November 11, 2009 (Wednesday): Home Sweet Home!

Our return trip took us from Kigali to Brussels, Brussels to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt-Denver. With a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, I was able to meet up with Dean’s childhood friend, Heinz-Jorg Ebert, who is from GieSen. He took me on a whirlwind walking tour of downtown Frankfurt by way of the train, which gave me a wonderful breath of fresh air and burned lots of calories! He is a gem of a man and we had a grand time. Due to the long layover in Frankfurt, our return trip was a total of 30 hours, but I really preferred that route to our previous one. We landed at 3:50pm Denver time with hearts on fire to try to make a difference for our new found love, Rwanda!

November 10, 2009 (Tuesday): Joy & Jeffrey meet; our LAST day!

After jamming all our purchases into our suitcases, we met Joy and her financial manager at Opportunity Bank for the meeting with Jeffrey. Part way into the meeting, Joy was telling about some of their awards and suddenly Jeffrey’s face lit up. He recognized her as the woman who told an inspiring story at a World Bank Conference earlier in the year, and he was thrilled to finally meet her! His wife loves their products, and he promised to do everything he could to bring her cooperatives into Opportunities’ loan programs. It was truly a Divinely planned meeting and we felt so blessed to be a part of it.

Next, we met our home host, Chantal, at New Hope Homes, which serves orphaned children in Kigali. She has 3 very nice homes with a “mother” and two “Aunties” caring for 10 orphans in each home. They were all clean, healthy, and precious!

Afterward, we met Annonciata at her orphanage located in the first real “slum” area we had seen in Rwanda. The contrast to Chantal’s home was stark and alarming. After Annonciata’s husband died not long ago, a dispute arose with the church that owns the land where the orphanage is located. When Ashley’s group visited this orphanage in March, she described it as her favorite, and the children were vibrant and full of fun. Just six months later, the church has cut off the electricity and these children are now living in horrible conditions. There were multiple children napping in each bunk bed, with very young children on top and no guard rails. Older teenagers were laying in dark bedrooms with nothing to do. Much of the furniture that had been in the common areas was gone. We left food and toys with Annonciata and we promised to do everything we could to improve conditions for the children.

Jonathan and Tim took us to the airport for our 7:15pm flight, and we were very sad to leave. The trip that I had worried about being too long was really much too short. I now understand why Ashley is determined to come back, because we are, too!

November 9, 2009 (Monday): Rwandan products & Kibeho

We planned to pay a quick visit to a business that makes gorgeous baskets for a large US retailer, but our visit turned lengthy when we struck up an inspiring conversation with one of the sister-owners, Joy N. Joy and her sister, Janet, were born in a Ugandan refugee camp after their parents fled during a previous period of unrest in Rwanda in 1959. Joy married a Ugandan man who worked for the World Bank which transferred them to New York City. After the 1994 genocide, Janet encouraged Joy to come back and help, which she did and then found her calling among her people. In 2003, Janet and Joy started the company by teaching 24 women to weave under a tree, sharing their stories and grief. They were moved by the strength of these women, who often would be weaving next to another woman who’s father or husband killed members of their family. Since then, they have grown their company to over 5,000 workers, predominantly widowed or socially rejected women (due to repeated rapes resulting in pregnancies or HIV). These workers are working around the country in various cooperative groups formed by Joy & Janet, and trained by members of their community who travel to Kigali for training in the various techniques. The company has also started producing a variety of jewelry styles using paper beads, glass beads, and semi-precious stones.

Joy and Janet do FAR more than providing training for their workers. They encourage them to talk about their sorrow and shame, and they train them in financial matters and health management. She lamented that the poor are not welcome in banks and that they cannot get the loans needed to expand their businesses. We asked her if she had approached Opportunity Bank and she said she had never heard of them! Susan immediately got out her cell phone and called Jeffrey, who graciously allotted us one hour of his time the next morning for a meeting with Joy and her business manager. She was so excited and thankful, and so were we!

When we told Joy about the Kids Across Africa Camp and showed her a video of the vision for the property, she started to cry. She said that one of the women’s biggest concerns is that their children have nothing to do when they are not in school. She exclaimed that the First Lady of Rwanda MUST be told about the camp, and she pledged the support of her own company.

As we were getting ready to leave, I asked Joy about the possibility of selling some of her products through my own company and she was thrilled by the idea! She told me that they have been so worried about being dependent on just one major US contract, and that they had been praying for another buyer to come along. We talked about some of the details, and I promised her that I would do more research and that I would do anything I could to help bring the products to more markets. Joy & Janet’s goal is to employ as many Rwandan women as they can, at wages that are fair and reflective of the beautiful products they make. Although Rwanda has made a LOT of forward progress and is truly “the light of Africa,” as President Kagame envisioned, there is still a LONG way to go in bringing the majority of the population out of poverty, particularly women.

Finally, we tore ourselves away and started down the LONG road to the south, through Butari to Kibeho. The last 24 km we were on a narrow dirt, erosion washed road with a steep drop off and we were feeling very guilty for dragging Jonathan and Tim such a long way after all the long days they had already spent with us. The scenery was gorgeous in this area as well, so we tried to stay focused on that rather than the precarious road.

