On November 8th, 2018, we held the exchange meeting for two students from Rwandan university and their supporters. Ms. Shukulu Murekatete and Mr. Elie Rodrigue Ichiatse, the exchange students from Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS), could came to Japan because many people supported their airfares through crowdfunding. So, we set up an opportunity for the supporters to meet Shukulu and Rodrigue.

At the meeting, Shukulu and Rodrigue made their presentations about their life in Japan. Rodrigue expressed his gratitude for the supporters and sometimes made them laugh with humour. Shukulu also expressed her gratitude and shared her experience in Okinawa where she visited to learn about peace a few days before the meeting.

You can watch their presentations from the following.

Besides them, Mr. Kenta Kono and Ms. Ayumu Uchida, TUFS students who have studied at PIASS, made the presentation about their life at PIASS. They studied and participated in some activities with Shukulu and Rodrigue there and explained their experience their with some pictures, so the supporters could know visually how Shukulu and Rodrigue's lives are in Rwanda.

Lastly, Dr. Kazuyuki Sasaki, a senior lecturer of PIASS whom Shukulu and Rodrigue place considerable trust in, talked about next project. At the crowdfunding, since many people donated to support Shukulu and Rodrigue, we could collect more donations than we'd expected. So, we will invite two more students next year, October 2019 to July 2020. Dr. Sasaki told the supporters that there are more than ten students who wish to study in Japan, and he will closely examine not only their academic records but also how they think about studying in Japan and decide who to come.

It was really a good opportunity for Shukulu and Rodrigue too since they could finally meet their supporters. There were also Japanese students and international students from African countries attending the meeting, so it was also a great occasion for other students to know about other countries.