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.