All in a week's work...

Sitting on the veranda of the US Ambassador’s house, drinking mint iced tea and looking out over the rolling city of Kigali at sunset, I listened as the Ambassador to Rwanda eloquently discussed his beaming pride in American ideals as well as the rapid progress of Rwandan society. To my right was my friend and colleague Blayne Sharpe, the Bridge2Rwanda Operations Coordinator and the only other semi-“ordinary” one in the gathering (and by ordinary I mean under 30 and not quite as accomplished as those sitting around us). To his right was an accomplished Northwestern University Business and Leadership Professor at the renowned, world-class Kellogg School of Business. To her right was a talented author and one of the top Executive headhunters in the US, who placed the likes of the CEOs in HP, United Airways, and JPMorgan Chase. She was visiting Rwanda to begin research on her upcoming book, the story of President Paul Kagame’s leadership and amazing turnaround of the country of Rwanda since the genocide. Sitting on the couches directly across from me were my bosses and the founders of Bridge2Rwanda, Dale and Judi Dawson. Both were once high-up investment bankers at Steven’s Inc., one of the top investment firms in the world, as well as successful business owners. Dale is well-known for his brilliance in entrepreneurship and being head of Investment Banking at Steven’s, Inc., and then for giving it all up to serve this tiny country in Africa. He has even been featured in several books for this bold and unexpected move (including being profiled in a book written by the author mentioned above). To my left was our B2R country director Tom Allen, once a respected California attorney representing the elite of Los Angeles, who left his ocean-front property on the prime spot at Hermosa Beach and moved to Rwanda to start a new phase of life. And as we all listened and conversed about the impact that we individually might have on the country of Rwanda, I couldn’t help but wonder: ”Is this really my life?, How in the world did I get here??”

So what did the rest of the week hold?
Well, let’s see…. I spent the majority of that week running around the city trying to coordinate a project to bring the first hearing aids to Rwanda, an event that will take place in March and will be assisted by a team of about 10 NFL football players led by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

During the week I also received a phone call from my friend and neighbor Jock Boyer, the first American to ride in the Tour de France and now coaching the national Rwandan cycling team. A documentary film is currently being produced on the story of Team Rwanda titled “Rising from the Ashes”, chronicling the moving story of country in despair to a country of hope through the lives of these cyclists, all of whom I know well from our English tutoring lessons.

While walking into the Serena Hotel (the nicest hotel in the country) one day for lunch, I almost ran into President Kagame as he was leaving and getting into his car. I just happened to get stopped in his motorcade and see his car passing by two other times that week.

One night that week I browsed the vibrant, colorful art in an exhibit by my good friend while discussing issues facing Rwanda with a crowd of gifted and capable professionals. The artist is part of a Rwandan artist’s colony, well on their way to becoming some of the top artists in Africa, and whom we are organizing to come to the US to exhibit their incredible work.

That weekend I attended the retirement ceremony for Bishop John Rucyahana, the legendary Anglican bishop who has been essential in the reconciliation efforts of Rwandan and author of the book Bishop of Rwanda, as well as the enthronement ceremony of his replacement Bishop Laurent Mbanda, former head of Compassion International for Africa.

A few days later I sat in the living room of the past President of Rwanda, drinking a mid-day passion fruit cocktail and listening to this former Head-of-State explain the complicated history of his country dating back to the beginning of colonialism.

And this was just one week!

In between all this running around with such high capacity, distinguished individuals, I get to do what I came here to do….serve the country of Rwanda. Often people have this perception that serving in Africa has to be in some remote village with no electricity or running water, handing out food to impoverished children with protruding bellies…and sometimes it is. But it also includes working with brilliant, talented, educated individuals to work towards the overall development of a country in all aspects. Sometimes our work is with the poorest of the poor and sometimes it is the richest of the rich; sometimes it is hard work and sometimes it is play….but all in all it is a fulfilling experience that brings about novel opportunities with new faces every day.