Pearl of Africa

After the close of first term at Sonrise, our team decided to do a little traveling in the neighboring country of Uganda for some much needed rest and relaxation. This was my second time to Uganda, a country by which Winston Churchill referred to as the "Pearl of Africa" (although I am strongly partial to Rwanda and consider it the true gem). Although it is somewhat close, it is not necessarily an easy, breezy trip to get there. We boarded a rather large bus at 5 a.m. one morning and started out on the hot, bumpy, crowded 10 hour journey to our first destination….Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. On the bus we met a new friend and travel partner, Simon from Switzerland, who was living in southern Uganda and also yearning for a little adventure. Simon ended up being our 7th roommate for the rest of the trip, accompanying us wherever we went. That is the great thing about traveling in Africa, you are automatically best friends with your fellow muzungus due to the simple fact that you clearly stand out in a crowd and tend to gravitate towards each other. We also met up with some Ugandan friends that we know from Rwanda who guided us around the crazy city of Kampala.

Here is a picture of downtown Kampala in the middle of the day. I cannot even begin to describe to you the chaos in this city! There are literally cars, buses, mototaxis, and people lined up as far as your eyes can see and going in every direction possible with no regulations. When you get on a motorcycle taxi in the middle of Kampala city, you just close your eyes and say a little prayer!

Our next destination: somewhere with water and any resemblance of a beach. We headed to Lake Victoria, also known as the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest in the world. On our ferry ride over to Ssese Islands in the middle of Lake Victoria, we met two very interesting people. One was the charismatic, well-traveled, and fascinating Captain Lawrence who was officially in charge of our ferry. Captain Lawrence took us up to the Captain’s quarters and even let me drive the ferry (which was a very serious job with lots of intricate details to pay attention to….needless to say, my reign as captain didn’t last very long). The second was the marketing manager of a resort on the island, who took a liking to us and gave us a killer deal on what ended up being the nicest resort on the island.

Captain Lawrence

My short stint as ferry captain....

The next couple days were spent at a beautiful resort…. in the middle of an island…. in the middle of Lake Victoria… in the middle of Africa. Kind of surreal. Captain Lawrence and his assistant joined us for dinner one night, entertaining us for hours with outlandish, unbelievable stories from his years of being a fisherman and Captain of various aquatic vessels all over Africa. Our beach experience was quite interesting, as we had to share our space with several others…including 6 monkeys, a parrot, a few pigs and goats, and an ostrich. The monkeys were quite feisty, trying to steal our food whenever we weren't looking and sneaking into my bag to play with my iPod. Life is definitely never boring in Africa.

Just hanging with the monkeys.

And the ostrich....

The best part of our stay on the island was after the sun went down and all was pitch black dark, when the lake literally turned into a city of fishing boats blending into the African sky hosting thousands of brilliant stars. Hundreds of fishing boats with single bright lights lined up on Lake Victoria for their nightly duties, literally forming the illusional outline of a "city" of lights. There were more visible stars than I had ever seen, even more than on a mid-summer night looking up from a cotton field in the Arkansas Delta:)
And sitting there under that sky I was struck with an overwhelming sense of wonder in the simplicity of the moment. The words I had read in my book that day kept running through my mind…"I asked for wonder...and He gave it to me." Brennan Manning quotes this prayer in his book Ragamuffin Gospel:

"Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of Your universe....each day enrapture me with Your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all."

Grant me wonder, Lord...

Shoes...and a little fun too

A few more pictures
Although we were hard at work giving out shoes to the children of Rwanda, we found time to have a little fun too. We hit up every restaurant/hotel in Musanze (which is not saying much). We were entertained by several Intore dance troupes, which is the traditional dance of Rwanda that once performed for the Royal Courts and complete with tribal costumes, a drum orchestra, and warrior-like chants. Kris Allen performed at Sonrise chapel service and even helped me teach a class to my Seniors, including an impromptu song with several musical students in the class. One of the most memorable experiences was in our village, looking out on the most beautiful scenery in the world, with Kris surrounded by all of our precious village children singing “God of this City” and “Amazing Grace”.

Intore Dancers

Being entertained by our village children.


Kris Allen singing with the village kids.

Intore Dance Troupe on top of Virunga Mountain.

Lots of company:)

Two of my roommates.

Just chilling at Virunga Lodge....with the most incredible views!

Kat and I with Candice, the President of TOMS shoes.

And this ends the "series" of posts on the TOMS shoes distribution week!

"Shoe distribution changes lives in Rwanda"

Here is an article I wrote for The New Times Rwanda features page about the TOMS' shoes distribution. My friend and B2R colleague Mark, who is a very talented aspiring photographer, did the photos for the article.



