Pleasant Surprises

As most of you know, I spent all of October at home home, ie Ohio.  I felt incredibly blessed for many reasons- two of my top ones being the beautiful weather (except for that smidge of a storm near the end. haha) and the baffling fact that I was able to see so many friends (in multiple states no less) and still not feel rushed in  my time at home.

Thanks for all the welcomes and open arms and generosity!!  I was quite anxious about it, to be honest, but was quickly shown the foolishness of that.  And though I will be sad to say farewell to my second home next June, I look all the more forward to coming back to home home.

The flight and journey back went smooth and safely and I gave a sigh of content and happiness upon stepping off the plane in Rwanda.  I really do love this country.  After taking care of some business in Kigali, I took the long bus ride home to my small town in southwest Rwanda.  

And heading to work a few days after, I got a wonderful surprise!  The sewing club at the center where I work with the street children had been so pleased at the gardens we made that they also decided to build their own.  And so I was welcomed back to twice as many small gardens!  We’ve already been harvesting the green beans and cabbage, and the carrots and beats and onions will be soon to follow.  The children and workers have truly taken initiative and ownership of the project and have even slotted a time for gardening in their daily schedule.  I could not have asked for more.

This week we plan on making personalized objects ( the good ol’ fashioned way out of a mixture of dirt and water and then sun drying) to put in their gardens to encourage the children to view their individual garden as even more their own.  

I hope everyone’s holiday season is going well!  Merry Christmas! 

Kids, Kids, Kids

Two weeks ago, we continued our food security project with the street children of Kamembe.  We started our nursery, so that when the rains come, we’ll have a good variety of veggies to transplant.  We planted peppers, okra, spinach, onion, amaranth, beets, cauliflower, and more!  The children had a wonderful time and learned a lot. 

It was a LONG day, starting with marking the area and tilling the ground early morning to finally putting together a shade house for the seeds after midday.  Suffice to say, we all slept well that night.  Ha ha.  (link to pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/MakingTheNursery02?authkey=Gv1sRgCM_HmcO2_O_ndg, https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/MakingTheNursery?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ-Pt7aDrK_KbQ)

Another volunteer was working with the children that week doing drama and the kids performed a lovely play Friday (pics to come).  The gist of the play was this:  A king was annoyed because a flock of birds were singing/crying the same words over and over again but he could not understand what they were saying.  First he sent old men to decipher the words, but they forgot by the time they got back to the king.  Then he sent younger men, but they stopped for a drink and were too drunk to remember the words.  Finally, the king’s wife arrives and suggests he send children.  So, off four children went, and each memorized one of the lines from the birds and came back and told the king.  The king was so happy that he awarded each of the children a cow.  The children LOVED performing and all put on there best clothes for the performance.   In a culture that rarely visibly values children and praises them for accomplishment, it was an honor to see how proud the children were in there work. 

This past week, our region hosted a GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Camp down in the south.  It was our first camp, so we started small – 30 girls, 5 days.  We had opening and closing ceremonies our first and final day and many lessons in between (including Love & Sex, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, HIV/AIDS, etc).   Girls from three different schools in two districts participated and it was a BLAST!  Empowering the girls was such a blessing and it was so neat to see the difference in the girls from the first opening ceremony, where they were half-heartedly singing camp songs and only sitting with their friends, to the closing ceremony, in which the volume of their singing and shouting threatened to be a public event.  The bonding and growth that took place was incredible.  I hope the girls internalized what was taught and continue to nurture the relationships they formed!  Plus, it was food for my soul, because few things in this world are more fulfilling to me than camp. (link to pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/CampGlow?authkey=Gv1sRgCKazypnG4vvZdQ)

Remember me?

After a long absence (sorry!), I’m back to inform you all of my new project that I’m thrilled for.

There is a local center for street kids in the town I currently am stationed in.  A modestly sized group (about 17) live in the center and about 15 more come in during the days to learn and eat and play.  The center is owned by a UK based organization and I’m so thankful they were open and supportive to my idea.

