Photographs

I sorted through the almost 1,100 images and cut it down to two small albums (under 60 images in each.) You can check them out by clicking on the following links:

Album 1

Album 2

This will be my last entry for this blog. Thanks again for reading! :-)

July 27th: Going Home

I luckily slept during most of the overnight flight to Brussels, (including sleeping through dinner and breakfast.) After some confusion transferring flights in Brussels, we finally boarded our plane to Newark. I could not wait to get back. Our flight went quicker than expected and a little girl sitting next to Kim and I drew our portraits and gave them to us. (How cute!) A baby sitting next to us was very upset on the decent, so I distracted her with bubble-blowing. Before we knew it, we had landed safe and sound in New Jersey!! I was so excited to turn on my phone and actually find service and call and text people on the way to baggage claim. Kim and I got our bags and then parted ways, (I would later find out that her 6 p.m. flight didn't leave until 9:30 p.m!!) It will be hard getting used to only seeing her every few months instead of every minute like we have for the past week and a half.

It is wonderful being back. I feel so lucky to have experienced everything I have in the past month, including this trip, but the best part is realizing how fortunate I am to have so much to return to, (most importantly all of the wonderful people that have supported me on this journey.)

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog about my trip.

I will try to post pictures by the end of this week, (I took almost 1,100 so it'll take me awhile to edit that list down,) and will post links to the albums on here when they're up. :-)

Thanks again for all the support and sharing this experience with me!

July 26th: Last Day in Rwanda

We spent our last day in Rwanda returning to the market to get last minute gifts. We hung out there for awhile, especially because the market was setting up very late due to a national required "community service" morning that day. I bought a few souvenirs. After the market, I headed back to the hotel because it was almost 3, (when we had extended our checkout until,) while everyone else headed back to the weaving center. It was a good thing I got back when I did because someone else was already checked into our room and had walked in on Kim, (who had decided against joining us in the market.) I helped her move the last bit of our stuff into Beth's room but it was a bit of a frenzy. (Luckily, the woman who was taking over the room did not mind and was very friendly, and coincidentally enough named Debbie and from right outside Philadelphia just like my Mom!)


Handing over a special donation I brought was one of the last things I did in Rwanda but at the same time also one of the most important things to me on a personal level. As you can imagine, the past year and a half since my Mom passed has included the challenging task of figuring out what to do with her many possessions. Mom loved to sew, (we have a large collection of homemade clothes and Halloween costumes from when we were younger,) and it was one of the things she missed most when she lost most of the use of her hands. On my most recent trip to Pittsburgh, I wandered into her sewing room and found lots of leftover threads, needles and buttons that she had left behind. Knowing that I don't sew and that she would love the thought of being involved in the project, (my mother was a very generous person who loved caring for other people and had a deep appreciation of other cultures, including her time spent in Venezuela serving in the Peace Corps,) I decided the best thing to do with these things would be to donate them to women in Rwanda. I gave them to Beth for the women that create the Rwanda textiles that will be sold on macys.com starting August 4th.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport. After a very busy, exhausting week, it was time to go home. We took an overnight flight to Brussels, (which included a quick stop in Nairobi, Kenya on the way,) and said our goodbyes to Rwanda... for now at least.

July 25th: Last Day of Camp

When I woke up this morning, my body was shaking with weakness from not eating enough the day before: I had had a granola bar for breakfast, one for lunch and some wheat thins and a piece of a fruit leather for snacks, but since I had gone to bed early, that was all I had eaten the day before. After stuffing my face at breakfast, I stopped shaking but still felt a little lightheaded and nauseous.


We left for the orphanage a bit later than usual and I was overjoyed when we arrived to see Benita running towards my car door! She was back and she showed me her knee under the bandage and it already looked so much better. (She will return to the hospital a few times for followups but I was so glad to see so much progress in just a few days.) I was very glad she was back as it was our last day of camp and I was scared that I wouldn't see her again. (I had decided I would make her a get well card if she wasn't there.) She was by my side most of the day and actually participated a lot, although had to rest after we were dancing for awhile.

We started the morning reviewing the dance together. After a bit of dancing, I started feeling crappy so I went back to the office and started writing out the graduation certificates. When we broke out into our smaller groups, I came back out to practice with my group for the big competition today. I was really impressed how quickly Benita picked up all the steps she had missed while she was at the hospital. After we had practiced for awhile, it was time for the big dance competition! Each group did their dance twice and then prizes were determined by Leonce and Emmanuel, the volunteers and the kids depending on the category. Every group won for something, places one through five for things like "best smiles", etc. The volunteers picked the two best dancers. And then the kids picked the volunteer that learned the dance the best. I was so surprised when our team won first place for the best dance!! GO HENS! :-)

After the competition was over and the prizes were distributed, the boys were back from their soccer camp and it was time for lunch. I finished the certificates during lunch and then I went back to the bakery to take pictures of H and M for a magazine article they will be appearing in.


