Project Life met MindLeaps in 2017, a nonprofit organization that uses dance to rehabilitate street children and vulnerable youth in developing countries since 2014. What makes a child vulnerable? Children and young people in extreme poverty, separated from parents, with lack of social support and education are vulnerable to abuse, neglect, deprivation and violence. Mindleaps Rwanda is a group of Rwandan dancers in Nyamirambo, a community just outside the capital city. Through dance, they teach life skills. They tutor and mentor the child’s educational needs and get them into a government school where they can live, learn and ultimately have a better future.

Project Life has been drawn to MindLeaps because of their integrity. Their programs, including those captured in a CNN documentary featuring MindLeaps Rwanda, embody a unique intersection of social-emotional learning, community empowerment, and youth development. This holistic, community-led approach sets them apart, creating lasting impact in Kigali, Rwanda, and elsewhere around the world. 

Project Life’s support helps MindLeaps to innovate and expand its flagship “Dance & Data” program that connects social-emotional learning and quality education through dance and sport.  This program now takes place across Rwanda, including in the refugee camps. As more MindLeaps-sponsored students are graduating from high school, the organization has also expanded its youth programming to include workshops in English, digital literacy and job readiness.