Back in New Zealand, blessed and reflecting
Well hear I am again.
I meant to write a blog post describing my last week in Rwanda. But unfortunately I ran out of time. And are as all things with me - If I don't do something immediately it probably won't get done at all.
It is really a pity because I struggle to remember what I did on my last week. I will talk about five things that I did.
1.) We had umuganda, which is like community service that everyone does on the last saturday morning of the month. We went altogether (the volunteers and staff from UCC and I ) and went machetiying all these wild shrubs and grass away around the police and army headquarters. Of course I went a bit over the top trying to prove to everyone that actually white girls were strong, and ended up with a massive blister on the thumb, which meant I couldn't work any further. Rwandan sterotype of white girls - 1 Kim wanna be Rwandan girl (AKA Keza) - 0
2.) I had a leaving party. At first I said it will be a small party like 20 people, my best friends in Rwanda, my neighbours and the french girls. and that would be it. Then the party numbers grew to 25, and even further. In the end my house was so crowded with so many people I had to go twice to buy more Fanta because we ran out. We had a delicious meal that was cooked by Kalisa (the chef of the french girls) me and my amazing friends Giselle , and Aleece. Claire also came from her boarding school early and helped out , as well as some of the other volunteers from UCC. We made Amandaze (otherwise known as Beinget or African Doughnut), PIZZA!!, chapati, salad, meat balls, fruit salade , beans and sauce. It was the greatest mix of Mazungu(white) and Rwandan food that I have ever seen.
3.) I was supposed to have my last day at the centre on Monday and then leave that evening on the bus to Kigali where I would catch the plane later on tuesday afternoon. However the president of Rwanda announced on Sunday evening (as you do) that there was a public holiday on Monday and that noone was allowed to work. I was so upset by this because I thought I would miss out the opportunity to say goodbye to all my kids. So I decided to take a bus to Kigali and do everything I needed to do on Monday. I had originally planned to do all my souvinier shopping , and meet with lots of people on Tuesday morning - but turns out if I had done that I would have run out of time. So on Monday I spent all day in Kigali running around meeting with people, as well as shopping and buying a lot of bags, earrings etc that people had ordered. I caught the bus back to Gisenyi in the evening and when I arrived I quickly packed my bag, had about 5 hours of sleep before I had to be up at UCC. At UCC the next morning I was only there for about 2 hours , but at least I got to see everybody before I went. Zacharie gave me a ride to the bus station , however we just missed it by a few seconds - so we sped after the bus in a crazy high speed chase until we managed to catch it at the next station. Haha trust me to go out with a bang
4.) On sunday I said goodbye to my deaf church. In announcement time I signed to them all. Praise God and that I would be leaving for Kigali on Monday, and for New Zealand on Tuesday. I said I was very happy to know them and I thanked them for all they had done for me and I thanked God too. Yes ladies and gentlemen I did this in sign language without any help. It was amazing how much I had learnt just by going to deaf church and hanging out with deaf people in a few short months. I plan to continue learning sign language , with the goal that I will be fluent when I move back to Rwanda permanently. Wish me well with that ;)
5.) The needs of the volunteers had weighed heavily on my heart since I was in Rwanda. There are 11 amazing Rwandan volunteeers who are so committed to UCC and do so with a compassionate and serving heart. Recently three of these volunteers were offered very good jobs in the disability field. I really felt compassionate for the other three younger volunteers who were all incredibly amazing, and I knew were struggling financially.
There is Volunteer A he is a guy studying at university , and living away from home. His family pay for his education, but he doesn't have money for living costs. Instead he volunteers with an international agency called Handicap International who send 14 young disabled people to the centre for an education. He lives in the house with the guys from this agency and looks after them at night and is with them at every meal time and takes them to the hospital all the time (they all have severe health needs) . He also studies during the day time , however all his spare time during the days he volunteers at the centre helping train the other volunteers (he studies clinical psychology) , as well as helping out with the groups. Volunteer B is also another guy who is an orphan from birth. He is in his late 20s and he has been living with his sister all the time. He received only a small financial contribution from the centre, but was struggling to make ends meet when he moved away from his sisters home to live with Volunteer A (because although he got a free place to stay he did not receive any meals etc). He works with the most handicapped group of adults, a group of 7 guys who are extremely difficult to handle. Not only does he come every day on time to work , but he also stays later than he has to . Everyone he deals with , he deals with in a gentle and compassionate way. He had been volunteering for two years and the men he worked with had really come to trust him and love him. Volunteer C is a sweet sweet girl a bit younger than me, who I became really good friends with. Her family is paying for her university studies which she does at night. Every day even though she is exhausted from her study she volunteers at the centre, she is the first one there and one of the last to leave. The people she work with are the extreme special needs people. They are the people who cannot walk or eat by themselves. She has amazing patience and care. Literally I have never met anyone as loving, caring, sweet as her. Every kid at the centre loves her to bits and says she has a beautiful heart. Her family is also struggling to pay for her university fees and school books, because they are already sending her to university they cannot afford to send her younger brother, who has just graduated from highschool, to training school.