After lunch, it was time for the big graduation. Each child was called one by one and went down the line of volunteers, hugging each one, and then receiving their graduation certificate and a Skoodlez (a cool new stuffed animal like a WebKinz that was donated by Skoodlez,) at the end of the line while I photographed.

Then we had a lonnnnnnng goodbye and headed out much later than we planned. It was sad leaving the kids and I'm not sure all of them understood that we weren't coming back, (even though the people in charge explained it to them,) since some of them said, "see you tomorrow."

Then a few of us headed to wear the Rwanda Textiles are made for macys.com. (We are starting to sell bags from Rwanda on August 4th.) We took a few more pictures of H and M for the magazine and I took some pictures of the place for the site. After we were done photographing, we ran back to the hotel, freshened up, and headed to Republica, (a really cool African restaurant) for our farewell dinner with the soccer group, representatives from the weaving and textiles groups, Dean and Beth. It was a great dinner but I was exhausted and was embarrassed that I nearly fell asleep at the table. There were some great speeches given, but Janet gave an especially touching one. She spoke about how great what we were doing was, that many people give money but that we were giving time and love and that you can't put a price on that. She also explained that our gift was extra special because we were helping children and therefore we were helping the future of Rwanda. It was very powerful. The Hope Shines group and the soccer group headed back to our hotel for a night cap but I went straight to bed.

Such a wonderful, long day! I can't believe we leave tomorrow!

June 24th: Akagera National Park Safari

Today was an EARLY morning. We had to meet our driver in the lobby at 6 a.m. to head to Akagera National Park to start our safari for the day! (Today was another break day for Kim, H & I as the girls were joining the boys for soccer camp again.) The trip was supposed to take 3 hours, we got there in under two because the driver was very... um... aggressive and fast. The safari was wonderful and both the driver and the guide kept us informed and entertained on the bumpy path for many, many hours. (We left the hotel at 6 a.m. and didn't return until 5 p.m. I had gone on a safari at Akagera last year when I went and this year we saw a different variety of animals, and some much closer up. I wore the same elephant shirt I wore the year before in hopes that it would bring us good luck and we would get to see an elephant this year again.

We saw many kinds of animals but probably the most eventful part of our trip was when we went to one of the lakes to look for elephants. They told us to look out for them and I explained to the others, "They might be submerged in the water like the one we saw last year was, (we all look at the lake,) but they're hard to miss... big ears... OMIGOSH!!!!!" *Cue elephant charging at us out of nowhere from the trees as our truck screeches on the breaks!* Kim said I almost leaped into her seat! Apparently it was the guard elephant and it was coming to make sure we didn't proceed any further. It won. We took a million pictures and waited awhile, but the elephant refused to move to let us by on the trail so we had to turn around and go a different direction.

After we got back to the hotel, Dean picked me up to print and crop the graduation certificates. When I returned to the hotel, everyone was heading to dinner but considering I had been tired for hours, I decided it was time to blog and to head to bed.

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of camp already!!

July 23rd: Fourth Day of Camp

Today I was a little sick in the morning but kept on a small, bland diet and felt better throughout the day. Our ride to the orphange this morning was eventful: we got pulled over by the police for a random check of the driver's documents. Once we arrived at the orphanage, we spent the day teaching the last part of the dance and having the girls make up their own section for the performance/contest on Friday. Everything went as planned but everyone was exhausted from the week. Poor Lindsay had to go home early because she got very sick.

There is still no sign of Benita: they said that she's going to the hospital every morning and will be fine. They said she might come in the afternoon for an hour but she never showed. I hope to see her Friday on the last day of camp.


The camp day ended with the girls getting the clothes we had brought for them. They were so excited and looked so good in nice new clothes. Dayone (my namesake and one of the smallest girls there,) looked absolutely adorable. Like that little girl at a wedding that everyone wants to pick up. And I did pick her up, it was actually the first time I picked up a child at the camp, a real breakthrough for me. For a second—and granted just a second—I wished I could take her back to the states with me. But then reality, life plans and current priorities, abilities and responsibilities set in. But at least I actually thought it for a second. I was thinking how much more "adoptable" the children looked dressed up in the nice, new, clean clothing. The girls are already adorable and so smart. It's so sad.

A lot of the girls have talked about how hard the last day will be and I honestly didn't think it would, but after today... I don't know, I think it might.

