Meeting Rwanda

I finally arrived in Kigali yesterday, and as the rest of my team had arrived the day before, I jumped right into it. We visited the genocide memorial. There are memorials all over the country, but this one is the largest with over 258,000 buried. Just for a moment, imagine if over one tenth of all Canadians were to be murdered by mid-November. That’s what these people survived. They are still finding new bodies, so they continue to build mass graves (pictured). The memorial is set up as a museum documenting the events leading up the genocide, honouring the children who were murdered, and telling the stories of this century’s other genocides.

Yesterday was wrapped up at the Hotel Milles Calliones (Hotel Rwanda). Not where the movie was filmed, but where the actually events took place.

Today was absolutely amazing… unfortunately, my camera decided to stop working, so I don’t have many pictures to post. (My team is made up of a bunch of shutterbugs, so I’m not too worried. You will just have to wait until after my trip to see the pictures.)

First, we went to the World Vision Nyamata office and heard a little about the projects they are managing:
1) Sponsorship (2800 kids)
2) Education
3) Healing, Peace building, and Reconciliation (pertaining to the genocide)
4) HIV/ AIDS (they urge people who are affected to join advocacy associations)
5) Food security (Rwanda is very green right now, but they did experience a severe drought in 2003)

They have also initiated several communities support programs. Mentorship is extremely important, and orphans and vulnerable children are given a mentor who will visit them frequently and who will be there when the children have a problem. The health problems in Nyamata are ones we would never dream of experiecing. Malaria, HIV, malnutrition, and worms are the most common.

After the WV office, we visited a local school. It was started up as a partnership between WV and the parents in the community. Apparently, these kids have the best grades in the district… I saw the math they were doing in Grade 5, and we didn’t touch that stuff until Grade 11! After we asked our questions, the kids were given the chance to ask us questions. One precocious little guy stood up and said, “Before we asked you to bring computers, and you still haven’t brought any.” After the Q&A period, we started handing out candy, and the kids got downright vicious! At one point, I had a swarm of about 20 shove me up against a wall and start grabbing at my pockets and purse! It was quite comical, but a little scary as well!

Before we left, the headmaster told us about several needs. Please keep these in mind to see if you can help or know anyone who might be able/ willing to:
1) He asked that we pray for the school, the management, the parents, and the students.
2) We would like us to help initiate a correspondence program between their classes and classes back in Canada. This one should be easy guys… spread the word with any teachers you know!
3) They need computers and electricity to run them. (They need money!)

Next, we went to see Joseanne. She is a very young widow caring for her four children. Two of her girls are sponsored. A few years ago, World Vision built them a house. Small and simple by our standards, but I have never seen anyone shine with so much pride! She could not wipe the ear-to-ear grin off of her face! She told us that before she received her house, she could not care for her children and felt useless. Not, she knows she is valuable. She has quite a large yard, and is working on building a lean-to at the back in anticipation for receiving a cow. I can’t wait to post pictures of her and her children… this woman is the epitome of the word gracious.

As the crowds of children gathered outside of Joseanne’s home, we realized what true poverty is. Three and four year olds had babies strapped to their back. A couple were naked. We gave them candies and toothbrushes. Before realising that we has enough to go around, one precious little girl crushed her Werthers, and then spat it out into tiny pieces so she could share it with her friends.

After that we visited another family who received a home from World Vision. At 23 years old, Franciose has been the head of her household since the genocide (1994… you do the math). She cares for Francine, who is also 23 but “received trauma” (emotional or physical, we didn’t find out) in the genocide. Another Franciose, another Francine, and Edan are in their mid-teens. Franciose was also very proud and talked about how she spent her salary to buy nice things for the house (benches, beds, bright blue paint for the doors and windows). She had many questions for us. She was so proud to be hosting Canadians in her home and wanted to know what Canadians thought of Rwanda.

Next, we went to an HIV association. Run by people with HIV for people with HIV. They provide support for one another, help people with getting access to healthcare, and also try to educate those not infected on how to stay that way. They sew and weave baskets to raise money for the members. I was privileged enough to buy a beautiful basket and chat with the woman who weaved it. They only had four baskets available, because it is hard for them to buy material (Cindy, this is where your money is going). Like everyone else we have met, they tell their stories with pride, grace, and hope.

Lastly, we drove down a crazy road for 20 minutes (Justin, you would have loved it, but I’m afraid that our Toyoto van was not built for such an adventure) and met Jean-Pierre, 20, and Emanuel, 17. They lost their whole family in the genocide. For a few years, they lived with relatives, but it was not a good situation. Three years ago, they returned to their parents’ land, but their house had been destroyed in the war. They currently live in a small mud hut (just like you see on TV) no bigger than 10’ wide. But, they have recently been selected to receive a house from World Vision. Jean-Pierre cares for his brother with the diligence and maturity of someone twice his age. He would like to go to school, but has more hope for his brother, so he instead works and looks for food all day so that Emanuel may go to school and be a mechanic as he dreams.

Well, much more happened, but that’s about all I can write as my eyelids are beginning to droop.

Tomorrow I will meet with Assumpta (Ang & Brian’s child), Jean D’Amore (Kath & Geoff), Charlotte (Danielle), and Jean-Pierre (me & Justin). I will see Aline next week.

If you made it up to this part, thanks for reading!!!

Adventures in Amsterdam

The Internet has been down in Rwanda. Sorry for the delay… I did eventually make it out of Europe!