So I was thinking about how best to help them and had decided that I would approach Zacharie (direcor) that I wanted to financially sponsor Volunteer C (cos SHE IS AMAZING!!!!) for a job. I was a bit scared because I didn't know if he would find it a good plan. However at my party Zacharie said to me 'Keza please tell people in New Zealand about our volunteers, I want to help them so much, it would be so great if some people could sponsor a salary for them'.. and then I said well ACTUALLY I have been thinking about sponsoring volunteer C.. Zacharie was so excited about the idea that I decided to sponsor Volunteer A and B too!! This means they will get a fixed salary in return for volunteering or working at the centre. This means they will have their first official job. They can support themselves and their families. This would give them hope as A and C had been talking about quitting (upon the news that the other volunteers had received jobs) and trying to find work some place else such as with the police. This is also beneficial for the centre as they retain three amazing people who are highly skilled and experienced in the field of disability. If they had lost these volunteers they would have had to recruit from a whole bunch of people who had no experience working with people who have a disability.
Long story short though - I need money to support these three volunteers. Every month for 3 volunteers I am paying 120,000 franks (which is NZ 240.00). The Centre also gives an additional 60,000 (120 NZ dollars), which means that all the volunteers recieve 60,000 (120.00) a month which is a pretty reasonably salary for Rwanda. It would be amazing if you feel led to help these people financially also, as I am currently not in a good financial position to support them. If you are interested please send me a message on facebook or send me an email (my email address is kimkje_123@hotmail.com)..
AND finally - how do I feel being back in New Zealand?
Well there has been a whirl wind of activity with trips, weddings, work, job interviews and my study. However in the quiet moments I always remember Rwanda. New Zealand is a wonderful place. I love my family and my friends here. IT IS HOME. but and this is a BIG BUT I am not called to be in New Zealand for the rest of my life. My mission in life is to serve others in Rwanda. This is something very clear to me. It will be difficult, but I look forward to the challenge. Rwanda is a place I could easily live long term in. I might get tired of the food, and I might get tired of all the sterotyping (against white people) and the staring but at the end of the day I feel one hundred percent comfortable, accepted and needed there.
In the next 2 -3 years , however long it is before I return to Rwanda I am going to keep practising my kinyarwanda, and I am going to learn sign language and going to learn as many things possible that will make me useful in Rwanda. Oh and Pay off my student loan!! (If I didn't have a student loan I would be on the plane right after I handed in my last assignment).
I hope you will continue to think of me on this journey , and give me lots of tips and advice.
Bye . for now.
Murabeho
Imana Iguhe Umugisha
Lots of love
Keza (kim)
I meant to write a blog post describing my last week in Rwanda. But unfortunately I ran out of time. And are as all things with me - If I don't do something immediately it probably won't get done at all.
It is really a pity because I struggle to remember what I did on my last week. I will talk about five things that I did.
1.) We had umuganda, which is like community service that everyone does on the last saturday morning of the month. We went altogether (the volunteers and staff from UCC and I ) and went machetiying all these wild shrubs and grass away around the police and army headquarters. Of course I went a bit over the top trying to prove to everyone that actually white girls were strong, and ended up with a massive blister on the thumb, which meant I couldn't work any further. Rwandan sterotype of white girls - 1 Kim wanna be Rwandan girl (AKA Keza) - 0
2.) I had a leaving party. At first I said it will be a small party like 20 people, my best friends in Rwanda, my neighbours and the french girls. and that would be it. Then the party numbers grew to 25, and even further. In the end my house was so crowded with so many people I had to go twice to buy more Fanta because we ran out. We had a delicious meal that was cooked by Kalisa (the chef of the french girls) me and my amazing friends Giselle , and Aleece. Claire also came from her boarding school early and helped out , as well as some of the other volunteers from UCC. We made Amandaze (otherwise known as Beinget or African Doughnut), PIZZA!!, chapati, salad, meat balls, fruit salade , beans and sauce. It was the greatest mix of Mazungu(white) and Rwandan food that I have ever seen.
3.) I was supposed to have my last day at the centre on Monday and then leave that evening on the bus to Kigali where I would catch the plane later on tuesday afternoon. However the president of Rwanda announced on Sunday evening (as you do) that there was a public holiday on Monday and that noone was allowed to work. I was so upset by this because I thought I would miss out the opportunity to say goodbye to all my kids. So I decided to take a bus to Kigali and do everything I needed to do on Monday. I had originally planned to do all my souvinier shopping , and meet with lots of people on Tuesday morning - but turns out if I had done that I would have run out of time. So on Monday I spent all day in Kigali running around meeting with people, as well as shopping and buying a lot of bags, earrings etc that people had ordered. I caught the bus back to Gisenyi in the evening and when I arrived I quickly packed my bag, had about 5 hours of sleep before I had to be up at UCC. At UCC the next morning I was only there for about 2 hours , but at least I got to see everybody before I went. Zacharie gave me a ride to the bus station , however we just missed it by a few seconds - so we sped after the bus in a crazy high speed chase until we managed to catch it at the next station. Haha trust me to go out with a bang
4.) On sunday I said goodbye to my deaf church. In announcement time I signed to them all. Praise God and that I would be leaving for Kigali on Monday, and for New Zealand on Tuesday. I said I was very happy to know them and I thanked them for all they had done for me and I thanked God too. Yes ladies and gentlemen I did this in sign language without any help. It was amazing how much I had learnt just by going to deaf church and hanging out with deaf people in a few short months. I plan to continue learning sign language , with the goal that I will be fluent when I move back to Rwanda permanently. Wish me well with that ;)
5.) The needs of the volunteers had weighed heavily on my heart since I was in Rwanda. There are 11 amazing Rwandan volunteeers who are so committed to UCC and do so with a compassionate and serving heart. Recently three of these volunteers were offered very good jobs in the disability field. I really felt compassionate for the other three younger volunteers who were all incredibly amazing, and I knew were struggling financially.
