Life in Gitarama

At first, our team was in Kigali (the capital) for about 4 days, but as we learned more specifics about what we would be doing, we found that Alana, Emily, and myself would be working in Gitarama (a city about an hour south of Kigali). It’s without a doubt a smaller city, but at times it seems like it’s enormous. We started work the very next day, but really it was pretty much a tour of the work FHI (Food for the Hungry International) is doing in various communities. The tour was awesome! (Don’t freak out Mom) … I can’t help that the driving here in Rwanda is CRAZY! So our tour was 6 of us crammed in the back of a small Toyota pick-up truck driving around on long, windy, STEEP, pot-hole-filled, skinny, dirt roads. (Phew). Seriously, no joke. There were a couple times I thought we were for sure going to flip the truck, maybe have to bail out, but I was pretty much the only one freaking out of the 4 other girls and one guy (Caleb), so I tried to “man-up” as best as I could. (Key word: try). Anyway, we visited two schools that day. The first one you can see in the picture below. The kids here were amazing. We got out and walked around looking in the classrooms and literally the kids were hanging on us. I must have had 6 kids on each arm at one time. I was trying to catch up with the group, but I couldn’t walk- they were just too excited to see all of us!If I’m honest I’d have to admit that the first few days of my job weren’t all that great. Maybe I just had greater expectations- expectations that I shouldn’t have had. I was told that I would be following a lady named Claire around to a couple different CDP centers (Child Development Program) and shadowing her (basically). First let me try to explain a CDP center. It’s not really a center-like a building, rather it’s more like a community, a team of local leaders, teachers, and students who work with an FHI CDP promoter. The promoter is responsible for all children in the school, especially the FH sponsored children (who here are called CDP children). The promoter is supposed to do home visits when children are sick or have dropped out, when parents need to be educated on the importance of hygiene and a balanced nutrition, and other various reasons. They also meet with associations who FHI has chosen to “sponsor” and provide resources for … which I will explain a little more later.Now, I work with an AMAZING lady named Mechtild. If it weren’t for her I don’t know if I would stay here in Gitarama- I would probably go back to Kigali and tag along with another intern who is doing agriculture work. I only stayed with Claire for 4 days, because well, it just didn’t work out. So I was assigned to Mechtild. She has been working with FHI for only 2 years and the work she is doing is incredible. This lady really understands the concept of WORK!
I meet with her 4 days a week (Monday, Wednesday-Friday) because Tuesday is a day off for everyone to go to the Gachacha courts. My day starts at 7:30(ish) when I begin walking to the taxi stop (in “Ruhina”) where everyday I have to literally wave down a taxi. Once they stop I say “Chakabiri” which is the station I need them to take me to. For some reason they look at me weird like I don’t know how to say it (even though it’s one of the FEW words I actually can say correctly), so I point to it on a paper that I carry the entire time and point to the tariff. They always want to charge me double or triple the price … but I know the real price and I don’t think they like that too much. I get in by 7:50 and ride 5 minutes up the road to a gas station. I get off, pay, and cross the road to walk a couple minutes away to the bicycle stop. Here there are 10-20 boys on bicycles waiting to take you wherever you need to go. I have one boy who takes me every morning to “Cyeza” community which is a beautiful (but SCARY and BUMPY) bikeride. It’s kinda funny because everyday I have to pray on the way and ask God to help me just calm down and trust these boys who ride up and down the dirt road everyday. Seriously though, everytime I get off the bike (after the 35 minute ride) my feet and legs feel strained because they are so tense and clinched during the ride. Ahhh, anyway … It’s beautiful. When I feel brave enough I take some pictures or a video and I will have to show you later! So how much time are we at so far?? About an hour. Ok, so the bike doesn’t take me all the way to the school. You see … like I said, on the way there it is pretty much downhill except for the last 10 minutes or so to the school. So instead of him walking with me, I pay him at the bottom of the hill and I walk up a trail myself. It’s only about 10 minutes, but man is it a kicker. It beats the heck out of the stairmaster at the gym! So I finally reach the school after an hour and ten minutes!! Awesome huh? =)

Everyday is different, but typically this is what a normal day may look like. The mornings are pretty slow. Sometimes I help her with the letters children write to their sponsors or I teach for 2 hours (2 classes, one hour each-IN ENGLISH-which I can explain more about later) or we do some home visits. Why home visits? Well, it would take a LONG time to explain every reason in detail, so I will try to give the condensed version. Top priority is given to children who drop out of school. There are two main reasons these children drop; because they need to stay at home to help their parents, grandparents, or siblings with the daily chores. For various reasons, the adults cannot do all of the chores on their own, it’s just too much … so children (ages 7-14) stay home to help and often times do not come back to school. Another reason may be because the family is too poor to have their able-bodied children go to school when they could be working for money or staying at home to do chores while parents travel into town to work for money. It’s a horrible thing, I know. It is difficult for me to accept that they don’t understand that staying in school is the best thing for their children. I’m really torn on this issue because I couldn’t possible imagine what it’s like to only eat 7 meals a day. And no, not American sized meals … these are very small portions of food. Do you see how this is such a tough situation? Other reasons for home visits are that many children suffer from malnutrition, mild cases of sicknesses to severe heart problems, malaria, parasites from bad water, and bad hygiene is also a huge issue. Some children have black toenails that are falling off, have fungus growing on their shaved heads, or simply have torn and horribly dirty clothes. With all of these reasons, Mechtild goes into the home and talks to the parents and advises them on how to better care for their children.

