On 13th and 14th October 2023, KOICA Rwanda Office participated in the “Rwanda Youth Career Empowerment Festival” held at the Association des Guides du Rwanda Youth Empowerment for Global Opportunity Center (AGR YEGO Center) and Kimisagara YEGO Center, located in Gikondo and Kimisagara respectively.
Conceptualized, proposed, and implemented by six KOICA Project Volunteers, Hyeeun Kim, Jihee Park, Jihye Kim, Minju Lee, Seohyun Kim, and Yungyu Lee, who have been working at three YEGO Centers in Kigali since January 2023, the festival aimed at offering Rwandan youth opportunities to explore diverse career options and motivating them to actively build career capacities. The total project/festival cost of US $9,025 or 10 million RWF, was provided entirely by KOICA through its volunteer Cooperative Activity scheme.
The event was comprised of a career role model speech from a guest speaker, K-Pop singing and dancing performed by students of one of the project volunteer’s K-Pop classes as well as activities to experience 6 occupations- NGO worker, sports instructor, social network marketer, office worker, singer, and nail artist- with professional workers in each area offering job counseling to the youth.
The six occupations were chosen based on their relation to educational programs the six volunteers are teaching at the centers.
While giving the opening remarks, the KOICA Rwanda Country Director, Ms. Jinhwa KIM, expressed her gratitude to the KOICA project volunteers, the center’s coordinators and staff for their hard work that ensured the success of the festival.
She continued by mentioned that KOICA Rwanda was committed to being an active partner of the government of Rwanda especially in its various efforts to empower the youth.
She highlighted KOICA Rwanda’s strong emphasis on youth development through its various youth empowerment programs such as the career empowerment festival as well as programs in TVET.
The KOICA Country Director emphasized the importance of such festivals in helping the youth visualize all the opportunities open to them in life through job counselling, making industry connections and showcasing their talents.
She concluded by urging the youth present to visit the various booths at the festival in order to learn from them and by thanking all the various partners present for their support and contributions in molding the youth to realize the vision that Rwanda has for itself.
During her opening remarks on the first day of the festival, the Executive Director of Rwanda Girl Guides, Ms. Aline MUREKATETE welcomed those present to the extraordinary event that she remarked stood as a testament to the power of collaboration, inspiration and the unwavering commitment to empower the youth of Rwanda.
She thanked those present for being a united force, driven by the shared belief that the future of Rwanda was in the hands of the youth. She concluded by reminding those present that their collective efforts would have a lasting impact on generations to come and by thanking them for being a part of such an inspiring journey.
Speaking on the second day of the festival, the Kimisagara YEGO Center Coordinator, Mr. Tadeo TALEMWA conveyed his deepest gratitude to KOICA Rwanda for its continued support and for providing the volunteers that made the festival possible.
He then emphasized the importance of such an event as it links the youth with different professionals from whom they gain valuable information and insight.
He concluded by thanking all those present for their commitment to youth development and pledged that Kimisagara YEGO center would continue to be a source of life changing knowledge to all youth who come to them.
As is in line with KOICA Rwanda’s Country Partnership Strategy, or the framework through which the development goals will be achieved in Rwanda, volunteers are dispatched in the Agriculture, Education, and ICT sectors with a specific focus on TVET, youth entrepreneurship, and employment.
Since the partnership between KOICA Rwanda and YEGO Centers began in 2018, KOICA Rwanda has dispatched 17 volunteers to YEGO centers in the youth development sector.
There are currently 6 project volunteers working at three YEGO Centers in Kigali: AGR, Club Rafiki and Kimisagara YEGO Center. The volunteers are developing and teaching a wide variety of educational programs such as English grammar, K-POP singing and dancing, music jump rope, digital drawing, and ICT software skills.
Additionally, for the sustainability of the programs, the volunteers are developing teaching materials and methods to be handed over to the centers’ instructors to ensure that the program activities and outputs continue even after their dispatch period ends.
Overall, 619 volunteers have been dispatched to Rwanda since 1993 when the first volunteer arrived in Rwanda.
Presently, 20 volunteers are working in various institutions across Kigali in sectors such as youth development, social welfare, and ICT education.
KOICA WFK volunteers dispatched to institutions work by sharing their knowledge and skills with the institutions and by implementing small-scale projects to provide equipment and improve the environment of their beneficiaries.