A BRIEF HISTORY OF MIZERO TSS
In the vicinity of the town of Kamembe, in the district of Rusizi, western part of Rwanda, no further than 5km from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rusizi I, is built a Technical Vocational Education and Training School, Mizero Technical Secondary School formerly known as Centre MIZERO.
Literally translated from Kinyarwanda to English, the name of “Mizero” means “HOPE”. MIZERO is a Jesuit school helped by the government of Rwanda for a few years. It dates from 1997 and takes its genesis from the Center for Unaccompanied Children (Genocide survivors), the famous CENA.
CENA is a French acronym for Centre des Enfants Non-Accompagnés. Its aim was to form and reintegrate all unaccompanied children into the society by instilling hope in them as its name MIZERO suggests and implies.
EVOLUTION OF MIZERO
On the 8th of July 2003, MIZERO received both the provisional and official authorization to operate. After a contract signed on June 22, 2007 between the Society of Jesus and the District of Rusizi, MIZERO became the center for the formation of young people (CFJ).
CFJ is also a French acronym for Centre de Formation de Jeunes. With this contract, in 2014 MIZERO Technical and Vocational Education and Training School became partly government and partly Jesuit School. In other words charter school. As a TVET School, it began with three programs. These are sewing and cutting program, that of hotels, and masonry or construction as well.
The first program concerns the hotel program. This is a dual program. It has a one-year-program and a three-year-program as well. In this area of study, students learn to make different recipes from different cultures without forgetting table services. It is a brand for people wishing to embrace a professional career but also for those who would want to eat well in their households.
The second branch concerns the construction of different things. MIZERO Technical and Vocational Education and Training School teaches young people to contribute with a spirit of creativity to their development in particular and that of their country at large. Masonry in general does not only concern the construction of houses but also that of roads, earthworks such as pavements, among others.
The last program is that of sewing and cutting courses. As of now, this is a one-year program. Students in this program learn how to make clothes by hand, like so many other objects and items made from tailoring. They explore a wide range of sewing topics, tools, and techniques, from knitting, quilting, and tailoring, to embroidery and crochet. This program fits well into the national vision of promoting clothes and clothing made locally and eradicating second-hand clothes. Hence the promotion of the famous “made-in-Rwanda” policy.
All these three programs that MIZERO TVET has chosen to develop affect Rwandan daily lives. They touch the basic elements and needs essential to any person regardless of the society and the weather. Obviously, every human being needs to eat well, to dress to his taste and to have good accommodation.
Apart from the fact that they are the most preferred by our beneficiaries, they are also the sectors chosen to contribute to the development of the country and the progress of young people by providing with them the knowledge and skills they need for employment.
FUTURE PERSPECTIVE
The Society of Jesus throughout the world has set itself as its mission the propagation of faith and the promotion of justice. It is in this regard that she works for the salvation of souls. Among its universal apostolic preferences of the Society of Jesus, the Society of Jesus aims at accompanying young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.
In this respect, MIZERO TVET being part of our youth centers, wants to improve the quality of education received by young people who attend our institutions. To achieve this, we are striving to fit out our buildings, increasing the number of the programs we offer and at building dormitories for our learners.
Finally, we plan to include an ordinary level program as well as a primary school. This suggests that MIZERO TVET is working and growing towards a complex school with the name of MIZERO Jesuit Academy, a school of excellence. Like the main objective of any other Technical and Vocational Education and Training school in Rwanda, MIZERO aims at training and modernizing the technical workforce for national development.