Kindness:
I arrived on Saturday to tired legs, tired eyes, tired everything. 34 hours in a plane/airport really is an endurance test. In a milder form it reminded me of running an ultra-marathon....a foot race that is over the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. It certainly was not as tough but just the monotony of flying, sitting, eating, using the bathroom, eating again, sleeping, reading, listening to music, falling asleep, then did I mention sitting?...I was glad to be in Rwanda!
I've spent the last two days focused on trying to continue to build a good organization into a great one. Meetings are already taking place with potential partners and event existing ones. Today I drove south to Bugasera district, which is pretty close to the country of Burundi. I went with one of our US based NGO partners called Africa Development Promise (ADP). You see we partnered with this outstanding NGO on a collaboration grant that allowed us to utilize our expertise and try to improve the lives of our beneficiary groups here in Rwanda. They work with women's farming co-ops and we work with children and the project is a discovery one in that we find out what the training needs are of our kids caregivers and we let ADP set up business services training for them. Then ADP finds out what the needs are of their women's children and then Hope Shines works to incorporate them into our child development programs. Win-Win. So today I rode down with their country manager and our country manager to check out their farms and see the women! Great day...country side, sunshine...really made me enjoy the less chaotic side of Rwanda. We ended up after our visit, stopping in a youth development center on the way back to learn about their work. They work with over 400 Orphans & Vulnerable Children (OVC) in that one location! It was nice to learn about their programs that help so many and they certainly expressed some interest in our efforts and the potential of partnering in the future. It was a good last second stop that could pay off down the road and help us grow! I was excited to say the least.
Getting back to Kigali was nice around lunch time but a busy second half of the day awaited us. Now that we are nationally registered we need to open a business banking account so we can better pay for operations and activities here on the ground. Interviewing banks is almost as bad as watching the news. You kinda want to know and you think you want to know but then once you get your answers you are depressed and emotionally drained. Fees for this fees for that, open two accounts because one needs to be in US dollars and the other Rwandan Francs, and so on....BUT I have to say it will be worth it down the road....but for today it was painful.
Finishing the night with an old friend and past Hope Shines volunteer Professor Amy Sarch PHD from Shenandoah University was nice. We met in 2011 when she came as a volunteer and now she is back with her daughter to explore Uganda, work with other youth centers there, and then just explore and relax in beautiful Kigali, Rwanda! Our dinner was just short of $10 USD and seats overlooked the many valleys below with twinkling lights! A 5 star view and the pizza will be a nice sleep aid!
Kindness was the title and it refers to my outstanding memory of today. Vincent, the country manager of ADP texted me many hours after dropping me off at my Church Hostel to tell me how thankful he was that Hope Shines joined him today on the trip to their project! He didn't have to but he did. I don't do this enough...making an effort to express the good and satisfactory parts of human interaction and he did it so naturally. A reminder that kindness is alive and today I appreciate that!
I arrived on Saturday to tired legs, tired eyes, tired everything. 34 hours in a plane/airport really is an endurance test. In a milder form it reminded me of running an ultra-marathon....a foot race that is over the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. It certainly was not as tough but just the monotony of flying, sitting, eating, using the bathroom, eating again, sleeping, reading, listening to music, falling asleep, then did I mention sitting?...I was glad to be in Rwanda!
I've spent the last two days focused on trying to continue to build a good organization into a great one. Meetings are already taking place with potential partners and event existing ones. Today I drove south to Bugasera district, which is pretty close to the country of Burundi. I went with one of our US based NGO partners called Africa Development Promise (ADP). You see we partnered with this outstanding NGO on a collaboration grant that allowed us to utilize our expertise and try to improve the lives of our beneficiary groups here in Rwanda. They work with women's farming co-ops and we work with children and the project is a discovery one in that we find out what the training needs are of our kids caregivers and we let ADP set up business services training for them. Then ADP finds out what the needs are of their women's children and then Hope Shines works to incorporate them into our child development programs. Win-Win. So today I rode down with their country manager and our country manager to check out their farms and see the women! Great day...country side, sunshine...really made me enjoy the less chaotic side of Rwanda. We ended up after our visit, stopping in a youth development center on the way back to learn about their work. They work with over 400 Orphans & Vulnerable Children (OVC) in that one location! It was nice to learn about their programs that help so many and they certainly expressed some interest in our efforts and the potential of partnering in the future. It was a good last second stop that could pay off down the road and help us grow! I was excited to say the least.
Getting back to Kigali was nice around lunch time but a busy second half of the day awaited us. Now that we are nationally registered we need to open a business banking account so we can better pay for operations and activities here on the ground. Interviewing banks is almost as bad as watching the news. You kinda want to know and you think you want to know but then once you get your answers you are depressed and emotionally drained. Fees for this fees for that, open two accounts because one needs to be in US dollars and the other Rwandan Francs, and so on....BUT I have to say it will be worth it down the road....but for today it was painful.
Finishing the night with an old friend and past Hope Shines volunteer Professor Amy Sarch PHD from Shenandoah University was nice. We met in 2011 when she came as a volunteer and now she is back with her daughter to explore Uganda, work with other youth centers there, and then just explore and relax in beautiful Kigali, Rwanda! Our dinner was just short of $10 USD and seats overlooked the many valleys below with twinkling lights! A 5 star view and the pizza will be a nice sleep aid!
Kindness was the title and it refers to my outstanding memory of today. Vincent, the country manager of ADP texted me many hours after dropping me off at my Church Hostel to tell me how thankful he was that Hope Shines joined him today on the trip to their project! He didn't have to but he did. I don't do this enough...making an effort to express the good and satisfactory parts of human interaction and he did it so naturally. A reminder that kindness is alive and today I appreciate that!
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