Measuring the Impact of an International Service-Learning Project through Community Assessment in Rwanda

Abstract

In 2015, a university from Hong Kong led an international service- learning course to Kigali, Rwanda. The focus of the course was to install solar panels in individual households in a community, on the outskirts of Kigali, without access to electricity. The following year, the Hong Kong university partnered with a university in the United States and returned to Rwanda to expand the solar panel project in the same community. The central question of the qualitative impact assessment was, How, if at all, has the installation of solar panels impacted individual households and the community as a whole in the past year? Data methods included semi- structured interviews and observations during visits to the 16 households who had received solar panels in previous iterations of the service- learning project. Findings demonstrating five reoccurring themes emerged: project implementation, economic savings, improvement of study environment for childhood, women’s empowerment, and improved quality of life. A strategic government development plan, a sustained relationship between a university and a local organization, and the type of service project are highlighted as important factors. The importance of local participation in the design and implementation of the solar home systems (SHS) project is emphasized, and an unexpected impact on gender dynamics related to project design is explored.