Sunday, 5 AM.
I’m sitting in the back of a 4-wheel drive Toyota watching
the hills reveal the landscape of Rwanda to me.
As I look out the partially open window we pass green banana trees, a
pseudo palm tree for Africa; rolling hills, each with different trails walked
on them; lakes, looking as refreshing as you can imagine; and people. We pass so many people. People walking over hills to church, people
walking to get water from the lakes, and people carting bananas on their bikes
to go to market. Just people.
As I pass each individual I think about how each has a story
and how every story is worth hearing, but so few get the chance to have it be
told. How is that fair? How do we pick and choose the stories we tell
to others? What makes a tale worth
telling?
We pass 5 children under the age of 4 and they run to the
edge of the road to wave to us. Muzungus
or white travelers are superstars here.
All of the children want the chance to wave and smile at us. They want to know why we are here, but do we
want to know why they are?
The jeep in front of us throws a half empty water bottle out
of the window for a child. How do you
choose which child needs water more?
I have gotten the amazing opportunity, two times now, to
struggle with these thoughts. They bare
weight on my mind and are hard to express, but if that’s what it takes to try
to reach out to a few than I can handle it.
For now at least…
Perhaps I should back up.
This was, in brief, my week.
Monday was orientation for our first Hope Shines 2012
camp. Orientation means that all of the
volunteers and translators meet and go over the curriculum for the camps that
year. It would never be that easy though.
Due to an airline issue, Stephanie Chu, who is running the
camps this year did not land in Kigali, Rwanda until Midnight on Sunday. I picked her up and we got home around 1:30
AM to unload her 7 bags and get her to bed.
I was also on day 2 of a cold and wasn’t feeling my best, but also
acknowledged it could be worse. I could
have HIV.
It was so nice to get to see all of the translators from
last year again. Pam, Josiane, Diane,
and Bienvenu greeted me with open arms and as we sat to do introductions you
could feel the excitement in the air.
3 hours later, and much less enthusiastic, we had gone over
the entire curriculum with a fine-toothed comb!
As we took a break, we made plans to get the new volunteers to the
genocide memorial and the rest of us to make sandwiches for the first day of
camp. Even though sandwich making was
not so exciting I knew that after sandwiches we would get to meet the kids.
Brown dust, mud homes, water ditches, mopeds, and
music. Driving to the school my stomach
was in knots. I didn’t know how the kids
would react to seeing Stephanie and myself, and it was killing me.
As we pulled up to the school I could see all of the
children, my children. I popped out of
the car and ran over the group ready to have them charge me, but they didn’t.
CSC, the Child Support Center, reaches out to children that
have one parent or legal guardian technically making them an orphan by
definition in Rwanda. Due to this fact,
I had forgotten that the CSC children were by far much more guarded, as they
are in the ‘real’ world everyday. The
comparison being, SINAPISI children live in an orphanage and so they are more
willing to take chances, as all of the children are their support system.
As I went around the circle and started giving them each a
hug I could recall their faces and names as if it was yesterday that I had left
them. After all the hugs were
distributed, Stephanie and I spoke about camp and how excited we were to get to
see them again this year. Slowly, but
surely the kids got more excited over the Hope Shines camp for the year
2012.
It was in this moment that I knew that camps were happening
and that all of my preparations were well worth their while.
Camp was amazing. There
is not much more to say about the matter.
We colored, grew plants, read Eric Carle books, played
jacks, learned about producers and consumers, made recipes, played soccer, did
math games, sewed bags and maxi-pads, danced, laughed, had fun, and much more. The kids were awesome, the volunteers were
awesome, and overall camp was amazing.
I am very lucky that I get to see all of these kids again in
the days to come. The last day of camp
is usually very emotional as you are saying goodbye to the kids, but I do not
have to. Day 5 of camp, Saturday,
consisted of me reminding them about medical examinations and that I would be
there.
I am very lucky.
Saying goodbye is always the hardest part.
It’s 8 AM on Sunday morning.
I’m in Akagera National Park for a safari for the day. Even though seeing the wildlife is always
very interesting, nothing will ever beat seeing those kids smile at camp. The personal connections you make with the
people are most important. How can you
learn about a culture without any personal connections? The people are what shape the country, the
experience, and the future.
Hopefully this first week had an impact on someone here and
they can become the people I want to meet on my travels.
Sustainability is the goal and Hope Shines is doing so much
for these kids. Not only does it bring
the children together, but it cultivates creative, fosters imagination, feeds
their tummies, and pushes them to think more and try harder.
So how do I choose what stories? I don’t.
I do my best to remember them all and share them with whom ever wants to
hear them.
Can you listen?
With Care,
Chelsea
