BUFFALO, NY — On Thursday, Buffalo State University unveiled a new global learning center to connect students in the Anne Frank Project to a Rwandan school.
The Donn Youngstrom AFP Global Learning Lab will allow the university and BPS students to reach the sister school at the Urukundo Learning Center in Rwanda.
Founder Drew Kahn says this is only the beginning of the vital learning at the center.
"Its not enough that yes you have a place, we want your stories, and even though the stories about Africa are plentiful most of them coming the West are wrong, it's not a big sad UNICEF commercial there. That's why I bring students there. To have the constant connection here, we just scratched the surface of what this lab can do."
"Just being able to continue the relationship them being there and us being here, it's an amazing thing what technology can do to stay connected throughout the year."
But to students participating in the Anne Frank Project at Buffalo State, these Rwandan students are not strangers. They met one another last year when the AFP went to Rwanda.
The project focuses on the power of stories to create community, conflict management, and identity exploration.
Now students get to keep their connections to the students all year round.