There is Volunteer A he is a guy studying at university , and living away from home. His family pay for his education, but he doesn't have money for living costs. Instead he volunteers with an international agency called Handicap International who send 14 young disabled people to the centre for an education. He lives in the house with the guys from this agency and looks after them at night and is with them at every meal time and takes them to the hospital all the time (they all have severe health needs) . He also studies during the day time , however all his spare time during the days he volunteers at the centre helping train the other volunteers (he studies clinical psychology) , as well as helping out with the groups. Volunteer B is also another guy who is an orphan from birth. He is in his late 20s and he has been living with his sister all the time. He received only a small financial contribution from the centre, but was struggling to make ends meet when he moved away from his sisters home to live with Volunteer A (because although he got a free place to stay he did not receive any meals etc). He works with the most handicapped group of adults, a group of 7 guys who are extremely difficult to handle. Not only does he come every day on time to work , but he also stays later than he has to . Everyone he deals with , he deals with in a gentle and compassionate way. He had been volunteering for two years and the men he worked with had really come to trust him and love him. Volunteer C is a sweet sweet girl a bit younger than me, who I became really good friends with. Her family is paying for her university studies which she does at night. Every day even though she is exhausted from her study she volunteers at the centre, she is the first one there and one of the last to leave. The people she work with are the extreme special needs people. They are the people who cannot walk or eat by themselves. She has amazing patience and care. Literally I have never met anyone as loving, caring, sweet as her. Every kid at the centre loves her to bits and says she has a beautiful heart. Her family is also struggling to pay for her university fees and school books, because they are already sending her to university they cannot afford to send her younger brother, who has just graduated from highschool, to training school.
So I was thinking about how best to help them and had decided that I would approach Zacharie (direcor) that I wanted to financially sponsor Volunteer C (cos SHE IS AMAZING!!!!) for a job. I was a bit scared because I didn't know if he would find it a good plan. However at my party Zacharie said to me 'Keza please tell people in New Zealand about our volunteers, I want to help them so much, it would be so great if some people could sponsor a salary for them'.. and then I said well ACTUALLY I have been thinking about sponsoring volunteer C.. Zacharie was so excited about the idea that I decided to sponsor Volunteer A and B too!! This means they will get a fixed salary in return for volunteering or working at the centre. This means they will have their first official job. They can support themselves and their families. This would give them hope as A and C had been talking about quitting (upon the news that the other volunteers had received jobs) and trying to find work some place else such as with the police. This is also beneficial for the centre as they retain three amazing people who are highly skilled and experienced in the field of disability. If they had lost these volunteers they would have had to recruit from a whole bunch of people who had no experience working with people who have a disability.
Long story short though - I need money to support these three volunteers. Every month for 3 volunteers I am paying 120,000 franks (which is NZ 240.00). The Centre also gives an additional 60,000 (120 NZ dollars), which means that all the volunteers recieve 60,000 (120.00) a month which is a pretty reasonably salary for Rwanda. It would be amazing if you feel led to help these people financially also, as I am currently not in a good financial position to support them. If you are interested please send me a message on facebook or send me an email (my email address is kimkje_123@hotmail.com)..
AND finally - how do I feel being back in New Zealand?
Well there has been a whirl wind of activity with trips, weddings, work, job interviews and my study. However in the quiet moments I always remember Rwanda. New Zealand is a wonderful place. I love my family and my friends here. IT IS HOME. but and this is a BIG BUT I am not called to be in New Zealand for the rest of my life. My mission in life is to serve others in Rwanda. This is something very clear to me. It will be difficult, but I look forward to the challenge. Rwanda is a place I could easily live long term in. I might get tired of the food, and I might get tired of all the sterotyping (against white people) and the staring but at the end of the day I feel one hundred percent comfortable, accepted and needed there.
In the next 2 -3 years , however long it is before I return to Rwanda I am going to keep practising my kinyarwanda, and I am going to learn sign language and going to learn as many things possible that will make me useful in Rwanda. Oh and Pay off my student loan!! (If I didn't have a student loan I would be on the plane right after I handed in my last assignment).
I hope you will continue to think of me on this journey , and give me lots of tips and advice.
Bye . for now.
Murabeho
Imana Iguhe Umugisha
Lots of love
Keza (kim)
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