The 13th edition of the Rwanda Volunteer Program at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche has kicked off. A new feature for the program is that this edition will consist of three sessions spread out over different parts of the school year: the first group that just arrived in Rwanda will spend two weeks in the field; then, in the summer, a second group will carry out activities at health centers for one month; and finally, a third group in the second half of January will focus on training school educators there.

Among the participants this year are five faculty members, one administrative employee, eight alumni, and eight students (including undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral candidates) from various fields of study, including medicine, engineering, biorobotics, physiotherapy, psychology, pharmacy, journalism, and education, among others. Although the call for applications originally offered a total of 19 spots, due to high demand for the program and thanks to a budget increase resulting from the grant awarded by the Mutua Madrileña Foundation, the number of recipients was increased to 22 people.

The tasks to be carried out by the volunteers will primarily consist of assisting in various healthcare departments at Nemba Hospital, providing social and healthcare support to patients and their families, conducting training sessions for teachers and students at Apeki Tumba School, supporting the local population in the Northern Province through collaboration with local groups, as well as identifying needs at health centers and hospitals across the country to advance the development of future projects with local institutions.

Likewise, this new edition—which features a diverse range of participants in terms of both their areas of expertise and the groups they represent—the program is reinforcing its goal of raising awareness within the university community through a new series of hands-on training sessions on cooperation and volunteering led by Lis Gaibar, a professor at the UMH and coordinator of the volunteer program.