Well, when I wrote my last entry, I was near tears. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me! Turns out, I just got to start my vacation early! I started talking to my seatmate on the train and found out she is Rwandan! Delphine came to Holland a year ago. I definitely made a new friend (and now have a place to stay the next time I’m in Holland)!

Brussels was a bit difficult to navigate. They mostly speak English, but the trains were difficult and no one seems too eager to help. Once I crossed the border into Holland, however, I felt like I was in some sort of utopia. Everything is easy to navigate, the trains are cheap, there is help around every corner, everyone – and I mean everyone – speaks perfect English. The train from Belgium took me straight to the airport where there are huge lockers, so I was able to get rid of my luggage. 20 minutes later, I was downtown, crossing numerous canals and dodging bicycles. Seriously, if you every need to be stranded, Amsterdam is the place to do it!

I visited Rembrant’s house, which has been turned into a museum. Other than that, I just strolled around and took pictures. Not too much to tell, but it was a great experience.

The internet is painfully slow here (think late-90's), so don't expect too many pictures.

Amanda in Brussels/ Amsterdam

Oh boy.... what a trip so far. The flight from Vancouver to London was fine (with the exception of the token screaming baby). Got to Heathrow with plenty of time to spare. Then, five minutes before boarding, our flight to Brussels was cancelled with no explaination. Have no fear... another one leaves in 2 hours!

Great! Still time to make my connection to Ethiopia. Only that flight ended up taking off an hour and a half late. And the flight attendants refused to notify Ethiopia Airlines that I was on my way. Long story short: BMI is the most horrible airline in the world!!! I missed my plane by five minutes, and I'm in a cheap hotel in Brussels, preparing to take a train to Amsterdam tomorrow, where I will sight-see for a few hours and then continue my journey to Rwanda!

(To be fair to BMI, they did offer me a $5 gift certificate for their onboard refreshments to compensate for my troubles.)

Leaving in five days!

I can't believe that in five days I will be getting on a plane and flying halfway across the world! I just wanted to post a reminder to everyone that I will be updating this page with pictures and stories regularly while in Africa... I'm bringing my laptop with me (typical Canadian!).

Thank you all for your continued support.

When elephants attack

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to try to post the link to our group leader's blog. Well, I got her permission, so if you are in the mood for a good story, see The Blog I Almost Didn't Survive to Write, by Joanna Roberston.

If you are scared of elephants, it will give you nightmares.
If you love elephants, it will change your mind.
And if you aren't going to Africa anytime soon, it will have you laughing!

Think that the battle is hopeless?

Think that the battle is hopeless? It's not! These pictures are of the same woman... the colour photo was taken only 40 days after she began receiving anti-retroviral drugs! To read the article I grabbed these pictures from, see The Lazarus Effect (the article highlights Rwanda specifically). And the drugs - although more expensive in Canada - are available for just $140 per year per person in Africa. So why are people still dying???

World Vision has a program called Hope Child Sponsorship. For $40 per month, you can sponsor a child living in a community affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This ensures that a child has access to water, nutritious food, education, and health care... things we definitely take for granted! Let me know if you want more information.

Six months after the genocide

I just came across this article online. It was published over 12 years ago, just six months after the genocide. It was in Vanity Fair, of all places. I've just included some excerpts I found important in here. For the full article, please see God and Man in Rwanda. There is no excuse for the world to have ignored the killings in Rwanda in favour of watching the Canucks and the Rangers fight over the Stanley Cup. But what I find hopeful is that at least this journalist was wrong in predicting that our indignation would soon end. If anything, I feel the world is just starting to awaken to what's been going on around us. Read on.

...Even the brutal way the killing was done had a carefully conceived purpose. People are so predisposed to thinking of Africans as savages that few paused to ask themselves why much of the killing was done with machetes, clubs, and iron bars. After all, the Rwandan army, which the authors of the genocide controlled, could simply have used the modern weapons the French, the South Africans, and the Egyptians had supplied them to exterminate the Tutsi far more quickly and efficiently. But they wanted to do more than kill. Unlike Nazi Germany, where, for all the talk of collective guilt, the killing was done by a small group in death camps set out of sight of the general population, the Hutu leadership wanted to implicate as many citizens as possible. The "artisanal" nature of the violence was a way of creating a nation of accomplices in genocide....

...It was while the genocide was going on that action was needed. But instead the great powers decided to pull most of the peacekeeping forces out of Rwanda, and left the Tutsi to their fate. By the time the C-130s began landing in Kigali again, the slaughter was over. It had ended because the R.P.F. had been victorious on the battlefield, not because the world was any better at stopping genocide in 1994 than it had been in 1944. What remained for the outside world was to minister to victim and victimizer alike. Inevitably, the distinction between the two began to blur, particularly as the news leaked out of killings of Hutu civilians and returning refugees by R.P.F. soldiers. But more predictable than the foreigners' indignation over this was the certainty that they would soon leave. Disasters are compelling for only so long. The CNN effect has a short shelf life.

When they do leave, they will quit a country that has become an eerie shell. Rwanda, once so overpopulated, is now dotted with deserted villages. Though the bodies have been removed, almost every mission and parish church in a country that had been among the most Catholic in Africa still bears the traces of the massacres that have occurred within their walls. The blood was hard enough to wash away. The memories of what people had done to one another were far more indelible...