This summer, I returned to Ishywa Island not just as a visitor but as a former student determined to give back. Building on the success of my transportation project funded by the Class of 1978 Grant, one theme echoed in every conversation with residents, parents, and students: “we need a library, we need technology.”
From those conversations, the Smart Lab at St. Jean Ishywa was born, a modest yet transformative space equipped with five laptops together with teachers’ laptop, a projector, a printer, and a mentorship model designed to cultivate a generation of digitally literate students and teachers.
While the project delivered on its original objectives, it also sparked something unexpected. Midway through the program, community elders approached me with another plea: could we also help adults who never had the chance to go to school? Together we piloted a basic Kinyarwanda literacy class. Though I was only able to participate in two sessions before returning to Princeton, witnessing grown men and women carefully tracing their first letters is an image that will stay with me far longer than any budget sheet and we still bring more volunteers to keep the program alive.
Objectives :
● Establish a Smart Lab with five laptops, a projector, and a printer in a repurposed dining hall at St. Jean Ishywa to provide students and teachers with direct access to digital tools.
● Train five teachers intensively so they can act as digital mentors, ensuring the program’s sustainability and continued growth after the initial implementation period.
● Provide hands-on digital literacy sessions for approximately 100 students, covering essential skills such as basic computer operations, internet research, and introductory programming.
● Engage the community: parents, students, and staff from the outset to build ownership, encourage participation, and embed the Smart Lab as a valued resource within the school.
Project Implementation :
Smart Lab Setup
79 students and 5 teachers gained foundational digital skills. Through structured training and hands-on sessions, students learned basic computer operations, internet research, and introductory programming, while teachers became confident digital mentors capable of sustaining the program.
● Created a teacher led mentorship model to sustain and scale the program. By training teachers first, the program built local capacity, ensuring knowledge would remain within the school beyond the initial implementation.
● Repurposed an unused school space into a cost-effective Smart Lab. Transforming the old dining hall allowed the community to immediately benefit from the project without expensive new construction.
● Launched a pilot adult literacy class in Kinyarwanda, the first of its kind on the island. Though not part of the original objectives, this initiative extended educational opportunities to adults who had never attended school, laying the groundwork for intergenerational learning.
● Strengthened the habit of community engagement and parental involvement in school life. From the earliest planning meetings to the final showcase, parents, students, and staff actively participated, fostering a sense of collective ownership over the Smart Lab’s success.
Challenges and Lessons Learned :
● Scarcity teaches innovation Operating with only five laptops initially seemed like a limitation. However, this constraint encouraged collaborative learning students rotated roles, helped one another, and teachers modeled patience. It showed me that resourcefulness can transform scarcity into a strength.
● Leadership is shared Because I could attend only two adult literacy sessions before returning to Princeton, local volunteers and teachers stepped in to continue the program. This experience taught me that sustainability depends on building capacity within the community, not on my constant presence.
These challenges and experiences deepened my understanding of service. I returned to Ishywa as a student but left as part of a community project much larger than myself, a living lesson in humility, adaptability, and shared leadership.
Future Plans :
● Expand the Smart Lab’s resources Add more laptops and introduce new modules such as coding clubs, internet safety workshops, and online application guidance to deepen students’ skills and broaden opportunities.
● Scale the adult literacy program Formalize and expand the Kinyarwanda literacy classes, and gradually integrate basic digital literacy for adults to bridge the intergenerational skills gap.
● Strengthen mentorship and partnerships Continue mentoring the trained teachers remotely and build partnerships with nonprofits, universities, and government agencies to provide ongoing technical support and materials for both programs.
Conclusion
The Smart Lab project has been more than a summer initiative; it has been a deeply personal journey of returning home, listening, and co-creating with my community. It affirmed my belief that service is not about imposing ideas but about walking alongside people and learning with them.
Technology opened doors for me as a first generation college student at Princeton. Standing in a repurposed dining hall on Ishywa Island, watching students click through their first search results or adults trace their first letters, I saw the same door cracking open for others.
With continued support, this Smart Lab can become not only a place for skills but a symbol of possibility, a space where students and adults alike discover that their dreams can extend beyond the island’s shores.