Activities in Rwanda

JOCV volunteers are teaching Japanese cultures to Rwandese children at local school

Since 1965, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), the volunteer program under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been sending Japanese volunteers to developing countries all around the world. For more than 40 years, approximately 34,000 Japanese with the motto “Volunteerism that Changes the World, and Myself” have worked or are currently working as JOCV volunteers in almost 83 countries in four different continents: Asia, Oceania, South America (including Central America) and Africa.

In close coordination with the Government of Rwanda and local authorities, JOCV (JICA) has placed more than 100 Japanese dedicated volunteers in many parts of Rwanda since 1987. Of them, 24 Japanese volunteers are currently in place in different areas in the East, West, North and South Provinces (as of January 2010). Together with local authorities as well as people in local communities, JOCV volunteers are actively participating in cooperative development activities at all levels through innovative and strategic approaches.

JOCV volunteer Mr. Toshihito Suzuki, together with his 21 JOCV fellows, participates in the 2009 International Volunteer Day, constructing 9-year school classrooms in Nyamirambo, Kigali city

JOCV volunteers in Rwanda live and work with local communities, building trust and respect with and among them through different cultures and languages. Their friendship with local communities in Rwanda remains as Japan’s legacy that continues supporting these communities’ sustainable growth.