After home visits we will eat lunch. Every morning I pack my own lunch with the same thing everyday … a peanut butter/honey sandwich, a banana, and some fruit snacks that I brought with me from Costco (thanks Mom!) There just isn’t much you can “pack”. They don’t have stuff like that here. Plus I eat a lot, so that’s why I packed so much extra food! But anyway, lunch is supposed to be 2 hours, but we usually take half hour and then pack up to meet with an association. The associations here are actually more like PTA’s but they are also “co-workers” … kinda. A group of about 15-25 parents of the CDP (sponsored by FHI) children who have joined together to find a way to make money and continue to support their family- otherwise known as a livelihood strategy (wink, wink, Dr. Greene!!!). For many families this is their only source of income and to be quite honest, it is actually working out for many of the associations. I have met with two different types of basket weaving associations, bee hive makers, modern bee hive makers, and a “banana beer” making association. Trust me though, I hear this stuff is bad news!! Stay away from banana beer- even if it does sound interesting. So when I meet with these people I usually get to hear about what they are doing with the money they are bringing in and how they plan to further advance their products to reach a larger market. It’s fascinating to hear their ideas! But then usually in the end they will ask if I have any advice for them … HA! Me ... advice for them? I’m definitely no business or marketing expert … but I usually will say a few words about the importance of working together and making sure the children are benefiting from the products as well. I was happy to hear that many of the families use the money toward buying medical insurance which is a HUGE DEAL!! I don’t know why, but even thought I have no experience in the area, I’m really feeling a tug toward going into some kind of health care development. Maybe that’s something Dr. Greene and I can talk about later when I get back to school.

So my day is almost over … By this time it’s usually about 4:00 (or 16:00 here). We head back to the school to grab our stuff and make sure we have everything, then start the trek back home on the uphill dirt road. The first few days we were fortunate enough to get a ride from some trucks that were heading that way. Other days … not so fortunate! The other day we actually walked the ENTIRE WAY back up the dirt road … a full TWO HOURS!!! I’m tellin’ ya … I’m going to be in the best shape when I get back! Haha But it’s really not that bad. We take our time and enjoy the conversations we have! AHHH she is so amazing! I wish you could meet her! Mechtild just has the most amazing heart and she truly cares for everyone and about everything the community does. She is incredibly knowledgeable and she isn’t afraid to tell parents and grandparents in the community the hard truth sometimes. She is gentle in her approach, but in her young age, only 28 years old, she understands the importance in families taking care of each others needs. She inspires me in so many ways and I truly hope to come away from this experience with even a chunk of the knowledge of and heart for development like she does.

It gets dark here around 7:00 and I usually get home at 5:30-6:00. So there ya have it … a typical work day here in Gitarama! After work I come home and either sit on the couch because I’m completely pooped, or I look in the mirror at how dark I got that day! Haha it’s actually pretty funny. I have the narliest flip flop tan lines! =) We eat AMAZING food around 7:30 which is cooked by our housekeeper Sabine (a national). This woman is a crack up! We all love her to death! She is so fun, a wonderful cook, and speaks pretty darn good English so we like to hang out with her. After we stuff our faces like typical Americans, we will either just hang out and talk, or write, or I don’t really know actually. This part is a blur to me until bed around 11:00!

Murabeho

Genocide sinking in ...

Two days after arriving in Kigali, one of the first things we all wanted to do was visit the genocide memorial. Just to give you a little background and history of Rwanda … It’s a tiny, tiny country (about the size of the state of Maryland) and it is pretty much smack dab in the middle of Africa. Rwanda is made up of three “tribes”: Hutu (85% of the population), Tutsi (14%), and TWA (1%). While there was already distinction and tension between the two main tribes, German colonizers created even more tension by in 1932 introducing I.D. cards for everyone to wear and be identified by. Maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal to us Americans. We have different ethnicities and races in our country … But for Rwanda, outside forces set up the scene for this disastrous genocide to come. Tutsi were put in power by the colonizers because of their features; “They looked more like white people features than the Hutu features did”. For many years fighting went back and forth between the two groups, but eventually the Hutu took over when they realized they were the majority.

If you remember the Holocaust and think about how the “genocide” occurred there, you will probably immediately think about the awful brainwashing of people into thinking that Jews were not “human”. This is very similar to the situation in Rwanda. The new Hutu government and leaders in the communities insisted that Tutsi were “cockroaches” and didn’t deserve to live. They needed to be “destroyed” just like the Jews were in the 1940’s. Several years before the genocide began in 1994, Hutu made plans to get weapons like guns, clubs, machetes, and anything else they can use as a tool to carry out the job. Without going into graphic detail, but while still being honest with you, the reality is that on April 6, 1994 a genocide began on the very ground I have been walking on for a little over a week now.

