"When one door of happiness closes, another opens" Helen Keller

“So what DO you do, again?” I get this question a lot. I have been on a major blogging lapse since I was home for the holidays, so this is my attempt to appease everyone and start a fresh new year of blogging. And explain to you exactly what I am doing here in Rwanda.

I moved to Rwanda in August 2009 with a year commitment to teach at Sonrise Secondary School in a small town in Northern Rwanda. I fell in love with the country and the people, and my year quickly turned into adding another 6 months, and now another year. So for the past year and a half, I have been teaching English to high school students and developing a college prep course at the school. I became very focused on teaching TOEFL (a standardized test of English proficiency) and SAT prep for students who were interested in applying to college in the US. I also did a multitude of other things at the school, including raising money to buy furniture and build science labs, forming a book club and writing club, counseling with students, etc, etc. My time was spent on loving my students and building relationships, as well as helping them to improve their English and reach their full potential. It was incredibly rewarding and so much of why I fell in love with Rwanda in the first place.

My Senior Class students at Sonrise

The teachers from Sonrise at my house...all my good friends!

Last summer, doors were also opened for me to begin practicing my real profession in Rwanda….speech pathology with an emphasis on hearing impairment. So, I walked through that open door and became the first practicing speech therapist in Rwanda at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali. I only worked one day a week because I was still teaching almost full-time at the school, but quickly built a caseload of children and adults, especially those with hearing loss. It has also been incredibly rewarding to be able to offer a service that the country has never had before. It is amazing to see the how my exact training and experience is just what the hospital needed, and it has been so fun to help set up a Speech Pathology program within the ENT Department with specialized services for children with hearing loss.

Two of my precious patients with hearing loss from King Faisal Hospital.

So….doors continued to be opened and I have continued to walk through them as the Lord has led me. I spent the first year and a half living the majority of my time in a rural Africa where I was one of the only white people in town and every passerby knew my name, where I shopped in one tiny supermarket and ate at the same three restaurants, and where I frequently stared out at the serene and quiet mountains and volcanoes that surrounded my house. But this year will be a little different. New doors have opened, and my African experience is changing. I am now living in the capital city, Kigali, where the bright city lights dot the rolling hills, the choice of restaurants and shopping actually take some thought, noise and traffic are common acquaintances, and the expatriate community is so big I can’t possibly keep up with everyone’s name and story. I will miss the quiet, peaceful life I had in Musanze and will especially miss my students at Sonrise, but I also feel like all of my passions are coinciding to lead me to this next phase of life in Rwanda.
This year, I have taken an administrative role with Bridge2Rwanda, the organization which brought me here in the first place. My official title is “Program Director”, which encompasses a lot:) All my experiences in Rwanda and in the US have led me to this point, and it is a position where I can make an impact in many sectors of the country. Here are some of the programs that I will be coordinating this year:

College Prep Program: Bridge2Rwanda has decided to duplicate what I started at Sonrise and form a US College Prep program to serve students in the Kigali area. We are in the process of developing a program that will train bright young Rwandans how to take the SAT and TOEFL tests, as well as offering intensive college application counseling. We are in the beginning phases, but hope to have the program up and running by April. I am excited that I will still be able to teach and invest in young Rwandan high school students through this program.

Hearing Aid Project: This project fell into my lap last year, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. I am coordinating a project with Starkey Hearing Foundation to bring the first hearing aids to Rwanda. The hearing aid event will happen in March, and I am responsible for coordinating with various hospitals, schools, and organizations around the country to find the individuals with hearing loss who need hearing aids. We are hoping to set up a hearing aid repair/distribution center after the big event to sustain the program.

Borrowed Talent Program: I will be managing Bridge2Rwanda’s Borrowed Talent program, which is where we recruit professionals from the US to serve in some capacity in Rwanda. We currently have teachers, lawyers, medical professionals, photographers, pastors, etc. serving all over Rwanda. I will help to recruit new talent in Rwanda, as well as manage the talent already here.

Healthcare Initiatives: Bridge2Rwanda has also started to increase our collaboration with the healthcare sector in Rwanda. We are starting to recruit physicians and medical professionals from the US to come to serve in Rwanda, either for short-term or long-term medical and surgical missions. I will be the liaison between the physicians in the US and the medical institutions in Rwanda, helping to find opportunities to best use their skills.

And many other programs that I’m sure will arise in the next year! I will also still be working as a Speech Pathologist at King Faisal Hospital part-time and trying to help them establish a hearing clinic.
As I look at this list, I have to admit I am completely overwhelmed. Each of these projects could easily be a full-time job. However, I know the Lord has led me to this position and will give me the ability to meet the needs of each program. I also know that I will humbly have to rely on him daily to accomplish what I hope to accomplish….I certainly cannot do this on my own. As I start this year, I am amazed at how the Lord works to bring you just where you need to be. I am thrilled to be working where all of my passions and talents align in one place. And I hope that you will join me in this year of new adventures and new experiences…