When They Meet with an Obstacle, Mount to the Sky;

Happy Holidays!

Welcome to my 2013 holiday letter, a throwback to when we communicated in more than 140 character bursts. How quaint! 2013 was an amazing, incredible year.  I spent the year living in Rwanda and working for the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. 

I lived inside the village, near Rwamagana about an hour east of Kigali.  I ate my meals in a dining hall with 500 high school students.  I was a 'cousin' to a family of 15 orphaned and vulnerable girls who live together in the village, in the Eleanor Roosevelt Family.  With them, I worked on the farm, helped with homework, played games, taught English and tried to serve as an adult role model living the values of the village.  It was amazing to see a group of teenage girls learn to treat each other as family and blossom in the safety and opportunity of the village. 

It is a rare thing indeed to be given a whole additional family and I feel so lucky.  I traveled around Rwanda to visit each of the girls in their home outside of the village and those were rich and memorable trips.  It is not often that just showing up matters, but in some cases the presence of a foreign visitor for a girl that doesn't have much social status in her village can be a big deal.

Here's me with Eleanor Roosevelt:

The whole fam

My 'day job' was working in the Student Resource Center, like a high school guidance counselor's office, helping the oldest kids with resumes, studying for the TOEFL and scholarship applications. Having spent my professional life in consulting, I approached this role as if I had 500 clients.  Without fail, these were the best clients I ever had.  So appreciative.  So eager.  No less demanding.  There were always more requests from students than hours in the day and I was always busy and frequently exhausted, but the days were interesting and felt like they mattered.

Here's me at work in the resource center:

"Copy/paste from Wikipedia is frowned upon."

Really the best part of the work was making friends with the kids and getting to know them.  I had a blast and now I am really missing some of my buddies.

Ferdinand and me at his house in Kigali

Yvonne and me on a bus before a big adventure

Maxime, future ruler of the world.  Bow down now.

Me and Serge/O2: Rapper, class valedictorian and Ethanol Entrepreneur, to name just a few

Maurice and Miki discuss the documentation for Science Extravaganza day

Maurice is my new little brother and taught me all kinds of things.  He worked hard to take care of me all year. A real highlight of the year was him making me spaghetti dinner.  He is one of the students I worked closely with in Application Boot Camp for the last couple months. Give me a call if you know any admissions officers with clout.

It's hard to sum up an experience like this without leaning on trite cliches.  What I can say is that I've been inspired by children who have overcome more than you can imagine and still have wonderful positive outlooks and take charge attitudes.  I hope that I can stay mindful of them while dealing with things that qualify as annoying or 'problems' now that I'm back home.  It was also very nice to be reminded that we 'need' a lot less than we think we do, and that possessions can be a real drag.

Now that I'm used to being surrounded by 500 students all the time, being away from them feels quiet and strange.  

Aside from working with the kids, I really enjoyed running in Rwanda, with beautiful, hilly trails at elevation.  Now that I'm home safe, I can tell you without my mom having a heart attack that I also liked taking zippy little motos everywhere to get around.  They are just so convenient and the trip is always exciting.

While there, I took a couple of great side trips.  In April, I went Gorilla trekking in Rwanda.  It was a beautiful, memorable experience. 

This baby gorilla was about 2 meters from me, taking a nap

I also went on a visually stunning safari in Tanzania seeing the Serengeti and all manner of wildlife.  Highlights for me were watching the giraffes and the hyenas.

'Phants and 'Phants

In August, I went to Zanzibar for a beach vacation.  All the cliches about that place are totally true.  It blew away my expectations and was the most beautiful place I have ever vacationed.  The ocean views were straight out of a Corona commercial.  It's a pity it is not that easy to get to, because I heartily recommend it.

This beautiful view from my front porch of  cheap, cute rental

Me on the Beach in a state of total appreciation

I'd be remiss if I didn't take a chance to thank everyone who helped and supported me this year.  I received care packages, donations for the village, letters, and even simple emails checking in to keep me connected to home and my spirits up.  I always felt lucky and loved and thanks to everyone for being a part of that.

Thanks to folks from Scripps and others who donated dictionaries to the village

As for 2014, I truly have no idea.  Place your bets. Send your suggestions.  My short term goals are getting over jet lag, getting my winter coats out of storage and catching up on the NBA.  I'll be in North Carolina for the holidays visiting my mom, my sister and her two girls, Kate and Lindy, who in just one year grew up into complete, fully functioning adults.  I am hoping they will give me an internship or at least agree to mentor me.  I may try to be in Philly on March 1st when the 76ers retire Allen Iverson's number (Dorko, make a note). What can I say, it's a time of transition for me and my heroes.