L-R : Shoe Fitting-- Many Rwandan children now have their feet protected thanks to the new shoes they recieved ; Kris Allen, the American Idol musical star enjoys a light moment with one of the children who recieved shoes. (Photos by Mark Darrough)

A few weeks ago several US based organizations joined forces to provide and distribute 1000 pairs of shoes to children in Rwanda. TOMS Shoes, Bridge2Rwanda, Heifer International, and American Idol musical star Kris Allen teamed up to facilitate and promote this project. The week was merely the preliminary stage of a much larger plan, consisting of delivering 1,000 of the 33,000 pairs of shoes intended to be distributed to Rwandan children. The team will return this summer to complete this substantial mission and allocate the remaining 32,000 pairs of shoes to children across the country of Rwanda.
The project was made possible through TOMS Shoes, a for-profit business in America started less than four years ago and currently sweeping the nation with its trendy footwear styles yet philanthropic approach to business. The philosophy behind the TOMS movement is “One for One”, meaning the company matches every pair of shoes that is purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. The TOMS One for One business model transforms the customers into benefactors and allows the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good. One of TOMS’ priorities is providing shoes for children in areas where volcanic soil is prevalent in order to prevent soil-transmitted diseases that can penetrate through the skin through bare feet, with potential for infection and long-term physical harm. TOMS has supplied over 400,000 pairs of shoes to children in need all over the world, including Argentina, Ethiopia, South Africa, Haiti, Guatemala, and most recently Rwanda. This was the first shoe distribution in Rwanda and the largest distribution in any country to date.
During this initial phase of the project in Rwanda, shoes were purchased locally from a Bata distributor in Kigali and dispersed in the Musanze area with direction from Bishop John Rucyahana of the Shyira Diocese. Along with representatives from each of the organizations involved, volunteers from the US came to Rwanda to carry out the task of literally sizing and placing new shoes on children’s feet. Many of the recipients arrived barefoot or with broken and ill-fitting shoes. The distribution was not only focused on providing shoes to children in need, but also connecting and spending time with the individual children. One volunteer stated, “The best part of the process was to see the smile on the child’s face as they walked away from getting their new shoes”. The children were able to participate in various play activities with the volunteers before and after they received their shoes.
Over 300 children in Shyira, a remote area of Northwestern Rwanda, received the new shoes last Tuesday. The distribution in this area focused on providing shoes to the Pediatric Ward and Ambulatory Care Facility of Shyira Hospital, children from the House of Hope Orphanage, and students from local Primary School. Another load of approximately 700 shoes was delivered to Sonrise Primary School last Wednesday and placed on the feet of every Primary student. Sonrise School, where the majority of the students are orphaned children, was founded by Bishop John Rucyahana in 2002. The mission is to create a school that sets the standard for academic excellence and servant leadership development, even for the neediest children in the country. One of the students at Sonrise Primary School, who could barely walk in his tattered and worn shoes, shared that he had been praying to get a new pair of shoes before he went home for the two-week holiday from school.
A special guest participated in the distribution of the shoes with the intention of promoting awareness and increasing knowledge about Rwanda upon his return to the US. Kris Allen, the currently reigning winner of the hit television show American Idol, and his wife Katy visited Rwanda for the first time to take part in the movement to give shoes to the disadvantaged children of Rwanda. The musician took time off from his work promoting his recently released eponymous debut album, “Kris Allen”. In an interview, Kris stated that he is overwhelmed by the beauty of Rwanda and its people, their joy, their hope, their vision, and their determination to achieve their vision. Kris, who travels extensively, stated "I have seen no other place in the world like Rwanda. The experience of putting new shoes on the feet of these children has truly changed me."
Both TOMS Shoes and Kris Allen were approached take part in this project by Bridge2Rwanda, an organization that works for the overall economic and educational development in the country of Rwanda. Bridge2Rwanda’s mission statement is “to build a bridge from the US to Rwanda and transform lives at both ends”. The non-profit organization based out of Little Rock, Arkansas has helped to facilitate various projects in Rwanda, including the building of Urwego Opportunity Bank and Sonrise School, the Rwandan Presidential Scholarship Program, and a “Borrowed Talent” program to recruit experienced and talented professionals to serve Rwanda in some capacity. Bridge2Rwanda also recruited Heifer International, who is already strongly involved in Rwanda through providing livestock to families in need, to help sponsor the shoe distribution.
Several events are scheduled in the US after the shoe distribution to share the heart-warming experiences of the week and promote awareness about Rwanda. In conjunction with Bridge2Rwanda, Heifer International, and TOMS Shoes, Kris Allen will host and perform at the “One Day Without Shoes for Rwanda: Barefoot Bash” in Little Rock, Arkansas to highlight his week in Rwanda. Kris will also lead a group of US college students on a barefoot walk to help spread awareness of the impact that a simple pair of shoes can bring to a child’s life.

