Rodriguez Bennett
Elena is president/founder of Rwandan Educational Enrichment, Inc. She holds a B.A. in English/American Literature from Cornell University, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School., and an M.Ed. in Integrating the Arts from California State University, Sacramento. She has spent her career teaching elementary school, English, and music, from preschool to adult education, in diverse parts of the U.S. and the world. She returns to Rwanda twice a year, bringing other volunteers when possible, to document and plan projects, visit schools, teach workshops, and distribute supplies.
Gary F. Smith
Gary is REE’s treasurer and legal counsel. He holds B.A.’s in Psychology and Sociology from Penn State University, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He is the executive director of Legal Services of Northern California, a non-profit public interest law firm which provides free legal assistance to low-income communities across 23 counties of northern California.
S. Miles Bennett-Smith
As a founding board member, Miles assists with REE fundraising and community outreach. He holds a B.A. in American Studies and an M.A. in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies, both from Stanford University, plus a California teaching credential. He teaches high school history, directs the journalism program, and coaches cross-country, track, soccer, and basketball, at the Menlo School in Atherton, California..
Rwandan Partners:
Damien Kimenyi
A. Robert Umuhire
Onesphore Ntivuguruzwa
Sacramento Boosters:
Maisae Affour, Aggarwal family, Ashdown family, Benouar family, Bentley family, Bradford family, Castillo family, Castro family, Rachelle Doyle, Christina Emerson, Ingrid Foster, Hannah Frank, Freeman/Gluzman family, Gerber family, Alisha Harris, Iseman family, Jacobs/Korn family, Kasturi family, Felecia Keys, Kingsley family, Kirby family, Lewis/Reed family, Lindgren family, Livesey family, Sue Goodwin, Maltese/Neavins family, Mathisen family, Jo Melinson, Laura Steele Monahan, Montoya family, Morrow family, Fr. Bernardin Mugabo, Michelle Myers, Crystal Olson, Parrish family, Patel family, Peoro family, Nasirov family, Perotti family, Ponce family, Post family, Raheja/Karalakulasingam family and foundation, Renteria family, Rudi Rose, Russell/Elling family, Sue Ryan and family, April Sanders, Christian Scott, Singh family, Melissa Strong , Mark Tilton, Zoe Tilton/Jerry Wang, Rory Tira, Mike Unti, Christy Vail, Vargo family, Wells family, Carol Wessels, West-Hughes family
Florin UMC Friends of Rulindo:
Chuck Bucaria, Roxanne Bucaria, Peggy Buckner, Vicky Cameron, Candace and Mike Ferrick, Sharon Gravert, Dolly and Sam Jang, Rev. Bobby Jones, Jan Mathis, Paul Mosby, Chizabo Ogbodo, Dave and Carol Roberts, Chuck Snyder, Janet and Rodel Tagumasi, Sheerita Teklay, Marielle Tsukamoto, Faith Whitmore