Our final day with Plan Rwanda

Today was our last day visiting Plan Rwanda projects.  We visited three schools where Plan has sponsored various programs.  It was amazing.  And I am very tired.  I'll post some photos here and add some additional details later.

It is an evening of goodbyes for us.  Four of our group - Tim, Stacy, Erin, and myself - will be staying in Rwanda tomorrow.  The remainder of the group is driving to Kigali in the morning for a flight to Nairobi and a few days of safari in Kenya.  My life is blessed not just by the experiences I've had so far in Rwanda, but most certainly by the wonderful people with whom have shared this journey.  I will never forget my fellow umuzungus and the wonderful experiences we've had in the land of a thousand hills.

It's nearly 10 pm in Rwamagana and our Land Rover leaves at 6 a.m. for a game drive in northern Akagera National Park in the eastern reaches of Rwanda.  We'll then return to Kigali for a flight to Entebbe at 8 p.m.   After a short layover in Entebbe, we'll be heading to Amsterdam on a red-eye.  Needless to say, it promises to be a long day!

More beautiful smiling schoolchildren!

Make that LOTS more smiling schoolchildren.  And James!

An amazing school that actually has services for disabled children.  We are speaking with Ignatius, the headmaster, who is a specialist in teaching hearing-impaired students.  He has helped to develop Rwandan Sign Language.  Absolutely incredible.

This was painted on the side of one of the classroom blocks at Ignatius' school.

We visited the Kiziguro School, a very highly regarded secondary school in Rwanda.  We were greeted by the students in an assembly where they feted us - and some other Plan guests from Norway - with traditional Rwandan singing and dancing.  We even got into the act at the end.  There must have been 900 students there.  

This is the amazing view from the driveway down from the Kiziguro School.

 We ended the day at the Plan Rwanda Gatsibo Program Unit office, where we met with the staff, reflected on our visit, and exchanged ideas.  It was a productive meeting and a wonderful opportunity to wrap up our visit and share our experiences.  The people of Rwanda are truly blessed to have the amazing people at Plan Rwanda working to help them.

And to top it all off, we got to see a monkey on the wall of the Plan Rwanda offices!