Shannon Fish
2018
Rwamagana, Rwanda
Empowerment and Development in Rwanda
I first fell in love with Rwanda through academics. I was researching the Gender Gap Index and learned that Rwanda was ranked as the fifth-most gender equal nation in the world, right underneath most of Scandinavia. I was shocked and curious how the World Economic Forum decided on this ranking. As a result, I decided to write my honors thesis about how Rwandan women reconstructed Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. I learned that Rwandan women have had the highest representation in government than anywhere else in the world, at a 64% majority. The socio-economics and politics of the last two decades have evolved drastically in Rwanda and now Rwanda is a forefront country in Africa. Shortly into my research, my interests began to shift from being purely academic to also being socio-cultural. I applied to be a Lumos Scholar with the intention to see hands-on everything I have written about and to work hands-on in a community I have developed a deep love for.
While in Rwamagana, Rwanda my main role is to tutor in English, but I will also assist the music program and their confidence-building workshop for girls. My personal goals are to gain first hand experience teaching in a developing country, dive into Rwandan culture and study Kinyarwanda and French. I also hope to foster positive encouragement for Rwandan girls so that they know that they are confident, capable women who can accomplish incredible feats. My immersion in this culture too will give me valuable insight into the inner-workings and effects of international development, and will allow me to challenge which practices in place are sustainable.
As for my background, I grew up in the suburbs outside of Los Angeles and moved to Nashville to study at Belmont where I recently graduated with a B.A in Global Leadership Studies and received a Music minor. I have been to 12 countries, of which I studied abroad for a semester in Australia and completed a maymester in Greece. Traveling and engaging in a global mindset has become apart of my life story, and I hope to continue exploring the world for the rest of life. For now, I step into Rwanda with an open mind and an open heart, ready to live, teach, grow and learn in the land of a thousand hills.
More about me....
Major(s): Global Leadership Studies
My Stories
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Exciting news!
I have news y’all! I decided that my time here in Rwanda is not finished. In the middle of my fellowship, I spent
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Go Shake it, Shape it, Beat it
Yesterday was graduation day for RLS. Honestly I couldn’t keep a smile off of my face, and my cheeks hurt from
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Living well
This is one of those funny reflective moments where I think back to a past prayer, and realize God completely put my thoughts to action.
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Wrapping Up
My fellowship ends so soon and right now I am feeling so many things. Firstly I am still discovering new places in my
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Off to the Cape!
This past week I traveled down to Cape Town, South Africa for 6 days to see one of my dear friends from high
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Finding Your Voice
Why is it so hard to be heard? In the line of communication, where do our voices get lost? If we speak out
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The Power of Stories
Dedication: This week a dear friend of mine passed away on a trip in Vietnam unexpectedly and without just cause. This set the
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Dawn to Dusk
My favorite part of the day is the last few hours of daylight before the sun goes down to rest, when everything seems
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Breathing
At the beginning of this week I purposefully reflected that my goal throughout the week was to be generous, empathetic and curious. Generous
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Waramutse!
August 20, 4:00 pm Mwiriwe. Good evening. There are so many sounds to wake up to in Rwanda. I just woke up
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On The Pulse of Morning
You know that feeling when you sit down for too long and your legs begin to become numb. You sit there in the
