Meet Emmanuel Seromba, one of the key players on Wellspring’s Community Involvement team. We’ve been privileged to have Emmanuel as part of our team for the past three years. His hardworking spirit and dedication not only bless the Wellspring family, but also the families of dozens of local school communities as he connects with them through our Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) workshops.
Born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Emmanuel moved to Rwanda in 1995. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology. Before joining Wellspring in 2014, Emmanuel served as a Head Teacher in the Eastern Province of Rwanda and the manager of a local NGO. Through these positions, he learned how to work with and encourage emerging communities. This experience gave him invaluable insight upon joining our Community Involvement team.
“Mobilization is key in changing communities and Wellspring’s program is great at mobilizing parents to be part of their child’s education. Even my own family has benefitted from Wellspring’s techniques.”
As one of our Community Involvement trainers, Emmanuel works with families in local communities to help them understand their role in their child’s education. Quality education can only succeed when it is supported by all stakeholders in a child’s life. When parents and teachers rally around their children, they are given the tools to reach their full potential. The ABCD workshops led by Emmanuel and the rest of our team focus on empowering people to help themselves. Instead of focusing on what they do not have, this approach emphasizes the community’s assets and strengths. Once the assets of the community are identified, they can be connected to areas of need and mobilized, which results in empowered citizens and improved community life. Our Community Involvement team works with these parents to realize how their assets and involvement can strengthen the quality of education at their local school. When parents are invested in schools, quality education becomes sustainable.
Emmanuel also testifies that his work at Wellspring not only impacts the lives of other families, but also the life of his own. After reviewing some ABCD modules, he brought them home to his family and engaged in a discussion with his thirteen-year-old about the four roles of a parent: Encourager, Friend, Teacher, and Enforcer. After hearing this discussion with their daughter, Emmanuel’s wife realized that it was Wellspring’s influence that affected his good relationship with their children. “Wellspring is more than just a job,” she encouraged him, “it is also a school of life.”