Kibeho is where the Blessed Mother Mary appeared to girls at a remote girls’ boarding school. The apparitions started in 1982 and have been “approved” as real by the Catholic Church after many years of investigation. There is a beautiful church built over this spot, and we spent some much needed quiet time in prayer there. Afterward, we had dinner in Butare at a nice Italian restaurant, and finally arrived back at the Mbanda’s after midnight.

November 8, 2009 (Sunday): Akagera National Park

We spent the night in Kigali at the home of Laurent & Chantal M., which is a gorgeous modern home on a beautiful property overlooking a lake and the city of Kigali. We got up early to go to the airport for a helicopter tour of Akagera National Park in Eastern Rwanda. The Savannah lands border Tanzania, in the Rift Valley area. We saw elephant, zebra, wart hogs, hippos, impala, cape buffalo, topi and water buck. It wasn’t a long trip, but it was the only way to see the Savannah animals and more of Rwanda by air in the time we had.

Most of the afternoon was spent at Bourbon Coffee brainstorming with Jonathan about how to raise funds for Kids Across Africa Camps. All charities are feeling the effects of the bad US economy, so it is especially hard to raise funds for a brand new effort. We believe that God will provide a miracle, however, for this tiny country that he is using to show the world His power of forgiveness and redemption. His Excellency, President Paul Kagame, is an enthusiastic supporter of the camp and he is providing exceptional leadership. He has a “zero tolerance” policy on corruption and he has even turned over several of his closest friends to the court system for suspected violations. One of his friends is currently serving a ten year sentence for accepting gifts. His administration outlined their ambitious goals in the Vision 2020 program, and they are doing everything they can to encourage foreign investment.

We spent the night with the Mbandas again, and watched Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April back to back. These were sobering reminders of the incredible pain that was suffered by so many, and the ongoing pain for the survivors. However, the films also provide a perspective of just how miraculous the recovery of this country has been, and the resiliency of the human spirit.

November 7, 2009 (Saturday): Silverback Gorilla Trek & Kids Across Africa Camp

Our prayers were answered and the sun came out after burning off a morning mist that must have inspired the movie, “Gorillas In The Mist!” We were assigned to the gorilla family called “Hirwa,” which means “lucky.” This name was given because the Silverback male broke away to form his own family just 2 years ago and he already has 4 females and 8 babies. He is the largest male on the mountain at 600 pounds. It only took us 45 minutes of hiking through the bamboo jungle (with our forward guide cutting our way through with a machete) to reach the family, which was on its way down the mountain. Treks can sometimes take 2-3 hours to reach a family that is travelling up the mountain, so we were lucky indeed! There are 10 gorilla families that are habituated to human visitors and there are strict rules that are followed. Visitors go in groups of 8 with 2 guides and are allowed exactly one hour of observing the gorillas once they are found from a distance of at least 20 feet away. The baby gorillas aren’t familiar with this rule, however, and sometimes came closer to check us out. They were ADORABLE! One baby had lost its mother to natural causes a few months earlier, and the Silverback male took over its care, which is quite unusual. From time to time this baby would “touch base” with his giant Papa, who was very gentle with him. The young gorillas were very playful, swinging from branches, wrestling each other, and rolling down hills. It was definitely an experience of a lifetime, not to be missed if you ever travel to Rwanda!

After a nice hot shower, we made our way to the Kids Across Africa Camp property. Bishop John’s church had owned half of the land, and the government helped assemble the other half from 90 individual owners. Bishop John is on the board of KAAF, and he is incredibly excited about the vision for this youth camp that would also serve as a conference facility and athletic training facility during the camping “off season.” The property sits on a peninsula that extends into one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. Tall green hills rise up throughout the lake, which is huge.

While Jonathan and Tim were showing us around, a group of children RAN over a mile onto the peninsula to reach us, and they really touched our hearts. Their clothing was filthy and they had ragged blankets to stay warm against the chilly air, but their smiles were huge and their strength and energy amazing! When you take pictures of children, they are always fascinated to see themselves on the screen of the camera, and this group was no exception. They were jumping around so much that we gave up on pictures and took out the movie camera. This inspired them to dance and sing nursery songs in Kinyarwanda and then in attempted English (which is now required to be taught in school). When they watched themselves on the replay of the movie, they became even more excited and performed again and again. We gave them some of our food, and it was clear that they were very hungry.

Susan and I really felt the Holy Spirit fill the camp site and we were blown away. This leadership and sports camp is critical for a population where 80% of the people are under age 25. The youth just got out of school for their 3 month holiday and unfortunately, there is nothing for them to do. During this time of year, the camp will be centered around kids, sports, and leadership training. We were also motivated by the Rwandans who heard of the camp plans, and broke down in tears of excitement for their youth.

