A Partner in Education

A Partner in Education (APIE) was founded in 2009, which led to the establishment of Umubano Academy in 2013 – our flagship school in Kigali, Rwanda which now caters for 340 children from Early Years through to Lower Secondary. The word ‘umubano’ in Kinyarwanda means co-operation, and Umubano Academy embodies this spirit of working together on a local, national and international scale. It combines the Rwandan National Curriculum with international best practice, contributing towards Umubano Academy’s recognition as a centre of excellence for innovation and learning and a hub of professional development practice.

We are proud of Umubano Academy’s academic achievements, as well as its excellence in inclusion, citizenship and well-being. However, the school’s success means that it is growing, and there is currently a lack of sufficient toilet facilities to accommodate all of the students.

The nursery children (3, 4 and 5 year olds) are particularly affected by this; they have to climb a flight of stairs to use the toilet as none are available on their classroom floor. These young children require supervision to climb the stairs safely which is hugely disruptive to class learning time as an adult always has to accompany them. The toilets the nursery children currently use are also not age-appropriate, which means they cannot use the facilities independently.