Do you have hats in your closet?

Do you have any baseball hats in "good" condition?

I'm collecting hats to donate and send over to the children at the nursery and primary schools we (Threads of Hope) partner with in Rwanda, as well as the 36 children we sponsor every year. It will be a great encouragement to the children and remind them that we are thinking of them and will be back soon!

Collect up your hats and I'll pick them up from you or you can mail them to me. As I've been packing to move, I found 34 baseball hats, I'm keeping 6 to actually use. I bet you can find the same! 

 

Post or message me, please!

 

Day 3: Monday July 18

In the morning we visited the tailor shop micro-enterprise. This is where the girls (and guys apparently) graduate and may get jobs there or elsewhere. The shop is on a typical dusty Rwandan street and is very small. Bahati (short, light guy) and John (tall dark guy) run the place with a variety of other women who share equally in the profits (about $120 a month, which is quite good). This is after they pay the rent, utilities and other bills, all left over is split evenly. Regardless of your status, expertise, or managerial responsibility, everyone shares equal profit, something very foreign for westerners. No one seems to feel slighted in any way.

In the afternoon we procured 4 sewing machines for the graduates of Hope’s sewing program. They will each be able to start a career as a seamstress working at the shop or perhaps starting their own. Buying the machines was extremely stressful. We went to the main shopping center in town, absolute chaos, typical for Africa. Crazy traffic, loads of people going here and there, music blasting, dust everywhere. We had Hope and Charles negotiate the price before we went in (vendors see white people and the price doubles) but when we went in the store to get our hands on the items, they tried to hit us with a 19% VAT. So we walked.

Next vendor was down a dingy alley, men moving mattresses as we tried to squeeze our way through the crowded entrance. There’s something always going in Rwanda, it seems. We negotiated a decent price and finally bought the machines cash for $800. Total time expended, 3 hours. Nothing takes 30 minutes in Rwanda. We left feeling a bit crappy not knowing how good the machines are and spent more than we wanted, but the tailors from the shop assured us they were good machines so all was ok.

Day 2: Sunday July 17

Today we visited the Genocide Memorial Center in Kilgali, one of many genocide memorials throughout the country. It was, by far, one of the most moving experiences in my life. Genocide is a familiar story with the Holocaust, and god knows other examples through history, but there are a few things that really are unique here. One is the sheer brutality of the genocide. 800,000 people killed in less than 3 months. Even the Nazi’s couldn’t kill people that quick, and they made it a science. Infants, women, children, anyone. Family killing family, neighbor killing neighbor. The stories and testimonials of horror beyond anyone’s imagination. The movie Hotel Rwanda doesn’t do it justice. Two was the utter incompetence of the international community to do anything at all. We knew about it, we saw it happening, yet we did nothing, and even worse we just left for the killing to get even worse. Finally is the amazing transformation that’s happening here. The victims and perpetrators living in peace. This is a people that completely redefines what forgiveness is all about.

One of the most moving exhibits was the display of children and infant skulls, innocent souls killed during the genocide. Bashed in skulls, bullet holes, etc, the most brutal evidence of violence. Also, family photos of infants, some several months old, displayed in 4 foot murals with descriptions of how they died. One infant of 6 months was machete in her mother’s arms. It goes on and on…

The purpose of memorial is to keep the memory of the genocide alive, so the Rwandan people, and quite honestly the West, do not forgot what happened here. But not for revenge, for forgiveness and healing.

I arrived here with skepticism. I still am. Are these people for real? Can you really forgive such horror? Are the people that are part of the national healing just in it for the money, a sort of moral way of making a living?

There was a prayer for Emma and I at the end of the day. The pastor thanked God for bringing us to Rwanda and allowing us the opportunity to help others, but what struck me the most was she thanked Him for maybe opening our eyes, giving us an opportunity to learn and grow. I came here thinking I was the one that could help, but quite honestly, it is I that needed the help.

Day 1: Saturday July 16

After a long trip and a less than restful sleep, up to our hotel for the rest of the trip. Lots of people busying about, more quiet than I thought it would be. We are in the peek travel season so we expected more traffic.

Hotel Iris is a rather modest place. Small rooms in a garden setting. That's once you get past the big medevil metal gate and dude with the machine gun (note: there are a lot of people with machine guns. Guns are illegal in Rwanda except for police, military and private security. After the initial oh shit, it's actually a bit comforting that there's so much security considering the past).

Luckily there’s a great restaurant on premise so we hand a quick bite, my first taste of African food in many years. Very simple meals, mostly starch (Atkins would not do well here) and good flavor. The local beer is fantastic, which is a very very good thing. And the coffee blows away anything at Starbucks (note: Costco brand Kirkland coffee is from Rwanda). So far so good.