November 6, 2009 (Friday): Sonrise Boarding School and Kids Across Africa

We began our day by attending a devotional at Urwego Opportunity Bank, which is held on the first Friday of every month. The praise singing was really uplifting, and Jeffrey delivered a powerful and inspiring teaching. He is definitely a man on fire for the Lord! Afterward, we headed northwest to the Musanze district. We travelled through scenery that was even more spectacular than anything we had seen previously, which we had not thought possible. The country is incredibly clean, thanks in large part to a government policy that requires EVERY citizen (politicians, doctors, lawyers, included) to take the last Friday of every month off to clean their community!

We met Bishop John Ruchyahana for a wonderful lunch at his church’s lodge, and he was every bit as engaging and intelligent as we had heard. His book, The Bishop of Rwanda, is an absolute “must read” account of Rwanda’s miraculous recovery from the grip of the devil to forgiveness and reconciliation in only 15 short years. Bishop John’s prison ministry and his tireless reconciliation work have been instrumental in this recovery, and he is revered by Rwandans and foreigners alike. His own niece suffered a brutal death at the hands of the Hutus, so he knows firsthand the pain of his people. In addition to being the Bishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, he founded and operates the Sonrise Boarding School for over 1,000 orphans. His unique approach sends the children back to their villages during school breaks to help them remain connected to their communities. Sadly for us, the children were on one of those breaks, so the place was unnaturally quiet. We were impressed, however, with the facilities and the computer lab that was funded by a Denver group, Rwanda Leadership Foundation (part of Global Connections International). Sonrise is one of Rwanda’s top primary schools, based on national exam scores.

After visiting Sonrise, we made our way to the Sabinyo Silverback Lodge to rest up for our gorilla trek the next day. Sabinyo is situated in the foothills of the mighty Virunga’s, a chain of 15,000 foot volcanoes stretching through Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sabinyo is a high end, luxury lodge partly owned by a Denver resident. Although the lodge is very expensive, it gives a large percentage of its income to the local community and gorilla conservation funds. We were treated to a first class dinner with fine wine, and we had an opportunity to visit with the only other guest staying at the lodge who had been on a gorilla trek that day and the day before. She gave us great tips and advice. Since she had trekked through a downpour of rain and resulting mud that day, we prayed for sunshine for our trek!

November 5, 2009 (Thursday): Opportunity International

We started the day at Opportunity International’s Urwego Opportunity Bank headquarters in Kigali. We met with the CEO, Jeffrey L., and the COO, Ross N. What special hearts and visions these men have for serving the poor in Rwanda! Jeffrey is from South Korea, and Ross is from India, but they have adopted the people of Rwanda as their own. Opportunity has over 39,000 loan clients in Rwanda and has grown at the rate of 30%+ per year since the Rwandan operation was started in 2007. Their loan size ranges from $25 to $1500 per person, with an average loan size of $208. Loans are made to “Trust Groups,” which are self-selected groups ranging in size from 15 to 50 people per group, with each person guaranteeing the loans of the group. Interest rates are set at rates comparable to rates in that region, and are calculated to cover the bank’s operating costs. These loans are predominately to women and the repayment rate is over 98%! Jeffrey stated that Opportunity is “betting on people.” They train their clients using 8 teaching modules covering (1) Financial literacy; (2) Health & hygiene; (3) Biblical truths and values (although all religions are respected and honored). These lessons take weeks to complete before the first loans are disbursed. The loan officers meet with their clients twice a week to collect loan payments and provide advice and encouragement.

After our meeting at the main bank, we travelled with a Loan Officer and a Transformation Officer to a remote village with a large marketplace. The trip took over an hour each way on a very washed out dirt road through numerous tiny villages with many people living in abject poverty. Fortunately, Opportunity provided an experienced driver in a safari-type vehicle! Along the way, we passed a work crew digging ditches on either side of the road for fiber optic cable. Tim told us that these were genocide prisoners who had been granted forgiveness by the families of their victims and are now serving their remaining sentence through community service. They live in facilities just outside of the villages and generally serve ten years in community service once they confess and are forgiven. The ability to forgive such unspeakable horrors can truly only come from the power of God, and it gave us chills to see these men working alongside the family members and neighbors of their victims.

We had the honor of observing two Opportunity Trust Group meetings, and toured the businesses of several members. The women (and several male members) were dressed in their very best traditional clothing, as were the children that some of them brought along. Rwandans are exceptionally beautiful people and incredibly friendly. One group honored us by presenting us with three pineapples and sharing cola drinks with us. Each group had several members give their testimonies about how the loans from Opportunity have transformed their lives. They spoke with great pride and huge smiles and received rounds of applause from the other members. Every person talked about the blessing of being able to send their children to school and provide for their families. As highly as I thought of Opportunity before this trip, my regard went even higher after these inspirational meetings.

Once we were back in Kigali, we had a very late lunch at an outdoor restaurant covered with a heavy tarp. November is the rainy season in Rwanda, and during lunch, a storm came through that felt like a mini hurricane! The winds and rain were so fierce that they broke a section of tarp away from the roof! Fortunately, we were under a dry section, and the storm was over in less than an hour (typical in the rainy season). After a stop at a local Kigali marketplace to visit a few more Opportunity clients, we retired to the Kigali Serena after a very long, but rewarding day.