As always, I hope you enjoy the holiday letter and don't find it too obnoxious.  You can 'opt out' by sending an email asking to be removed from this distribution list.  For those of you looking for more frequent updates, you can find me online at http://courtneyspondence.blogspot.com/ and @CourtneyMFK on Twitter.

Happy New Year!  May your 2014 be peaceful and fun.

Love,

Courtney

Visiting Eleanor Roosevelt at 'Home'

     So I've done some 'home' visits before.  This can be confusing.  "Wait, aren't they orphans?" some friends ask. Yes, or selected for extreme vulnerability, (remaining parent is sick or unable to give care, extreme poverty, abuse in the home.)  Also Rwanda's social system is very different than the US.  Everyone has some guardian, assigned by the government. It might be an uncle you hardly know, some distant cousin, a stepmother.  This guardian might be pretty unhappy you've been assigned to them.  Or not.  Maybe they care for the student the best the can.  Regardless of the situation everyone has to leave the village during school vacations, so they maintain some connection with where they came from, and so they have somewhere to go when the time is up. This stresses me out, seeing them going back to vulnerable situations they were selected out of, However, for some of the kids just being in the village and having other people call to check up on them can improve how their guardians treat them, or how they are perceived for the future.  If you think your house boy is going to turn into a well educated earner you might be a bit nicer to him.  So it's possible the situation they are returning to isn't quite as dire as the one they left.

     Some of my girls live entirely alone, or only with other siblings.  Some live in homes with a surviving parent who has remarried.  (In Rwanda its pretty common for this new spouse to be openly hostile to the previous union's children.  This of course seems crazy to me, but is cultural.)  Some live with Grandparents or 'Granduncles'.  Many live with aunts or uncles that have plenty of their own children to care for.  Many work as house girls / domestic servants for their guardians during the break. 

After the *end* (brief break? halftime?) of Application Boot Camp, I went to see everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt I hadn't been to see yet. 9 more girls.  Every visit was wonderful.  All the girls were glad to see me and I was always shown Rwandan hospitality and treated like royalty.  Below are a few photos and a few notes from the visits.  For some of the longer visits, I was afraid I would get lost and took Yvonne with me as my tour guide.  She was amazing and is the best travel companion one could ever hope for.

Agnes, Me, Her Mom

Visiting Agnes was nuts! We took a bus two hours south to Nyanze.  Then a 1 hour moto ride to Busoro city.  Then asked around for her at the local government because she does not have a phone and her mom doesn't have a phone.  We finally found someone who knew where she lives and took us to a bike taxi to take us, for another 1 hour ride.  When we got there she was so surprised. She said she didn't think we could ever find her. It was great to see her.

Travel team starting a journey in Nyambugogo Bus Park

Friend and Ornella

Improbably, on the way to visit Josiane, we bumped in to Ornella in Remera bus park with a friend.  Doesn't she look all grown up with braids in?

Josiane's family and Me

Josiane lives in Muthenderi, in the East, not too far from Kibungo.  I met her mom at the baptism recently at ASYV. She has two younger brothers and a younger sister. It was a long journey to find her and there was no mobile phone service, so Yvonne had to work extra hard to track down where to go by asking anyone nearby.  When we finally arrived it was great to meet the whole family.

Brother, Cow, Me, Adelphine

Ancient Granny, Aunt, Me, Adelphine, Brother

Adelphine lives with her aunt, 2 brothers and an ancient Grandmother who insisted on walking me up the steep train back to the dirt road they live off.  Her family was super nice and super generous.  Her brother had set up a solar panel so the family could charge their cell phones.

Solar set up in Rugobabgoba

Violette and her Family

 That same day in the afternoon I visited Violette. Her aunt had a little baby girl named Chance that cried a lot.  This photo is Violette's aunt, self, Aunt, cousin and laughing Grandmother. Violette showed me around her village.  She took me to a community animal share where these pigs are starving.  The photos are terrible, they were moving constantly and the light and angles were all wrong, but trust me starving pigs look weird:

This is a pig,  In Runda.

Yvonne and Josiane sample the fresh cassava root 

Yvonne and I travelled to Butare to visit Josiane, who lives alone mostly or sometimes with her half-brother when he is around.  I met her neighbors and saw the fields she cultivates.  She harvested some cassava root for me right there and we ate some fresh from the ground. Yes, she is wearing a Plaisir shirt, one of two competing condom brands here in Rwanda.  Okay, this didn't delight me, but I do support condom use.