We met Hope and Charles today. Hope runs a micro enterprise we will be visiting and sponsoring; she's a lovely lady, very quiet and doesn't look me in the eye much. She also complains that I speak too fast. Charles is a young fella, right out of college and will be our translator for the week (note, most people we met speak some or very good English but the local language is very prevalent, especially among the regular population. More on that later I'm sure, it's an interesting language). Charles is also quite the businessman. He has run a few construction projects in Rwanda, notably two residential projects. (note: Everything is under construction here, the economy is doing well do to a lot of foreign investment.) Charles is extremely well spoken and should prove to be a great guide.

We ventured around town by car checking out the market and the local transportation center. There are no trains in Rwanda so everything is by bus for most people. A lot if people driving like crazy people. Tons of motorcycle taxis. It's amazing people don’t get killed every day.

All in all Kilgali reminds me of a few other sizable African cities I've been too. Lots of hustle bustle, dusty but this one is very clean. You don't see a stitch of garbage anywhere. I wonder why.

Not on mission yet. Things move very slow here. Someone said "you Americans live by time (pointing where a watch would be on their wrist) but here in Rwanda we have all the time in the world." I can see how that would frustrate westerners but no one here looks like they need a vacation.

We spoke to Charles and Hope about Rwanda and the transformation it is undergoing. Both expressed immense hope and optimization. They spoke of reconciliation and forgiveness and how, unlike South Africa (it came up that I had been there) there’s love in people's heart and everyone wants to move on. I'm sure when you scratch past this surface there’s more to the story, but it's a romantic notion and both seemed to genuinely believe what they were saying.

We tried to visit the national memorial today but it was closed due to a funeral. Even today, when remains are found from the genocide, the remains are honored by family and buried in the national genocide memorial. We visit it tomorrow 1st thing.

Arrive: Early morning Saturday July 16

Arrived Kilgali at 1am. No driver so chilled in the airport for a bit. Pastor gets a call from Emma, he crawls out of bed at 2am to pick us up. Nice guy. Weird place at night. Defiantly feels foreign, very quiet with the exception of the distant sound of cars and random music. Couldn’t help but think of a scene in my book “We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories From Rwanda” about the screams at night during the Genocide. I hate I went there so soon but that's the point of the trip. Hope it will be successful.

Hotel didn’t have a room so holed up in another hotel for a few hours till we can check into the Iris. $150 for just a few hours. Oh well, doing our bit to help the economy.

Emma is super chill and easy to travel with.

Monday: Stitch Together

We met our partners from Seed of Hope this morning at their community center and headed down the road to their most successful micro-enterprise that has been a result of the training programs provided.  We partner together to provide skills training for men and women, mostly women, to gain employment, hope, self-worth and a future that empowers them to strengthen their lives.  A group of graduates from the various training classes in sewing and tailoring have gathered together to create and association and business in tailoring.  It has been the programs greatest success story! Eight members are currently working full-time in this local small shop together.  The wonderful concept of the association is as follows: These 3 men and 5 women work together and share equally in the responsibility of the store, management and profits.  So regardless of who does what everyone shares equally and their first prioritizes are not themselves. They do not receive any money from their labors until rent has been paid, electricity has been paid, supplies have been purchased and money has been saved for the business.  Then, and only they they divide up the profits lefts exactly equally for their own uses.  And they are agreed that this is the way it shall be with no exceptions. And although 2 of the men organize the business and the orders, etc. mostly they still share an exact equal part and believe that they are sharing their desires, energy, drive and training of new members to help those as they have been helped.  It is a perfect example of real community and kinship and accountability at work – and it is normal. It is what is expected and they are completely happy. This group of 8 has been together working since 2008 and have had success in their tiny shop where each of them on average can take home 70,000 RWF (approx. $116).  They are very happy with their progress and success and continue to share their skills and knowledge with others as they hope to continue to grow and add other to their association, grow their business, improve the community and help to change others lives as theirs have been so blessed. We look forward to helping them continue to grow through micro-enterprise loans, encouragement, prayer and more.

The seeds of hope bear fruit

Today was a fantastic beginning to our time with the Threads of Hope partner projects. First in the morning Fred and I went to the Kigali national genocide memorial for 2 hours and reads, heard and learned more about the history of Rwanda and the genocide.  I had been before, but this was Fred's first visit and a profound experience for him to have an emotional and intellectual understanding of the pain, anguish, recovery and forgiveness this nation and its incredible people have had.

We continued the afternoon with our wonderful partner Seed of Hope and had the priveldge to spend time with some women who have participated and graduated from the skills training programs for sewing and hairdressing.  They courageously shared their stories from despair, anguish and tourment to a glimmer of hope given by a group of peers, a community and ultimately a group of friends who together comforted one another, encouraged one another and learned skills together that would be a step in reshaping their lives.  Through the compassion and passion of the Seed of Hope association, these women and hundreds like them have recaptured their dignity, their hope for the future and experienced changed lives. As life continues to put stumbling blocks along their paths they are encouraged by each other, by the association and by the help that local and external groups, individuals and donations can bring.  They stand strong together. They stand strong with hope. They are new creations, they are new women, they are the new Rwanda.