Rwandan Images...

Two experiences from Rwanda will stand out like sparkling gems in my mind's eye for a long time to come. The first was our afternoon with what is now my Rwandan "family", high in the hills outside Kigali in an area called Ngiri, where my "grandson", Emmanuel, lives with his sister, Pelagie; brother-in-law, Japheth; nephew, Partout; and aunt, Florence. Picture, if you can, the smile on both of our faces as Emmanuel and I hugged and held each other for the first time in a year, the connection between us strong, the delight mutual. Picture, if you can, two teachers- literate, educated- living in a brick house on a hillside, 7 miles up a rutted dirt road from the main highway from Kigali, with neither electricity nor water. Picture an elderly couple, Japheth's parents, Maria and Anastas, living nearby in a smaller, darker house, both literate, yet far from any source of books and further education. Picture these people reaching out in total welcome to a couple of Americans, sharing their home and stories with us, offering prayers of blessing and thanksgiving for our presence and the safe travel which had brought us here. Picture two women  (Pelagie and Maria) sitting for hours over a period of 3 months, making- from banana fibers- the gifts they gave us with such a mixture of pride and humility. Picture the joy on Emmanuel's face when I gave him the small computer which the "Friends of Emmanuel" in America had made possible for him and the absolute relief on the faces of Pelagie and Japheth when I assured them that we would continue to send school fees as long as we were able so that their meagre living could be used for other necessities for the family.

We learned several disturbing facts about this wonderful family:

• the food at Emmanuel's secondary school where he boards since it is about 2 hours away is insufficient and he has been sick a couple of times during the year. Families are not permitted to bring food, nor are the students permitted to leave school grounds to buy more, lest some students have more than others.
• Pelagie and Japheth have qualified, through competitive exams, for continuing education for teachers, sponsored by the national Department of Education. They are to go every weekend during the school year, and every day during school breaks for a total of THREE YEARS! Though there is no fee for this, they are responsible for the cost involved in getting to Kigali to the university, which will run about $120/month for the two of them (their combined income is $100/month). Of course, they can reduce this a bit by walking the 7 miles down to the main road to get a bus, which they have been doing (Pelagie is 8 months pregnant!), but the uphill climb when they get home at the end of a long day is daunting (and we are talking about up hill, at perhaps a 35-45 degree slope with no leveling out at any point in the climb). The "payoff" for all this effort is the fact that, on completion, their salaries will triple, going from $50/month to $150/month, an incredible amount for them...but at an amazing price in time and money.

Japheth

Pelagie

Clad in my banana leaf garb

 

Mr. GQ, Emmanuel

Grandma Maria and Partout, 3

Emmanuel and Me

Whoops! This has gotten very, very long, so I'll tell you about the other "gem" in my next post. Please- if you're a praying person- keep Emmanuel and his family in your prayers...or send light, love, energy, strength, encouragement their way. They are an incredible family, so determined to have a better life, to keep both Emmanuel and Florence in school, to provide for Partout and the new baby to come. And a piece of my heart remains with them.