normalcy

That's how we roll when celebrating the end of their first test

Girls (missing Josiane)

Listening to Condi Rice and Sheryl
Sandberg
for a little inspiration

These babes will thrive in the US. Love them
                                              
Bonnette & Nicole
Diplomats and Ministers in the making. When they speak, we listen. A class question: As a way to stop the violence in Egypt, the UN says they'll stop giving aid, but Saudi Arabia has vowed to give Egypt money. What should the UN do now? 

Nicole: You can't impose on people by coercing them with power. Threatening to take away their power won't work. They have to find a common ground, even if they don't agree on many things, the UN should try to get them to agree on something.

The class was divided on this one. Some held views suggesting that war was the only solution, others chose to remain silent. 

Bonnette's father was a genocide victim when she was 2. In her struggle to understand why this happened and why her life wan't 'normal', her mother said, 'maybe you weren’t meant to live a normal life after all.' This statement has changed her entire perspective.

She is a natural leader among leaders. I am consistently impressed when I watch her interact with the ladies. I give her responsibilities and she delegates, to empower the others, not because she is indolent.

Her ambition: As an entrepreneur, I envision helping Rwanda address the high rate of unemployment by providing employment to my fellow Rwandese and I also plan to help connect investors with promising businesses that lack the capital to grow. But most of all, as a leader I want to mentor, educate and empower young women to give them skills that will help them become the next generation of leaders.

Bonnette & Nicole, in the face of opposition, choose courage and keep the end in mind. We believe in you so much, and your ambitions are very attainable.

MY FIRST RWANDAN WEDDING

This little 'steal my heart' was my favorite part of the wedding. He was a charmer with the most alluring smile. I was so distracted I eventually asked to hold him, that is until he started crying. We tried to assuage him with my gold earring- but that proved temporary. When people start looking at you because of crying baby, you must quickly find a different solution. I insisted his mother take him back. I was captivated by him for a prolonged time that I started calculating how long it would take for me to adopt him, get him a US passport and take him back with me in a 3 week time frame. Maybe it's time to get a baby

My wedding date, Bosco

 and no, we are not dating. He's too young for me:)

How am I?

I get asked this question few times a week. I don't have a precise answer, but I will attempt. A great delight right now is my opportunity to challenge our girls. They know the problems facing their country and in some ways have been raised to become cohabitants with these problems. Everyday I am given an opportunity to sit before them, and this reality rejuvenates every fiber of my being, but can become habitual. My challenge: Seize the moment- every single one of them.

On a personal note, when an african woman comes to africa, there is a thought in the back of her mind: will I meet a man here? Rwandese men are less aggressive (in a positive light) than some others I've come across in my days. They are also on the slender side. Ha! All that to say, no men have drawn my attention, but there is still 3 weeks remaining. In my spare time, I dream a lot about my future and have started taking steps towards those goals. There are 3 women I'd like to dine and sip wine with:

Condi Rice

Sandra Bullock

Oprah Winfrey

If you know someone who knows someone who may know them, let me know. I'll owe you big!

an offensive truth

"Now my debt is paid
It is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus spilled"

"Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe,

Sin had left a crimson 

stain, He washed it white

as snow"

These were the words Rwandese believers of Jesus sang together in one voice. Epiphany: Even some genocide perpetrators could be among us, also uttering these same words. Does this truth also apply to them? I mean they massacred strangers and neighbors alike. They planned this attack-- It was well organized. At times they even denied doing this treacherous act. Generations will forever be marked by this moment in time. How could this beautiful sacrifice also apply to them? AN OFFENSIVE TRUTH, offered to ALL by one man: Jesus. Is He really a just God? The rain falls on the just and unjust. It seems He isn't selective. 

Kelly

She gave up vacation time to come help. A well versed woman in literature, world affairs, and supporter of Hillary Clinton for President. Woman power. My companion for 2 weeks who never failed to make us laugh even while she led our academic boot camp. For many hours and days, she sat with our girls so they could get extra english speaking practice. A fabulous coach, wonderful encourager, and generous giver. Kelly, you are already missed.

Jeri really LOVED Kelly. Someone had a little crush

Jeri

Mischievous and oh, tooo charming. Jeri belongs to Susan and James Mbabazi. Susan, my new african sista, is OAD program manager. A sacrificial woman who laid aside her personal dreams so others can find their own AND she's happy to do it. Dreadlocks-wearing suburban-looking US mom (as kelly would put it). I gotta say, Susan rocks the dreads so much so that I even considered doing the same. Don't worry mom, I'll pierce my nose before I get dreads.

Josiane

Orphaned at age 2, another genocide victim. For many years only ate one meal a day. She was taken in by her extended family who supplied her emotional and physical needs. The trajectory of her life was altered when a Jewish school (Agahozo Shalom Village) took her in and educated her. Jojo, from early childhood, jumped many hurdles in life, one of which is her lagging behind academically. Upon taking the pre SAT, she confessed that it was her first time to see such word problems. She made an average score. She is innovative, sharp, and quite perceptive.

Her dream: to be an agro-business woman and own many houses to rent out so the money goes to helping fund other children's education. The hardest worker among many. Her fight for abundant life will take her beyond our biggest dreams. Her relentless pursuit for MORE deems her worthy of the best life can offer. Go, girl!

The following excerpt is written by Kelly Uphoff (white lady pictured up top)

Hotel des Mille Collines (Hotel Rwanda)

Genocide. To me, it felt like the 1994 Genocide permeated everything. Not that it was audibly and observably spoken about to us (and it is of course inappropriate to ask people about it unsolicited unless maybe you are close with them). However, signs (literally and metaphorically) of it abound and once you hear several personal stories you can feel it in the air. I would go as far as to say that anyone spending time in Rwanda has an obligation to visit the memorial in Kigali. The grounds serve as mass graves and there is a great museum that demonstrated how my previous and limited knowledge of the genocide was a major misunderstanding. In my mind, the genocide was a spontaneous burst of ethnic violence that pitted neighbor against neighbor. At the museum, however, you learn that it was a well-coordinated and methodically organized campaign with deep roots in colonialism, eugenics, the impotence of the UN, the complicity of the French, the blind eye of the US, class conflict, organized militias, a corrupt government, and other factors like the ethnic distinctions of “Hutu” and “Tutsi” that was largely created by the Belgians, who divided Rwandans based on cow ownership (seriously) and the misguided Eugenics-related association between Caucasian features and intelligence. These distinctions were exploited by internal and colonial powers, with one group favored over another. Mix in a little propaganda and the other markings of a pre-genocidal build-up, and you know the rest...

You can taste redemption here in this beautiful country. AMAZING!