As always the last day of the trip is bittersweet. Its heart wrenching to say goodbye to our beloved Nyamata girls and to experience the end of many blossoming friendships that were recently made. Several tears were shed at the final goodbye lunch at Green Corners, however some of the tears truly were tears of joy. Speaking for myself, I know that at every lunch I cry both with sadness and joy. Yet, mostly with joy because I see these incredible bonds and relationships that were made in just two weeks and I cry with an overwhelming amount of happiness because of the impact both the US students and Rwandan girls have on each other. The friendships the girls make with the US students not only gives love and hope to the girls but it gives the US students a chance to experience a cross cultural friendship and to see that no matter where one is in the world, we are all the same.

The lunch went very well as usual, we began with some fun tunes and a short dance party to start it off. We played Michael Jackson, Chris  Brown, and some Beyonce. Just a few of the girl’s favorites. Seeing everyone dance together was another reminder of close bonds created, smiles, laughter and beauty of young people connecting across the world. We then enjoyed a delicious lunch consisting of Rwandans traditional foods, sweet potatoes, spaghetti, spinach, beef, and rice. After lunch we provide a chance for everyone to say their goodbyes and last comments to the group as whole. Everyone was eager to say something and almost everyone in the group ended up speaking. Several Nyamata girls stood up and said how incredible the past two weeks had been and how sad they are to see everyone to go. Many of the girls could not last more than two minutes speaking and ended up breaking out in tears and sitting down. A few US students spoke about the incredible past two weeks and how every one of the Nyamata girls had changed their life. Grace, Ellie, my mom and I concluded with the final comments. We thanked the restaurant (6 years of hosting our celebration), our beloved teacher Philipe for all his hard work, the adults, and all the students for coming together. Then my favorite part, handing out of the goodie bags. The night before the goodbye lunch all of the students gather donations and separate them into piles for each of the girls. Carolyn Ward is always so gracious to bring a large majority of the supplies, taking charge of creating the goodie bags. I am always in awe in the generosity and support Carolyn offers to the organization and specifically to the girls.

Everyone gave their last hugs and kisses and we headed off. There is always a more quiet bus ride back where students reflect on the trip and on the friendships they just made.

It was an amazing trip and I can confidently say that lives were changed, both for the Nyamata girls and the US students.

Until next year.

Jessica

I can honestly say that I am more relaxed than I have been in months. After a morning session of tutoring the Nyamata girls English, a third of our group got the chance to visit the houses of four of our girls.

First, we visited the home and family of Gillian. Her polite parents welcomed us in, and as soon as we entered the small living room we were in the company of her four other siblings.  I found a seat among seven others on a bench that didn’t go higher than my ankles, and the group of 13, plus the family, sat like sardines around a room no larger than a full-size American bathroom. As I set my water bottle down it cracked on the rough cement floor. Despite our physical discomfort, the atmosphere in the room was glowing with smiles and excitement. Gillian’s mom didn’t hesitate to thank all of us (in Kinyarwanda), and Gillian and the other Nyamata girls showed off their English as they translated both her words and ours. We conversed, through Gillian, for some time, and then the whole group moved outside up front of the home and took a picture. Emmy Neilson also got the chance to show off her house keeping skills as she tried to rid the front yard of leaves with a hand crafted broom made from stiff straws. We parted the house in high spirits and hopped on the crammed bus to our next destination.

Next, we visited the house of sisters Veronique and Feren. Two older sisters greeted us initially, and once inside the house we shook hands and hugged the parents. The room in which we were seated was equally small as the last, and our company had doubled as Veronique and Feren were two of 9 children, and half the neighborhood had joined us as well. Our interactions went similarly to the previous visit, but Joe and I were given the treat to play a small game of keep-away soccer with all the children. Again, on our way out, 15 kids trailed the bus as it bumped along the dirt road.

Finally we stopped at Cissy’s house where we, again, met the family. Although her words were translated, the mothers gratefulness was well understood by the group as she sat and talked in tears of joy. Cissy’s face was flushed in elation as she witnessed the interaction between the group and her mother. Furthermore, Livingston, a brother, marveled at the fact that so many muzugu’s were in his home. We ended this stay with sodas—a token of gratitude from the family for all of our work  supporting Cissy in her education.

