We're on our way back to Kigali for a bit more shopping before heading to the airport for our quick flight to Narobi. Really looking forward to getting to Kenya and starting our next journey (2-day safari).
The last three days in Getsibo have been incredibly surreal. To see the progress they've made in such a short time since settling back after the civil war is fantastic. Knowing what else can and needs be accomplished in the future is a bit daunting though. Fortunately, there are organizations like Plan Rwanda whose mission is to provide the vital services to impact communities over the long-term. They are not designed to come in to provide immediate sporadic relief then leave. They are truly embedded in the Getsibo district. I was very ecouraged at our debrief meeting last night with Plan after visiting another three schools they support. By offering a variety of support services (education, women's rights advocation, livestock, savings and loans, etc) they have established themselves as "the" NGO in this region in a very short time. The locals see a Plan vehicle driving down the road and instantly smile because they know Plan isn't going anywhere and that they provide services aimed to establish a sustanable community. The debrief meeting was reassurance the money we raise at Hobsons and the money thousands of people give Plan International does not go to waste nor is viewed by the people receiving relief as an empty gesture. I can't tell you how many times I heard children, teenagers, teachers, adults, and elders thank me (and us) for not only raising relief money for Plan, but for making the long journey to meet and visit with them. For having so little, they has given me so much. The most rewarding thing we heard in the debrief meeting was when Media (Program Unit Manager for the Getsibo office) said she overhead adults asking one another "if these Americans, Brits and Aussies can love us and give us so much, can we love each other the same way and with the same amount of love?" She explained that it's not in the East African culture to be "givers", but seeing outsiders come in and show so much love through giving and legitimately caring they began asking themselves..."why not?" She believes the community where our school is being built will not only be dramatically impacted because the kids will have a place to learn, but more so because what the gesture means as a whole and how it will impact everything else. I think we all found ourselves getting choked up a bit after hearing what the community will be like 20-30 years down the road.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
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!
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.
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! |
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Was going to load pics, but...
...it's taking too long. I'll have to reduce file size and get them up later today.
In the meantime, thought I'd share the variety of ways Vee and I woke up this morning. First, at 4:45am, we woke to a gentleman running down a nearby road shouting something in kinyarwanda that I swear was "WAKE UP...WAKE UP...WAKE UP!" He was either on his way home from a great night out at one of the local "saloons" or was nominated as the town wake-up call by the elders. Second, at 5:30, we woke up again to two birds in a nearby tree with the highest pitched call ever. This was when I knew there was no way I was returning back to sleep. I thought I'd try anyway and grabbed my iPhone to put on some David Gray. Third, at 6:05, a few of the maintenance guys from the hotel decided to start chopping down an avocado tree 30-40 feet from our room's door (this was later confirmed when I walked down to breakfast). Finally, at 6:30, the maintenance workers that cut down the tree decided it was time to chop it up...only 10 feet from our front door on the other side of the shrubs.
As I sit here typing this (after a shower, breakfast, and two cups of instant coffee), it's 7:30 and my phone alarm is just now going off.
Good morning...Rwanda-style!!
In the meantime, thought I'd share the variety of ways Vee and I woke up this morning. First, at 4:45am, we woke to a gentleman running down a nearby road shouting something in kinyarwanda that I swear was "WAKE UP...WAKE UP...WAKE UP!" He was either on his way home from a great night out at one of the local "saloons" or was nominated as the town wake-up call by the elders. Second, at 5:30, we woke up again to two birds in a nearby tree with the highest pitched call ever. This was when I knew there was no way I was returning back to sleep. I thought I'd try anyway and grabbed my iPhone to put on some David Gray. Third, at 6:05, a few of the maintenance guys from the hotel decided to start chopping down an avocado tree 30-40 feet from our room's door (this was later confirmed when I walked down to breakfast). Finally, at 6:30, the maintenance workers that cut down the tree decided it was time to chop it up...only 10 feet from our front door on the other side of the shrubs.
As I sit here typing this (after a shower, breakfast, and two cups of instant coffee), it's 7:30 and my phone alarm is just now going off.
Good morning...Rwanda-style!!
Rwanda is beautiful
There aren't words that effectively describe the incredibe beauty of this country. Nor can I capture enough pictures that really show the grand landscapes, well tended homes, and amazing people of this magical place. I've certainly tried, though!
These photos are just a small sampling of some of the beauty of Rwanda that we saw today.
These photos are just a small sampling of some of the beauty of Rwanda that we saw today.
 |
| Weaver birds in the tree in front of the Dereva Hotel where we are staying. There are probably 50-60 nests in this tree alone. |
 |
| A tree across the street is a favorite of these cranes - and 10 or so can be seen in and around the tree at any time. |
 |
| The road from the hotel heading further east into Gatsibo. |
 |
| Amazing vistas seem to be around every corner. |
 |
| We met this little fellow at a livestock cooperative. He was quite shy but amazingly adorable. |
 |
| Also at the cooperative, a baby asleep on his mother's back. |
 |
| The view from Jambo Beach, where we ate lunch. |
Umuzungu!
As you can probably well imagine, a busload of 10 caucasians coming down your road in rural Rwanda is not something you see every day. As we have criss-crossed the highways, country roads, and dirt tracks of Gatsibo District, we are constantly waving to the people we pass. Particularly on the rural back roads, our waves and smiles are instantly returned - often with great enthusiasm. Many people - particularly children - yell "Umuzungu!" as soon as we are spotted. Umuzungu is a Kinyarwandan phrase meaning "white person." It isn't derogatory, simply descriptive. I wish I could capture the variety of ways in which I heard umuzungu today. It ranged from the more reserved - almost like a greeting, all the way to the firehouse siren of a beautiful child who seemed to be alerting the entire district of our presence. It sounded more like "UMUZUNGUuuuuuuu!" as we drove by. I am honored to be an umuzungu in Rwanda.
 |
| James waving to children on the way back to the hotel |
The boy with one eye, 80's techno, and a thousand more smiles
We're headed back to the hotel after another fantastic day. We first stopped at another Plan USA sponsored project that seeks to help communities create a network for raising and giving away livestock. There we met several beautiful children...one who stood out to me was the shy boy with one eye missing. He didn't want his picture taken nor did he really want to be approached, but a stick of gum and patience eventually won him over. When we left he was seen jumping up and down, waving, and chomping on that very piece of gum I had given him five minutes earlier. After an interesting stroll through the district market that hadn't seen many white people before we headed back to a lake front restaurant where we were greeted with very loud and very awesome 80's techno music. We enjoyed a more traditional African lunch right on the water...well, maybe not traditional but at least it didn't have french fries! We finished the day by making a long trek up and down and around even more hills than the day before to visit another Plan USA's sponsored project where small groups form together to participate in a savings and loan program. Was remarkable to see the poorest of poor give a little amount every week to go towards their individual savings and individual/group projects requiring loans (e.g. building a garden or buying a cow). The group we met with was comprised of young adults 35 yrs or younger who all march towards one vision...everyone owning a cow!! In fact, they named themselves "Vision" and meet one a week to donate up to US $2 towards the cause. On our way back to the main road that leads back to our hotel (which we're still on as I type this) we were once again greeted with shouts, waves and a thousand smiles by adoring children and other locals who want nothing but for us to come back tomorrow.
Hopefully no errors this time. I fixed my earlier blog errors...had little time to write, no time to proofread, and apple's damn auto-correct got me again!!
Hopefully no errors this time. I fixed my earlier blog errors...had little time to write, no time to proofread, and apple's damn auto-correct got me again!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)