No lives were spared in this act; men, women, and yes, even children’s lives were taken. On the first day alone several thousand people were killed and numbers only increased each day after that. For one hundred days, until July 17^th, 1994 Tutsi were turned in to officials by friends, in-laws, and employers. Try to imagine not knowing who to trust. Try to feel what it would be like to be in hiding for 2-3 months, in a space no bigger than a small coat closet, and fearing for your life the entire time. It’s important that the world hears about issues like the Rwandan genocide.

Our day at the memorial was tough. On the site there were about 250,000 bodies buried, only a fraction of the total 800,000 that were killed in the 100 days. This number doesn’t include the number of people who died in the Tutsi rebellion after the genocide ceased; that number was over a million people. I think about it now, exactly one week later, and I remember a quote I saw on the wall. “When they said “never again” after the Holocaust was it meant for some people and not for others?” ~ Apollon Kabahiz. What happened at this time? Why didn’t we, the most powerful nation in the world, respond? We can turn to the reason the Clinton Administration gave when they heard about the situation in Rwanda, but then again, it is in the past and now we just have to move on and help these people find healing. There are still many, many wounds to be healed here. Gachacha courts are still in progress and the communities are seeking to bring justice to the murderers, the victims, and their families.

I go back to the quote and I wonder, Is it really possible to prevent genocide from happening again- for anyone, or is it really only meant for some? The crisis in Darfur, Sudan is genocide. It has happened again. Whether the country we live in, or any other country in the world wants to recognize it or not, it is. I believe that speaking out and promoting awareness on the issue is vital! Thankfully, many people have come to this realization and have responded in various ways. But, truth is these people cannot do it alone. Obviously not everyone can physically go and help, but there are other important (just as important) ways to get involved. Supporters are necessary. By reading up on the real story of what’s going on in Sudan is a step. Also to create awareness in your workplace, school, and hangouts can help and may potentially influence communities and local governments to take action. Mainly though, these people need your prayers. They wonder every day if they will see the run rise in the morning, but if we pray for God’s protection over these people and for governments to intervene now, our Lord will hear and He will provide.

Maybe this is a little heavy … but I’m finding that it’s better to be honest, especially with ourselves, than to keep what’s real locked up inside.

The beginning ...

:Muraho:

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this thing started. I’m not about to give any excuses … but I hope you can all handle a lot of information coming all at once from now on. I do tend to write a lot, but I’ll try my best to split them up so you don’t have to sit at your computer for hours reading all this :)

The journey began on Sunday June, 3^rd at 9:45 PM where I flew to Phoenix, AZ for three days of orientation and training. I met the rest of my team there and most of the other Food for the Hungry- Phoenix based staff. The other interns I will be with are Aaron, Alana, Caleb, Emily, Jim, and Karen. All great people, from all over the U.S., and with different backgrounds and stories. It’s really great to see how we were all chosen, based on our unique gifts, to go to Rwanda together and experience what the world has to offer.

We left for Rwanda on Thursday, June 7^th at 5:30ish (PM) and after 36 hours of traveling to Denver, D.C., Rome (for a fuel stop), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and Nairobi, we finally made it to Kigali, Rwanda. It was a miracle that we made it there without any complications, but what was even more or a miracle was that ALL of our bags made it there!! How it happened- we will never understand. The only explanation I can give is that God heard our millions of prayers and decided to give us a break from days of stinky clothes … probably because American B.O. is so much worse than African B.O. as we have come to learn this past week. (Random and a little gross, yes, I know. Sorry about that, but it is true).

Africa definitely has a distinct smell, but it is nothing to get disgusted about. The country is absolutely beautiful. I wish you could just be here and see for yourself, but until you can take some time off to see the world, these pictures will have to do. And what’s sad is that these pictures hardly do the beauty justice. The landscape is incredible. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills and let me tell you- it’s true! There are “mini” mountains and valleys filled with thousands of banana trees and so many other trees and plants. It is interesting because I expected to see so much more poverty than I have seen. Maybe it is just that I have been overlooking all of it because of the fact that the land is simply breath-taking. I really wish America looked more like Rwanda as I’m sure you would as well.

There’s something amazing about this place. I’m not sure if it’s the people, the land, the weather, or just the feel of being apart of a different culture. Whatever it is, I feel so blessed to have been able to participate in this experience. I still cannot come to grips with the fact so many people responded to my letter and have been so generous as to support me. A simple “thank you” hardly seems enough, but from the inner-most part of my heart I thank you so much. I hope you enjoy my updates and from the beginning I would like to invite you to experience this with me. It is just as much my experience as it is yours. Please feel free read more of my blogs or other books and information on Rwanda and the genocide in ‘94, look at my pictures, e-mail me (and wait maybe a day or a week for my response) or just take it all in and reflect on what is going on here.