Commemoration of St. Ignatius Junior High School
An extraordinary day at St. Ignatius School. Joy, happiness, singing and dancing all bundled together for us to receive as we celebrated the completion of the junior high school. Faculty, students, fellow Jesuits, neighbors, and friends joined us in celebration. A glorious day for us to share with Ganza.
What We Achieved Together – Thank You
It is with gratitude and admiration that we announce we have reached our stretch goal of raising $20,000 for the St. Ignatius School in Rwanda! With more than 300 individual donors, a$5,000 matching gift, and the active participation of many more, we were ableto make this effort a huge success!
As a symbol of our support for Ganza’s work and your donation to this cause please remember to wear your blue ribbons at Seattle U’s graduation Sunday June 10th!!
I feel honored and inspired to have been a part of this collaboration with so many. Thank you, to everyone who was involved, for making this such a meaningful experience for all of us. We could not have been as successful without your support. To the ambassadors, the champions, the donors, the friends and allies – deepest thanks. I cannot think of a better way to end my own experience at this University, nor a better way to send off our dear friend Ganza! (blog post written by Carly Cannell)
Together for a Better World! Successful Event Last Friday!
Friends and supporters of the Saint Ignatius School in Rwanda – Thank you, over 100 of you for coming out to support our cause this past Friday night! Thanks to you and your generosity we raised over $3700 in one night which brings our total raised to over $14,000!
Ganza has received some feedback from students at the school about what they love about attending Saint Ignatius – here is what they had to say:
Ivan Mugenzi, Age 8
“I love Saint Ignatius School because the teachers are very nice. I also 
have good friends with whom I learn and play. My parents love this school because it is close to our house. We also get our lunch here. I will work hard in school because I want to be a pilot. If I become a pilot, I will travel to Europe, America and Japan. My mother said that I need to be very good in mathematics if I want to reach my goal.”
Claude Manzi, Age 8
“I like Saint Ignatius School because we have good teachers and enough space to play soccer and basketball. My favorite courses are calculus and English. I want to be a Mechanic engineer so that I can repair cars. I also want to build nice houses for my parents and for myself.”
Giselle Urusaro, Age 10
“I am happy to do my studies at Saint Ignatius. I like my teachers and I have many friends. My favorite courses are algebra and sciences. In the future, I will be a medical doctor like my father.”
Marie Louise Uwimana, Age 9
“I am happy to be at Saint Ignatius School. My mother says it is a very good school. I have good teachers. My favorite courses are History, English, and Sciences. My dad said I should be an attorney. I want to be an attorney but I also want to be a teacher.”
Education is The Great Equalizer
Post by Maria Zazycki
I’ll be honest. When I first met Ganza, I didn’t think we had anything in common. He’s a guy from Rwanda. I’m a Polish girl from Ohio. He’s patient. I’m impatient. He’s an extrovert. I’m an introvert. He speaks slowly. I speak too fast. The list is endless.
Ganza, Maria and Gayatri Touring Chocolate Factor for MBA Operations Class, Fife, WA.
Then we had the chance to work together on two group projects during our MBA program. Sometime between our road trip to a chocolate factory in Fife, Washington and our late night emails trying to figure out profitability ratios for the airline industry, I realized that we were more alike than I had assumed.
First, we both come from big families. Believe me, this no small commonality.
Second, we both have had the privilege of being taught by an array of smart, progressive and caring faculty at Seattle U.
Finally – and most importantly – we both understand that education is the thing that separates the “Haves” from the “Have-Nots.”
Someone once told me, “Education is the great equalizer.” Well put. I hope you join me sending a message to the youth in Rwanda that we believe in them and in their future.
Saint Ignatius Rwanda Video Launches
Please take a peek at this beautiful video about Saint Ignatius Rwanda and Father Ganza’a work.
We are Seattle University MBA students dedicated to supporting access to education in Kilgali, Rwanda.
The St. Ignatius Schools represent hope for more than 750 students annually in a war-torn nation in which more than 76% of the population lives below the poverty line and youth currently average only 3.3 years in school.
Our goal is to raise $15,000 by graduation – June 10th!
Please take a peek at this beautiful video about Saint Ignatius Rwanda and Father Ganza’a work.
Love and Compassion are Necessities
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
My name is Leilani Maniulit and I am an MBA student at Seattle University. I feel so grateful to have met Ganza my second quarter into the program. Father Ganza is a Jesuit priest at SU, and he is truly an amazing person. He has suffered so deeply in his life, yet remains hopeful and optimistic and easily sees the good in everyone that he meets. He is truly an inspiration and a wonderful friend.
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama XIV
After he lost his mother and five of his siblings to the Rwandan genocide, Ganza decided to devote his life to rebuilding his community, one child at a time. He has made it his life’s purpose to heal the wounds left by the genocide by teaching the children of Rwanda — Tutsis and Hutus alike — about love, compassion, and hope. As students and friends of Ganza, we have made it our mission to raise awareness about Ganza’s remarkable cause. I want to make a difference in this world, and after having met Ganza, I know that I can.
Unassumingly inspiring. Likes soccer and beer.
Father Ganza playing soccer in Seattle
Blog Entry by Carly Cannell
Sometimes you hear about people on TV or in the paper or you read about them in books, and they are doing quite amazing things to make this world better. And if you’re like me, you might think to yourself, WOW – this is a different breed of human, because while I am sitting on my cushy couch, in my cushy apartment, watching my television, they are out there changing the world. Do these people really exist?
Well, I learned three years ago, that yes, they do exist. And one of them is named Ganza. And he’s my friend.
I, like so many others, met Ganza in the Seattle University MBA program, and knowing him is one of the greatest privileges of my lifetime. He’s doing amazing and inspiring work – PLEASE READ ABOUT IT! – and he has touched so many people in his journey. I am fortunate to be one of those people, and to have this opportunity now, to offer my support to him and his cause… is humbling. I hope you will join us all in this effort.
Finally, there’s a fantastic website that talks about how our lives can be summed up in 6 words. I’m obsessed with it, so of course, that’s what I’m going to use to conclude this short blog entry.
Here’s my friend Ganza, summed up in 6 words: Unassumingly inspiring. Likes soccer and beer.
If you don’t know him yet, you need to.
