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In 2015, a university from Hong Kong led an international servicelearning course to Kigali, Rwanda. The focus of the course was to install solar panels in individual households in a community, on the outskirts of Kigali, without access to electricity. The following year, the Hong Kong university partnered with a university in the United States and returned to Rwanda to expand the solar panel project in the same community. The central question of the qualitative impact assessment was, How, if at all, has the installation of solar panels impacted individual households and the community as a whole in the past year? Data methods included semistructured interviews and observations during visits to the 16 households who had received solar panels in previous iterations of the servicelearning project. Findings demonstrating five reoccurring themes emerged: project implementation, economic savings, improvement of study environment for childhood, women’s empowerment, and improved quality of life. A strategic government development plan, a sustained relationship between a university and a local organization, and the type of service project are highlighted as important factors. The importance of local participation in the design and implementation of the solar home systems (SHS) project is emphasized, and an unexpected impact on gender dynamics related to project design is explored. Worldwide, universities are applying servicelearning pedagogy across disciplines to enhance cognitive development, problemsolving skills, learning transfer, and global immersion experiences (Anitsal, Anitsal, Barger, & Fidan, 2014; McKee, 2016; Ngai, Chan, Kwan, 2018). Servicelearning is “a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development” (Jacoby, 2015, p. 1). Research (Chan, 2012; Duffy, 2008; Oakes et al., 2002) has demonstrated the effective nature of experiential learning that 162 | ANNE SPEAR and NATASHA CHAPMAN allows students to apply theory and concepts learned in the classroom in a handson environment in order to develop a deeper understanding of intended outcomes. There is rich literature on servicelearning’s impact on student learning; however, there is a gap in research regarding the impact on communities. Holland (2001) argues that servicelearning must go beyond student outcomes, placing faculty responsible for measuring the impact on the community and community partners in order to improve and maintain the experience and the relationships. With an emphasis on the reciprocal nature of servicelearning, it is surprising that there is a lack of attention given to the impact of the servicelearning project on communities (Chisholm, 2003; Jacoby, 1996). According to Cruz and Giles (2000), from 1993 to 1999, only eight articles examined servicelearning impact on communities. The additional application of research methodology, time, and access needed to conduct such assessments explains some of the lack of research in the area (Cruz & Giles, 2000). Limited research examining the utility of servicelearning projects in communities has emerged since 2000. For example, Harrington (2014) conducted a qualitative study to examine the opinions of community members on the benefits of international servicelearning (ISL) projects in a Costa Rican community. Findings revealed that the community recognized intercultural exchange, economic advantages, transfer of knowledge, and productivity as benefits of the project and issues of community division and the creation of more work for community members as negative aspects of the servicelearning projects. Wood, Banks, Galiardi, Koehn, & Schroeder et al. (2011) contribute to the literature by examining how faculty and participants of an ISL trip perceived their impact on their host community. While this approach is unique, the limitation to such an approach is that it lacks community voice. Galiardi and Koehn (2011) picks up Holland’s (2001) call by discussing how programs can be intentionally structured to include host community considerations through the inclusion of local partners and a meaningful commitment to local communities among student participants. Grain et al. (2019) conducted a photovoice study on an ISL project that included some of the structures that Galiardi and Koehn (2011) advocate for, such as a firm commitment to the local community. Using a social justice framework, the study found that relationships were central to community impact. A photo analysis revealed that the community valued the friendship, the learning that resulted from the exchange, and the facilitation of social change, which was a decrease in stigma around deafness. This qualitative study contributes to the literature by examining the impact of an ISL project implemented by faculty and students from a Hong Kong university (U of HK) in a community in Kigali, Rwanda. The servicelearning project, conducted in 2014, included the installation of solar home systems (SHS) in 16 households. The following summer (2015), students and faculty from U of HK and from a university in the United States (U of US) traveled to Rwanda to conduct a qualitative impact assessment evaluating the impact of the SHS on the households and the community. The central question of this assessment was, How, if at all, has the installation of solar panels impacted individual households and the community in the past year? MICHIGAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING, VOLUME 26, ISSUE 1, PG. 161–174 | 163

Measuring the Impact of an International Service-Learning Project through Community Assessment in Rwanda