Dawson searches for future for Rwanda

By Ly Hoang and Cindy Dinh     1/29/09 6:00pm

Dale Dawson, a University of Texas graduate and successful entrepreneur, spoke last Thursday at the Jesse H. Jones School of Management on his work, which involves building schools and bringing entrepreneurship skills to people in Rwanda. In a lecture presented by Rice 360ø, the Institute for Global Health Technologies, Beyond Traditional Borders Initiative and the World Affairs Council of Houston, Dawson described how he was drawn to Rwanda's plight.

Dawson's speech resonated with students who have heard similar topics on the importance of education in developing countries.

As a businessman for most of his career, Dawson eventually found a higher calling in the form of philanthropy - he dabbled in different areas of business before finding one that revived his motivation and direction in life. Dawson was the national director of the global accounting firm KPMG and CEO of the nation's largest distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, TruckPro. As the head investment banker at Stephens, Inc, he worked with large corporations such as Walmart and Tyson.

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However, as he reached success at age 46, Dawson said he began asking himself the ageless question, what is success?

"The problem was, I had lost my passion," he said. "I liked to be driven, to be passionate, to be the best."

Dawson found his answer in the form of a Catholic Rwandan bishop.

"At the age of 50, amidst unrest and not knowing what I want, Bishop John Ruchyahana changed my idea of what success is," he said.

Dawson describes Bishop Ruchyahana as a Sam Walton in African skin because of his contributions to society. After the ethnic clash that resulted in the Rwandan genocide, millions of people died. Ruchyahana was one of many who fled the attacks, but he was one of the few who returned with a strong determination to rebuild his homeland, Dawson said. By contacting foreign "borrowed talents" who are experts in their field, Bishop John's vision for Rwanda was to attract skills from foreign aid but to be a self-sufficient developed country by the year 2020, he said. Dawson knew that no one would want to stay in Rwanda if there are no businesses.

He then partnered with Ruchyahana to create Bridge2Rwanda, an organization intended to encourage growth and development in the area via the education system. One of the first projects was the establishment of SonRise High School, which is focused on helping orphaned children. Following the genocide that orphaned over 500,000 young children, it was necessary to create a school to train these new minds, Dawson said. However, he explained that SonRise High School is not meant to be an orphanage, but a high school of high caliber in academics and leadership.

"SonRise was to be a model school or demonstration to the people of Rwanda that a child can be redeemed," Dawson said.

Today, more than 1,000 kids are enrolled, ranging from sixth to 12th grade. For the past five years, SonRise has ranked in the top five schools in the nation among over 2,000 schools in Rwanda. The SonRise curriculum also emphasizes being entrepreneurial yet still devoted to service, Dawson said.

"[The student's] ability to get an education is not only a blessing but a responsibility," he said.

"The primary way to guarantee sustainable development in a developing country is to invest in their infrastructure and education," Baker College sophomore Diana Cahill said. "It's the same thing Greg Mortenson says, education in the world makes the economy work."

Another area of devleopment includes the microfinance division which Dawson has helped establish under the guidance of Opportunity International. Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda lends an average of $150 to each individual and eliminates any literacy discrepancy by utilizing fingerprint recognition for customers to access their bank accounts.

"These were real banks that serve the bottom of the pyramid," he said.

There is also a significantly high 98-99 percent repayment rate, Dawson said. This is because all borrowers must be part of a trust group, becoming jointly liable for each other's loans.

This system creates not only discipline but a social safety net that encourages growth, he said.

Dawson also commented on the role women play in rebuilding the country - 80 percent of those who are borrowing money and starting small businesses are women. While fathers may take half of the harvest income to buy alcohol, mothers would take the money and feed their children first, he said.

"A mother's desire for her children to survive is the most powerful force in the world," Dawson said.

Dawson said he believes Rwanda has the potential to become a model country to other African nations because of leaders like Ruchyahana who have vision, integrity and drive.

"We [foreign experts] don't motivate them," he said. "We just help them gain more fruit for their work."

In the new government, more than 55 percent of the parliamentary members are females, which complies with a constitutional amendment that says at least 30 percent of the parliament must be female.

It is the vision of Rwanda' s leaders that their country become a self-sufficient nation by the end of 2020, Dawson said.

"My personal mission is to build a bridge from here to Rwanda and to transform people at both ends," he said. "Even on our worst day what we have towers above 80 percent of the world. Let our cup run over.

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