Gashora is a transformative initiative established by Journey House Actions Rwanda(JHA) with the aim of equipping underprivileged individuals in the rural community of Gashora with essential digital literacy and computer skills. The program seeks to create equitable access to the digital world, especially for youth, women, and other marginalized groups who are often left behind in technological advancements. The initiative is gender-sensitive and promotes equal opportunity for all, ensuring that no one is excluded based on social or economic status. Through structured training programs, participants will gain knowledge in basic computer applications, programming, and graphic design. Complementary vision of the initiative is the establishment of a new innovation space, Gashora Silicon Valley, which will serve as an incubator for rural tech-based creativity, entrepreneurship, and development.
Gashora, one of the fifteen sectors of Bugesera District, faces several soco economic challenges that hinder sustainable development and economic growth. These include high rate of youth unemployment—an issue that was worsened by the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and limited access to information technology. Despite Rwanda’s national push toward integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation into all sectors of the economy, Gashora remains digitally excluded. Approximately 98% of the population has little to no access to digital devices or training. This digital exclusion deepens the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment, particularly among the youth and women. The inability to access digital tools means that a significant portion of Gashora’s population is missing out on opportunities for education, employment, and participation in the evolving digital economy. In response to this growing disparity, JHA has launched Digital Gashora as a long-term, community-based remedy designed to empower residents and close the rural-urban digital gap.
Training and Capacity Building for a Digital Gashora
As part of our Digital Gashora initiative, we are committed to building the digital confidence and capacity of our educators, students, and school leaders. Our ICT program integrates pre-service and in-service training to equip teachers with the tools and methodologies needed to use technology meaningfully in their teaching practice. Through this, teachers learn to design personalized, engaging, and collaborative lessons using modern digital platforms, while also accessing and analyzing student performance data to improve outcomes. Students are trained to confidently use digital tools for learning, research, communication, and collaboration—empowering them to manage their own educational journeys. Curriculum developers are trained to design interactive and locally relevant digital content, while school leaders receive guidance on defining and managing an ICT vision for their schools. The program also focuses on growing a pool of skilled ICT technicians who can maintain digital infrastructure in our schools and ensure consistent access to tools and resources. This capacity-building pillar ensures that Digital Gashora doesn’t just bring devices into classrooms—it transforms the entire teaching and learning culture across the region.
Sustainability, Support, and Strategic Management
To ensure the sustainability of Digital Gashora, we are taking strategic steps in planning, budgeting, and partnerships that will fuel the longevity and impact of the program. We are working to establish income-generating activities to reduce reliance on government funds and to mobilize local and international resources through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The “Adopt-and-Sponsor a School” campaign is a key vehicle to attract sponsors to invest in ICT infrastructure, e-learning content, and digital capacity development. School administrators are trained in ICT project planning, budgeting, and monitoring to manage digital resources effectively. A robust technical support and maintenance strategy is being developed to serve both centralized and community-level schools. Additionally, we offer ongoing professional development for teachers, school inspectors, and administrators, enabling them to embrace digital content creation, lead with data, and foster a culture of innovation. These combined efforts position Digital Gashora as a model for rural digital education transformation in Rwanda—ensuring no learner is left behind in the journey toward a smart, inclusive, and tech-driven future.
Curriculum Integration and Content Development
The Digital Gashora project aligns fully with the national ICT in Education guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education, ensuring our local efforts contribute meaningfully to Rwanda’s broader educational transformation. We are committed to integrating ICT across all levels of education through continuous curriculum development, promoting learner-centered approaches, and embedding digital tools in the teaching-learning process. Our program supports blended learning and encourages the use of open educational resources, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and teacher-created digital content. Teachers are trained to utilize these tools and share best practices, fostering a dynamic and interactive learning experience. We also promote the creation of Rwanda-specific electronic content, aligned with the national curriculum, to serve as supplementary material that enhances local relevance and engagement.
Digital Content Access, Assessment, and Safety
Digital Gashora contributes to the national goal of building a centralized digital content repository by encouraging the use of platforms such as the Rwanda Educational Portal. Through our program, teachers are equipped with manuals and training that prepare them to effectively integrate ICT into their lesson planning and classroom delivery. In addition, we advocate for the responsible use of technology by ensuring that both learners and educators are aware of internet safety, privacy, and the quality of digital content. Digital Gashora also supports the adoption of ICT-based assessment tools to improve evaluation methods and track learning progress more effectively. Our close collaboration with curriculum developers and stakeholders ensures that our content creation, delivery, and assessment tools are compliant with national standards, while also being tailored to the unique context of Gashora.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
Our ICT Program is aligned with national strategies to transform education through technology. It focuses on developing competent ICT professionals, integrating digital tools in teaching and learning, and expanding ICT infrastructure in schools. This includes access to digital content, interactive learning devices for students and teachers, and leadership development to ensure effective use of technology. The program also promotes higher education and research by encouraging device ownership among students, improving connectivity, and providing online academic services. Through this, we aim to create smart schools and digitally empowered communities.