Videos of Rwanda Shoe Drop

Here are two incredible highlight videos of the shoe distribution put together by the talented Stoneward 360 film crew. You get to see firsthand the smiles on the faces of the beautiful children. And you also get to see why I am so lucky to live in this beautiful country!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BBLxEcHMw4&feature=bulletin


This video features Kris Allen's new song, "Send Me All Your Angels"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5TXXDPCsNQ&feature=related



Enjoy!

More Shoes for Rwanda

And "Project TOMS Shoes" continues..... Our second shoe distribution was carried out on my territory at Sonrise Primary School. As you may have read in previous posts, Sonrise is a school that was started for the orphans of the genocide and currently has over 60% orphaned children. After over six months of working at this school, it has become my home....and I have come to claim the children as my own. Whether they are the neediest orphans in the country or belong to very affluent families, I love each one of the 1200 students at Sonrise and love the warm and welcoming hugs I get everytime I walk in the door. And I was very excited about putting new shoes on the feet of my children. We gave new shoes to all 600 children at the Primary School, and this time, I loved being able to know the kids by name (maybe not all 600 of them, I'm still learning!).

Waiting in line for shoes!

Shoe fitting.

Putting shoes on a cute little one.

My friend Magnifique.

Who needs those old shoes?

One of my favorite students at Sonrise Primary is little Freddy. Freddy is quite the mess and a famous attention-getter, as he rushes to greet any new visitors to show them how he can make his ears dance, performs musical and dance numbers for the teachers, and entertains his fellow students by his dead-on animal impersonations. Although Freddy appears to one of the happiest children at Sonrise, in reality, he is a very sick little boy who is a single sided orphan from a very poor family. Freddy met our visitors a few days before the actual shoe distribution. After putting on a show for everyone, he pulled Tom over to the side and pointed down at his shoes.....his dirty, torn-up, soles falling off, toes coming through holes tennis shoes that were pink and meant for a girl. His sad little expression said it all....although he had no idea what our visitors were actually doing there. As he told Tom about how all he wanted was a new pair of shoes before he went home for the break from school, he had no idea that hundreds of new pairs of shoes were literally sitting in the next building, waiting to be placed on the feet of every child at Sonrise. Two days later as he was lining up to get his new shoes, he had a bright smile across his face. I took him to have his shoes put on by Kris Allen as the rest of stood by and watched...and fought off the tears. What an incredible moment, one of those moments where you feel so alive and blessed to be witnessing something so special. Something as simple as a little boy getting the new pair of shoes that he prayed for.

Kris giving shoes to Freddy....and the smile that came after it.

Me and my sweet Freddy:)

And after giving out shoes all day, time for some fun. My roommate Mark has this deep voice perfect for impersonating Johnny Cash....so Kris and Mark did a little impromptu duet to "Ring of Fire".

Here is a video clip of the performance....hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAEayBpsvUg

Shoes for Rwanda

And here are the long awaited details of the TOMS Shoes distribution with Kris Allen....one of the most amazing but exhausting weeks of my life! We had a total of 23 people working on the shoe distribution and traveling around Rwanda all week. Here is the breakdown of our team: two people from TOMS shoes, who actually turned out to be the President of the company (right under Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS) and soon to be Vice-President; Kris Allen and his precious wife Katy, along with his manager Lizzie; five great guys from New Life Church in Conway, AR; an incredible film crew from Stoneward in Little Rock; and of course, our wonderful Bridge2Rwanda team. We spent just about every waking moment together, and by the end of the week were long lost best friends.

Part of the group....

I will do this in a couple of posts, so as to avoid one incredibly long and drawn out post. The week started off great, as we hosted several dinners for visitors at our house in Musanze. We did our first shoe drop on Monday on top of an incredibly remote mountain in Northern Rwanda. When I say remote...I mean remote! This is an area that is part of the Shyira Diocese under Bishop John's leadership, and he recruited a couple from the US to take over the local run-down hospital after the genocide. The Kings, both Harvard trained medical doctors, now live on top of this remote mountain with their four children and have turned around the health services in this entire area. The drive up the mountain was scary to say the least, as it had been raining for several days and the usual rough and rocky dirt roads had turned into a muddy mess, with the steep cliff haunting us with every spin of the tires. All cars made it up the mountain in one piece (although we did look back and literally see one of our cars spinning in the mud on two wheels for several seconds). Once we arrived on top of the lush green mountaintop, the distribution began for children at the hospital, a local orphanage, and the area Primary school. It is part of TOMS policy that we literally place the shoe on the child's foot, to make sure the shoes fit and to have a chance to connect with each individual child. Many of the children came in barefoot or with shoes that were tattered and falling apart. What a humbling experience! To take the dirty, torn feet of a precious child who has never known the luxury of a new pair of shoes and place a bright and shiny new pair of shoes on their feet...and then to watch them walk away with a huge smile on their face, beaming with pride and excitement...there is definitely something humbling about the whole process. I think the most humbling part is to know how much I take my own shoes (or hundred pair of shoes) for granted. To think that I have shoes for every season, for every occasion, in every color...and some of these children literally received their first pair of shoes. This completed the first shoe drop...will post more updates later.

