Different Perspective

The family (Dad was taking the picture) and one of
my students after Christmas mass. 

As a little change from posting my experiences, I asked my family to write about their time in Rwanda. My mom was the only one to complete the assignment but I know that my brothers really loved the trip too. They are always messaging to ask about the kids they met here. I’m the most certain that my dad loved his time in Rwanda because he is coming back to visit again in July!

Here is what my mom had to say:  

Mary has been wanting us to write about our experience in Rwanda to add to her blog and I apologize for the delay.. However, our trip to Africa is still as fresh in my mind as the day we returned and probably always will be. It was an incredible adventure and I was totally overwhelmed by the beauty of the country as well as the spirit of the people. Rwanda is so gorgeous, it is hard to believe that anything bad could have ever happened there. 

I was very impressed by the friendliness of the people, especially the children, of which there were many. I recently read that at least half of the population is under the age of 20, and I can believe it. All we had to do was smile or wave and they immediately came over and wanted to touch us and talk to us. My boys felt like celebrities! The children seem to be independent and take on responsibility at an early age. We saw them getting water for their families, caring for animals and younger siblings, and walking along the sides of the road carrying crops. They are very beautiful and regard shoes as a very valued possession. We brought clothes with us and distributed them to some of Mary’s students, but shoes were the most sought after items. 

The independence of the children even carried over to church. We attended Mass twice while we were there and each time we noticed a big section of children who had come to church on their own without their parents. It was really wonderful to see children wanting to be in church without being forced to be there! After participating in Mass there, I could understand why they would want to come. A wonderful thing about the Catholic religion is the universality of the Mass. It was a very spiritual event and even without understanding the language, I could feel the faith. I especially enjoyed when they sang and danced in Kinyarwanda, because it was so heartfelt. 

One of the harder experiences was going to a branch of Mother Theresa’s orphanages. We spent most of our time in the toddler area. I was so impressed by one 3 year old girl who displayed the most amazing musical talent. She and a small group of kids sang a native song while she beat the tune on the bottom of a plastic bucket with a stick. They were absolutely incredible! In contrast to them, there was another group of needy children who just clung to us and wanted to be held. I was so proud of Matt and Brian while watching their interaction with the kids. They each held children and didn’t shy away from the ones who were dirty or who had sores on them. We had to leave some of the children crying which was very difficult to do. 

I had one of the scariest experiences of my life when we traveled back and forth to Kibeho in a rented car with a native driver. Once we got off the highway we had to travel quite a distance on dirt roads around very steep and winding mountains with no guard rails. To add to the terror, the roads were lined with a constant stream of people walking with children on their backs or produce on their heads. I was just terrified that we were either going to fall off the mountain or run over one of the people. It was hard enough doing this during the day, but we drove home in the dark, which was even worse! Of course Mary didn’t tell us anything about the perils of the trip. She was either afraid that we wouldn’t make the trip or she was oblivious to the danger, which knowing Mary, was probably the case!

Giving Daniel clothes, Fantas and sweeties. 

I was very impressed with Mary’s level of independence while we were there. She knows her way around the city and was communicating effectively with the native people. It was funny to see the great pleasure she took in haggling over prices at the market or cab and moto fare. The Rwandan people seemed to be amused by Mary and her antics. Overall they are a reserved people and Mary is anything but reserved! In spite of taking pride in Mary’s independence there and seeing how wonderful and welcoming the Salesian community is, it was still very hard leaving her there when we returned home. Out of my whole family, I probably felt the most discomfort in being in a foreign country, and while some of my fears for Mary’s safety were eased, new ones were raised after being there. It did make me deeply appreciative of my life here in the United States, and when I returned home, the bathroom I’ve been wanting to remodel didn’t seem half so bad! I will always keep the Rwandan people in my prayers and am grateful for the opportunity to experience part of their culture.