And this is why I find myself in such a relaxed mood. Today was a day full of grace, thankfulness, and happiness, from families in way worse situations than any of ours.  We will return to Seattle with a better understanding of how fortunate we are.

Alec

Today was the first full day we had with our Nyamata girls. We did home visits in the morning to Grace and Naomi’s homes, which was a humbling and powerful experience. The mothers were both so generous though they did not have a lot to give. Lori made a point to explain to us that these visits we do annually are the highlights of their year. Meeting the families of the girls this organization supports and seeing how appreciative they are of what we do is rewarding. My favorite part of the day however, was the time we got in the afternoon to just hangout with the girls. We played games, did a little bit of English teaching, and had a dance party. For me, just kickin’ it with people is the best way to get to know them. I finally started to feel the connection being made between me and some of the girls that so many of the returning trip members had told me about.

John

Today was our first day of home visits! Myself along with about 7 others pus Kate and Susan walked to two of our girls houses to meet their families and do any house work that is needed. First, we went to Esther’s house. Her house was surprisingly big, at least I thought though. We met her 19 year old sister and her father. Esther looks just like her father! We got to go inside her house and chat for a second then went right to work cleaning her backyard. Her father was extremely grateful for everything that we do which made us all feel great. AfterEsther’s house, we walked to Blanche’s house. While it was a far walk, it was worth it. Her family was so kind to us. We sat and talked in her livingroom for about an hour. Her mother talked about how grateful she was for us and then decided to pray for us. Her words were so kind it brought some of us to tears. Both families had clearly been through a lot in their lives and made us all feel amazing for what we are doing for them. The home visits were only two hours but were a very memorable two hours.

Alex

After an exciting night of playing sardines and hide and seek around the hotel, we arose early for an emotional day. When we arrived at Nyamata in the morning, one third of the group left with Ester and Blanche (two of the Nyamata girls) to do home visits. We first arrived at Ester’s house where we met her father and helped with cleaning their yard clear of garbage. Ester’s family greatly appreciated the aid and gifs that we gave them. We then continued on to Blanches house. Along the way we finally understood how far the girls have to walk to get to and from school. At Blanches house we were greeted with open arms by her uncle, her brother, and her mother who was not able to walk well due to a car accident. Blanches mother repeatedly showed her gratitude by praying for us and blessing us. She was especially thankful when we gave her a gift of fruit.

Meanwhile back at the school, the other students were engaged in an art lesson taught by Camille and Lily. We learned along with the Nyamata students how to draw eyes and other inanimate objects. After drawing them, the students were required to label what they’d drawn and identify different parts. We then had each student present to the group what they’d drawn using adjectives such as “big” and “green”. This activity was especially helpful for the girls working on new vocabulary.

After lunch we walked to another genocide memorial next to the school. It was a church that over 2,000 people had hidden in for three months until they were slaughtered by their own neighbors. As we walked to it, there was an air of sadness among everyone, and no one felt up to talking. The inside of the church was filled with all of the clothes that the victims had worn while they were killed. In some spots we could still see bloodstains and bullet holes. The tour guide mentioned many torturous acts that the victims had experienced before death. At one point we descended into a basin of the church where there were some of the bones and a coffin containing a woman who had been especially tortured by rape. She was one of many. We then went just outside of the church where there was a mass grave. Inside of the grave was a long narrow hallway with shelves to the roof. Skulls and femur bones filled these shelves as well as more coffins of whole skeletons. It was damp and cold and everyone felt a creepy chill. After the memorial we walked back to the school to say our goodbyes and head back to Kigali. It was a great bonding experience to go through the church with the girls and we are all excited to see them again tomorrow.

Julia S and Cate

Dancers at Imbazi Orphanage perform a traditional dance with long, flowing headdresses.

Friday July 19^th

After waking up to a beautiful morning at Lake Kivu, we packed up our bags and prepared to leave the resort. There were a few problems finding room keys, but after several desperate searches of the grounds we finally found the missing key! We then loaded into our vans and began the drive to Imbazi Orphanage.