We’re initiating a five-month project to teach the children sustainable food security and nutrition practices.  Through a combination of theory and practice, we hope to promote permanent behavior change by equipping the children with a thorough set of knowledge and skills so that they continue to practice what they learn throughout their lives and also teach others.

We just completed our compost pile this week – here’s the link to some pics https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/MakingCompostPile?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_F8_ff_en1OA

We make our nursery next week and then we have a little more than a month to prepare and learn before the rains come, which will be God’s sign that it’s time to plant! haha.  Once we start harvesting, we’ll teach about healthy food preparation and nutrition and prepare some meals together.

And of course, there will be drawing, poetry, mud sculpting, drama, journals, and other fun teaching methods along the way!

Looking forward to this.  I will make sure to continue posting pics.

Hope all is well with everyone.  I’ll be taking a month home leave in October (which I assume most of you know about from my mother already).  Would love to see everyone and anyone I can.

God Bless!

‘Tis the Season

Though we say “Merry Christmas.”

     Much different than you

And when you say “Santa Clause’”

     We blink and ask “Who?”

Though our trees are not pine.

     And snow never falls

And we don’t have decorations

     To put on our walls

Though we are so different,

     We are also the same

For we both honor a baby

     And worship His name

He was born in the flesh,

     In order to die on a tree

To forgive us our sins,

     And set us all free

That we who believe,

     Though now far, will be one

And in perfect unity,

     Will one day worship the Son

 

Links to Pics. Enjoy.

Here are links to the albums I was able to upload.  Some pics you have seen before but there are many new ones.  Hope the links work.  Enjoy! And I pray that everyone’s thanksgiving season is going blessed!

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/LeroySAndAshleySVisit?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL2915in0s_zCg&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/WorldMap?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIGj8oaN8O3GuAE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/July4?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKPtt5mC3OGtmgE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/ImbabaziOrphanage?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMfiyIWbzNneSg&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/AlisonSVisit?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKi0hv3IxoDU9wE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/Umushanana?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPfb0PTb94K5qgE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/AuntLauraSVisit?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPOTooD5hOLQPw&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/Francois?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPiqICyu4uhDw&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/Nyanza?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKzRj-2jk5HW7AE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/ajbisesi/EnglishClass02?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPaQ0_nEgf3rUw&feat=directlink

Names

Names and the naming process are so different cross-culturally.  Here there is an official naming ceremony about 8 days after the baby is born.  Family and friends sit around in a circle and share food and fanta and conversation.  Then, one by one, each person suggests a name for the child.  When everybody has offered one, one person (usually the mother or father) decides which best suits the child.  It is truly a community experience.  Names aren’t chosen lightly either.  A baby born in joy often bears a name that testifies to that, but, unfortunately, the opposite holds true also.

Here, I have many names.  My fellow volunteers and most staff call me AJ.  A handful of Rwandans call me Bisesi (its more recognizable to them then Alexandra).  A couple of my Rwandan co-workers call me Alexandra (though here, Alexandra is the boy version of the name).  Mahoro is my most commonly called name.  It was given to me by my host mom in Nyanza; it means Peace.  It suits me well.

But my favorite name I am in called, solely by the wonderful Catholic Priest in our compound,  is “Our good daughter of Obama.”

Igihe Cyiruka

Time Flies.  It is amazing that a year has already passed since I first stepped in this beautiful country.  For some reason, I assumed simpler life would mean time slowed down.

Even though I am half a world away, I still feel at home because people are so similar at times.  The nuns tacked down legos somewhere and so now the Francois and the neighbor baby have play dates where they sit on a blanket outside and play with legos.   And the other night I was eating an orange and was spitting out the seeds and one of the nuns turned to me and said “you don’t want a tree to grow inside of you.”  I burst out laughing.

Current Weather:  RAIN!  RAIN!  RAIN!  I love rain storms during the day though because life stops and, if Im lucky and stuck in my room at the time, I can sing really loud (which I miss a lot more than I would ever think…in fact a couple weeks ago, the rain storm lasted so long that I semi lost my voice the next day, which led to some funny explanations of why).  Rain also means fruits and veggies!!!  So my body is very happy right now.

Times up.  Enjoy your day.