The Beginning
In 2021, a father and daughter came to Rwanda after experiencing a profound family tragedy. In search of healing, purpose, and hope, their journey became one of compassion, service, and a renewed commitment to creating opportunities for others.
Moved by the poverty they witnessed and inspired by the children’s desire to learn, Ody and Danni decided to dedicate their lives to making a long-term impact on education in Rwanda. The Jonathan Foundation was born.
The Foundation began working in the community of Gashora, and over the next five years, its work grew year after year. Working closely with children, families, schools, and local leaders, the Foundation supported children through primary and secondary education, provided essential school resources, developed educational programs, and helped young people continue their education when financial circumstances might otherwise have stood in their way.
But those five years also revealed something much bigger: the extraordinary potential of Rwanda’s young people.
The Foundation encountered students with exceptional ability, ambition, and a genuine passion for learning. It also saw how often opportunity can determine how far that potential is able to go. That experience became the foundation for what would come next.
Ody and Danni in Gashora, January 2021
The Next Chapter
In September 2026, Jonathan Academy of Science opened its doors.
The Academy welcomes high-potential students from across Rwanda from Senior 4 through Senior 6, with every student attending on a full scholarship covering tuition, room, and board. With a strong focus on mathematics and science, we are preparing students for leading universities and future careers in medicine, research, engineering, agriculture, technology, and beyond.
Built for What Comes Next
The Academy was designed and built from the ground up to provide an exceptional environment for learning. Modern classrooms, advanced science laboratories, residential facilities, sustainable infrastructure, and outstanding educators give our students access to resources and opportunities that are truly unique.
We wanted to build a school where a student’s ambition would never be greater than the opportunities available to them.
A School for Life
Jonathan Academy of Science is about more than academic achievement. It is a school for life — a place where students develop confidence, compassion, critical thinking, leadership, and an entrepreneurial mindset alongside a rigorous academic education.
The goal is to prepare a new generation of doctors, researchers, engineers, agriculturalists, scientists, and innovators who will use their education to contribute to Rwanda and beyond.
What began as a father and daughter’s journey to Rwanda in 2021 has grown into something far greater. Jonathan Academy of Science is the next chapter of that story.