The road leading up to the remote Imbazi Orphanage was bumpier than a rollercoaster. As we traveled up this bumpy road carefully, children swarmed our vans. The orphanage itself has an amazing story. It was started by a woman who had moved to Rwanda after her adventurous husband raved about Africa. Once in Africa, she separated from her husband and started a flower mill.  After the genocide, she saw the copious amounts of orphans and decided to turn her flower mill into an orphanage. The orphanage encompasses fifty hectares of lush land. We explored these fields and met their animals. Some became closer with these animals than others (Lilly had the pleasure of getting kicked by a cow).  The day we visited there were around seventeen children in the orphanage. We made arts and crafts with these children and watched traditional dancers. We also met the many young children who live nearby. At first, they were timid and ran when Alec and Sam ran toward them, but soon enough they were coming toward us and posing for pictures. They also got their taste of aerobics when Lori led a little class with the small children. We all ate a short lunch at the orphanage then began the long journey back to Kigali.

Genevieve

Jessica, Ellie, Grace, and Alice presenting.

Friday, July 20

Moraho!

The American students woke up fairly early on our first full day back in Kigali, Rwanda. We were exhausted from the previous night’s game of Charades, so the whole morning routine was delayed for everyone. However, after a positive energy boost from our younger leaders (Trish, Sooz, and Lizzay) we were raring up for the busy day ahead of us.

We kicked off the day by bussing towards the NetHope IT Program building. When we arrived, we met up with our IMBUTO and Nyamata students and were lectured on the importance of the NetHope organization. This program is backed by Microsoft and handpicks applicants from several countries all over Africa to enhance vocational skills in the technology sector. This activity was significant for the younger Rwandan girls because we wanted to show them examples of strong Rwandan women who were empowered through education.

We culminated in a scrumptious lunch at the IT department and travelled to the traditional market near the UTC supermall in Kigali. Several of us bought goodies while practicing our bargaining skills – Alena, of course, trumps the rest of us with this universal skill. (Although Sam managed to bargain a large African mask down from 100,000 to 50,000 franks!)

Finally, we reached our hotel with bags under our eyes. Free time was compassionately given to us from Trish, Sooz, and Lizzay, so we were able to rest and play cards. Today was an exotic day for the twenty-eight of us American teenagers, and we are hungry for the last final days to come!

Xoxo, Ellie

(Shout out to my Tanzania-bound twin – have a safe trip and enjoy climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro!)

If you want to know more information about NetHope, visit: http://nethope.org/

Sunday, July 15th

You know you’re in Rwanda when you don’t have a shower curtain, your toilet doesn’t flush, your mosquito net falls on you and on one arm alone you have 23 bug bites. There are too many words to describe today’s experience. Everyday has been breathtaking. We are beginning the process of meeting the girls and getting to know then through games, songs and many more activities. This morning we started off with meeting the girls, and going to a variety of different churches that all welcomed and introduced us. Soon after we drove down Nyamata with the girls to start our very first day of teaching. We were assigned 3 students and a learning partner to help teach the English learning books we were given. After then reading the books, we chose 3 vocabulary words from the story, studied them, and then created a skit to perform (with the 3 words included) for the rest of the groups. This was an experience to remember full of laughs and smiles. Next we said our goodbyes to the Nyamata girls and drove down to the market. The market was within a long building crammed with jewelry, clothing, bags, instruments and much more. The fun of the market was the bargaining. The one thing I remember from the market was all the storeowners calling you “brothuh” or “sistah when you entered their shop.” After a long day of exhaustion and liveliness, we were welcomed with hot thin-crusted pizza from Soleluna (a small pizzeria down the street.) Today was full of enthusiasm and adventure-I cannot wait for the next week’s journeys to come.

Eliana

Lexi & Rivkah

Please excuse the lateness of these last two posts. They were somehow lost in the fray as we have been coordinating between several computers and email connectivity can be unpredictable. We hope you have all been enjoying the posts so far, and there are more to come!