Day 12: Ubuntu Edmonton

We spent the morning teaching, then scooted off to visit a project developed by a Canadian woman, Nicole Pageau, from Edmonton. She came to Rwanda, adopted a village in Kigali, settled down, and created a haven of relative health and happiness around her. Her energy, vitality, and love of the people around her is outstanding - a true hero.
Visit her Ubuntu Edmonton website to learn more.
Every month there are food staple handouts for the families in the area. The women have learned to sew and are developing a line of pajamas. They also have just started making beautiful cards.
Beautifully beaded pens are made by young women. A school for mechanics has just started in a tent off of the main building.

Massage and counseling services are also available for residents of the area, massage being very popular for women to relax mind and body.

We also visited the daycare center, a converted chicken coop that, sadly, does not have capacity for all the children of the village. (We came during nap time and riled the kids up. They were so excited to have visitors!)

Recognizing the need to expand, new land has been bought and a new community center, complete with daycare program, mechanical and electrical school, and health clinic is in the works. Money is, of course, the issue.

Near the new property where construction is beginning, young Canadian volunteers have been organizing a summer camp. The children of the camp - and the children in the daycare - were the happiest, most well-taken-care-of children we saw on the entire trip. The enthusiasm and love which Nicole and her volunteers exude is infectious, and these children are the grateful recipients.

But a block from the current base of the operation, in the middle of the village, is a prison. Pink-outfitted prisoners watched casually through the chain-link fence as we drove by. There was a very obvious hole in the fence. Nicole explained that prisoners often left the confines without an issue before returning at night.

Also an inspiration at the Ubuntu Edmonton project was an older, retired woman who currently spends her years traveling to places like India, Vietnam, and of course Rwanda to work on different projects. She was lithe and energetic - simply bouncing into the room. She does long 1000+ km walks to raise money for her causes. In Rwanda, they call her "Madame Bisou" because to every child she encountered she would give a kiss, or often two.
Later that evening, our group went out to dinner and we brought the Canadian women with us. The restaurant was called "Heaven" and there was Jack Johnson playing the background. The soft lights of Kigali spread out below us.

Day 11, Part 3: Naming Cows

This is the road we drove on for hours.
This is the type of banana grove we passed by.
These are the children who ran behind us.
These are the people who stopped to stare.

This is the old woman who now has a cow for her family.

This is her family.These are her two granddaughters.

This is their community.These are the hidden children.
But, brightly smiling, they stand out to me amongst the banana leaves.

Day 11, Part 2: Giving Goats

The Canadians raised the money to donate a bunch of goats to a group of women. The goats were dusty and plump. The children were dusty and ragged.



The shirt of the girl in the green reads: "Give Children Opportunities for Leadership Potential."
I wasn't sure if it was ironic or sincere. Or maybe a bit of both.

Day 11, Part 1: Rwanda's Women for Women

We were tired from our gorilla adventure, it's true, but we pushed on - teaching again in the morning.
Then, we had some touring to do. First we visited Peace Ruzage (of Women for Women International). Her home is currently the site of a new project. Starting out as an informal neighborhood gathering and support group, the program has grown in size and in importance. Now, women come to her veranda to learn crafts, take classes, and find solace.