Another interesting story we learned about today was about a 22-year-old in my "hen" group. Apparently the men in charge wanted April to talk to her because they were concerned she might be selling her body on the side for money. Apparently her and her sister were the only ones in her family to survive the Genocide. Eight years after the Genocide, at age sixteen, she had a boy who his now at the orphanage as well. She lives with her sister and still attends the orphanage as a child, even though she is 22 and has her own child at the camp too, (some of the orphans still have one remaining parent.) When April discussed the situation with her, while the girl did not mention prostitution, she said that she doesn't have enough money to finish secondary school and provide for her son so April talked through with her her options and the girl refuses to work, saying that her sister will not let her work and that "God will provide." Now this brought up an interesting scenario for me to think about. Until I heard she was unwilling to help herself, I wanted to chip in and pay for her school. But then when I discovered that she just thinks these things will happen, I no longer wanted to. This is why programs like the Path to Peace are so important: hands up instead of handouts to teach responsibility. I applaud her deep faith, but also don't think she understands that God doesn't want to be tested either...

We went to the weaving center on the way back to the hotel to buy baskets. After freshening up, we had dinner at the hotel that the soccer people are staying at again and wished Willa fairwell, (she's leaving tomorrow.) The lights kept going off for extended periods of time because they were having issues with the electricity. After we waited it out and got our dinner, it was off to bed because we have an early day tomorrow: time for the SAFARI!!

July 22nd: Free Day

Stomach pain! Today I woke up with stomach problems. Luckily it was our day off from the camp, (April was taking the girls to the soccer camp so the volunteers could explore the city.)

I felt better after I ate breakfast and we headed over to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. I had been to the center last year and even the second time it impressed me with how well it was laid out. There are over 250,000 people buried on the grounds in mass graves and more remains are brought there as they are still being found, fourteen years after the genocide. The museum itself is so beautifully crafted, one of the best museums I have ever seen. It tells the story of the genocide intricately and powerfully on the first floor. On the second floor, there is a section donated to the other genocides that have happened all over the world, including the Holocaust. It is amazing and so overwhelming how sad it is that this sort of thing keeps happening over and over again.

On the second floor is what I consider the most disturbing, hit-home part of the whole museum, a section devoted to children killed in the genocide. Knowing how much that room got to me last year and how much Kim loves children, I wanted to walk through it with her, but unfortunately I got sick again so I had to meet up with them after they had already gone through that area. That room really personalizes the tragedy that took place in Rwanda in April of 1994. There are huge pictures of a single, adorable child on the wall with a plaque underneath. The plaque mixes cute information about them, who their best friend was (for instance his sister,) what their favorite food was, etc. with horrific reflections on their death: what their last words were ("Mommy where can I run to?"), how they were killed (everything from chopped with a machete in their mother's arms to stabbed in eyes,) etc. The whole area felt especially relevant this year since we were running a camp for children that look just like these innocent lives that were lost.

One of the beautiful parts of this museum are huge quotes on the walls on the first floor. One of my favorite quotes is, "When they said 'never again' after the Holocaust, was it meant for some people and not others?" —Apollon Katahizi

We had a nice lunch at the Serena with Willa, Beth and Katie and then headed to the market! The market was one of the things I was looking forward to in my free time on this trip the most since we had had so little time there last year and there were such extraordinary fabrics there that I wanted to buy more. (The fabric I bought last year my roomate and I made into curtains for our livingroom.) The drive to the market was... interesting. We were going up one of Rwanda's thousand hills on a highway when the driver informed us that he was running out of gas as he stops in the middle of this hill, on a highway!! He proceeds to drift us backwards the wrong way down this highway, cars swerving to get out of our way, until he reaches a spot that he can turn around so we're at least drifting in the correct direction. We somehow reach the gas station and eventually the market. What an adventure!

The market was great, bustling with activity. I remember last year being a little scared and intimidated by the narrow aisles and the large number of locals starring at us, asking us to look at their products. This year I felt more comfortable though, as I do in general on the trip. It is a very unique scene to see pyramid piles of salt on wooden tables for sale and all the other wares. I bought 5 pieces of cloth in funky patterns that I'm very excited about.

After the market, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed to the Indian restaurant where we met Willa, Beth, the soccer group, and eventually Fabien and Dean. Dean is Willa's business partner who flew in tonight and lives in Kigali working on quality control for Fair Winds Trading. A brilliant and kind man, he had lead us around alot last year. The food was excellent and the restaurant so neat (we had gone there last year.) The waiters all dress in Indian costumes and there's such a nice ambience, including a big, fake waterfall in the corner. Willa had surprised us all with baskets and we carried them home. I got sick again and headed to bed while the rest of the group hung out by the pool for a night cap.