Holding on for dear life going up the mountain!

Kris and one of the children at the hospital.

Sizing and fitting area at the shoe distribution.

Celebrating with a little girl about her new shoes!

The view from the top of the mountain. Beautiful Rwanda!

New shoes:)

My lovely new pair of shoes that the TOMS people brought me.

To be continued....

A Day of Remembrance

Today is an eerie day in Rwanda. The usually crowded and bustling streets are all but empty, stores and restaurants are closed, and there is a certain sadness truly detectable in people’s eyes. Today marks the beginning of the 16th Commemoration of the Rwanda genocide. Sixteen years ago today started one of the most horrific, unthinkable tragedies ever known to man. And even though my 11-year old self at the time had no clue what was going on in the world that day, I am feeling the weight of it today as I am in the midst of the Rwandan people that suffered through it.
The “week of mourning” has begun, where Rwandans observe and remember approximately one million people who died in the one hundred day genocide. Rwanda is such a small country that literally every person has been affected somehow. One of my friends here who is a journalist told me that the Rwandan people who lived through the genocide are like the walking dead this week. One of my students told me this is a tragic time for all Rwandans who have a human heart. The memory, the loss, the tragedy is too much to bear. I can’t even imagine the pain that comes with this day, but I can see it in their eyes. As I walked up to a memorial ceremony today with hundreds of people gathered around a graveyard, I couldn’t help but wonder the story behind each person there. I know that many of them lost family members, many were victims themselves, and many may have even participated in the killings. But they all seemed to have that same look in their eyes.
One of the hardest parts about living in Rwanda is being able to find the right emotions. It is a challenge to find the balance between being so overwhelmed with the pain and burdens of the people that you literally feel like you are taking on the weight of the world or becoming numb as a coping mechanism to deal with the hundreds of sad stories that you encounter. There are days when I am at one extreme or the other, although I have come to realize that somewhere in between is probably the right spot. However, today I cannot quite put my finger on the emotion I should be feeling. I only pray that it is enough to show respect for the people that died and for the people who are haunted by their memories and their losses.
I ask you, wherever you are today, to take a minute and remember what happened in Rwanda 16 years ago. Whether you know the historical facts or not, say a prayer for the families and individuals who are still suffering on this day. We have a tendency in the US to dismiss the tragedies that have happened in third world countries ….or possibly contemplate the sadness of the situation but not really take to heart the dire truth of it. But trust me….these people are just like you and me. Pain is a universal language. As one of my Rwandan friends just reminded me, "the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Please give them even a moment of remembrance.

Consecration of the New Bishop

Last week we attended the consecration of the new bishop for the Shyira Diocese in Rwanda. As you may know, Bishop John Rucyahana has been the Bishop for the past 10 years and has done a phenomenal job of helping to rebuild this country and investing in the lives of the people. In fact, many say that behind President Paul Kagame, he is one of the most well-known figures in Rwanda. He is officially retiring in November, and the new bishop has been chosen. Last Sunday was the consecration for Bishop Laurent Mbanda who will take over the position. He is a wonderful man who I have had the privilege to get to know through Bridge2Rwanda activities.

The consecration was one of the major events of the year in Rwanda. Even President Paul Kagame was in attendance and spoke at the ceremony. Mid-way through the six hour ceremony, the torrential downpours of rainy season in March came and thousands of people scattered to find shelter. Luckily I was sitting in the VIP section under a tent! Almost the entire student body of Sonrise was in attendance, and many of the students even performed. Below is a picture of some of the primary students....and many others. People were crammed in the area like this everywhere you looked.


Rwandans getting resourceful, using chairs to shield the rain.

President Kagame arriving in his Range Rover, which he drove himself followed by his entourage. Below he is delivering his speech in the pouring down rain. Although he spoke in Kinyarwanda, one of my students interpreted for me and so I was able to follow along his speech. He is an incredibly brilliant man, and I was very excited to see him in person for the first time.