In Kinyarwanda, the native language of Rwanda, the word umubano means relationship, in terms of friendship.

Umubano’s Sister School program works to build these relationships by creating long lasting friendships between students from the United States and students from Rwanda. Umubano, a program of an entirely student run non-profit organization, Discover Worlds, works as a matchmaker between schools in the United States and schools in Rwanda.

The mission of the Umubano program is to empower students to participate in sustainable cross-cultural exchanges between the US and Rwanda with the goal of increasing global awareness, compassion, critical thinking, and grassroots activism.

The Umubano Sister School Program now has a Discover Worlds Blog. To learn more, please visit the blog or contact the program directors Melissa Cushman and Marie Berry at <umubano@discoverworlds.org>.

In The News

September Newsletter - Sun, 20 Sep 2009
September 2009 Issue V Discover WorldsUmubano Sister School Program “I am involved in Umubano Sister School Program because I hope to find common ground with students from other countries”  -Nicole, 16 Dear Friends, It has now been over a year since Umubano Sister School Program began working in schools across the US to partner students with [...]

February Newsletter - Mon, 16 Feb 2009
February 2009 Issue IIII Discover Worlds Umubano Sister School Program “I am involved in Umubano Sister School Program because I hope to find common ground with students from other countries”  -Nicole, 16 Dear Friends, We are thrilled to announce that the documentary made about the Umubano Sister School Program is finally available to view online! [...]

Documentary about Umubano now available to watch online! - Sat, 14 Feb 2009
We are extremely excited to announce that the documentary made about Umubano Sister School Program is finally available to view online! The documentary series Full Focus on PBS channal 12 (KBTC) featured Umubano back in November of 2008. The documentary is a great look into how Umubano got started and what it is trying to [...]

December Newsletter - Tue, 30 Dec 2008
December 2008 Issue III Discover Worlds Umubano Sister School Program Dear Friends, Just months after the official launch of the Umubano Sister School Program, Melissa and I have very exciting news…. We are thrilled to announce our new partner organization in Rwanda: Rwandans Allied for Peace and Progress (RAPP)! The Umubano Program is dedicated to [...]

October Newsletter - Tue, 30 Dec 2008
October 2008 Issue II Discover Worlds Umubano Sister School Program Dear Friends, We hope this email finds you well! As many of you heard, this past month marked the official launch of Umubano Sister School Program! We are so inspired by all of your encouragement and generosity toward the program, and are very excited about [...]