Chantal, her Brother and some kids who live nearby

Chantal lives in the Western Province, in a house alone with her brother who is 1 year older than her, Placide. They do have some aunts and uncles nearby.  After a 2 hour bus ride to Ngororero, a 30 minute moto ridge to Gatumba, she met us near a market.  Then we hiked 1 hour straight up to the house where they live.  Mountain goat style.  The house is adorably decorated and impeccably kept.  It's hard to imagine what this house would be like with two American teens living there on their own.

Chantal, Yvonne, Placide and a friend, about halfway up to their house

Noeline, Her Aunt, Uncle, and 4 boy cousins

Noeline and 2 cousins in front of her house

I visisted Noeline in Cuminagatanu (15) about 20 minutes outside of Kigali town center.  She lives with her uncle, aunt and their 4 sons.  Her uncle is an interesting guy who told me Anne Heyman could not really be a woman because she was so intelligent. Thanks.  Noeline was so glad to see me and made me a special card.

The visits were all bitter sweet because it was so good to see the girls, and also for most of them this will be my last time seeing them, at least until I come back for their graduation in 2016.

ABC: Application Boot Camp - Sleep Deprivation Training

I am so exhausted.  And drained.  And spent.  

Raissa, Esther, Poet, Du and Jeaninne working on Applications

Immaculee, Francine and Jean Bosco - yes there's an app for that

Tonto Eric visits to lend support and one zillion recommendation letters

There's no way these photos can display the complete chaos of the past few weeks.  After exams finished in the village twenty senior 6 (seniors) students were allowed to stay in the village for two weeks to work on university applications. They were selected based in their grades and a mid-year college essay writing exercise.  These are some of the top students in the village.  The thinking is that these are the students that will have the best chance of being accepted and receiving a scholarship to a university.

They had really not started working on college applications at all before their national leaving exam.  Everyone is laser focused on studying for this exam, basically all year, but especially third term and it's hard to get them to think about anything else.  Now, with exams finished, they're all supposed to go home, but the catch is home probably does not have electricity, let alone a computer, and in the age of online university applications this is a real barrier.

So we hosted this program where the students could stay after school and work on applications.  There were actually 21, 1 student from last year.  They were working on applications primarily for MasterCard Foundation Scholarships like UBC, McGill, University of Toronto, Arizona State University and Michigan State University and some other possible scholarship opportunities.

I had thought it would be a fun couple of weeks, answering few questions.  Reading a few essays.  It was fun, but it was insane.

I had 10 'counselees'.  So many of the form application questions make no sense if you're Rwandan.  Address? No one in Rwanda has an address (we use the school's).  First Name and Last Name (given name / family name) are even a big discussion.  Rwandan's (like Imaculee Mugwaneza) have two names, a western and a Rwandan, but neither follow from your family and they think of Mugwaneza as first.  Don't even get me started on 'What is the value of your home?"  The kids had never filled out any forms like these.

And the applications are complicated.  For just one, first you apply to the school, request an application fee waiver, send transcripts, letters of recommendation, letters of financial validation AND then you apply for the scholarship, with the same biographical data forms again, then tons of financial information and then lots and lots of essays. For just one student, and just one school it is a lengthy complicated process.

Add 20 students, all hoping to apply to many schools. Mix in regular power outages that caused kids to lose their work (Save! Save! Save frequently please!) Documents need to be completed, printed, signed by people all over the village, scanned, the PDF file size needs to be shrunk and then, then you can submit part of an application.

The students would be at my house asking questions at 6 AM.  Serge showed up while I was taking a shower.  "I'm in the shower, Serge!  Can I have a few minutes?"  He replied "No Problem" and started shouting his questions at me.  KIds stayed in the computer lab working until 2 or 3 AM.

I had real trouble setting limits.  "No I don't have time to answer this question that is simple for me but a complete unknown for you and blocks you from applying to follow your life dream." So there were ten baby birds, loudly chirping, and one very tired robin flying to get a worm, grab a cup of coffee on the way back, give the worm to one baby bird who is unsatisfied and see 9 others squawking their heads off.

Camp was scheduled to run from November 11 through the 22nd.  But on the 23rd none of them left.  "We're not finished.  We have more questions."  To be fair the power had been out for long stretches ever single day of ABC.  Finally, on Tuesday Nov 26, I left, as an escape plan and because I needed to start visiting the remainder of the girls from Eleanor Roosevelt (more on that soon). They are still calling and showing up in Kigali with questions.  My guess now is that this will 'end' when all the applications are due.

It's a very difficult process.  I'm not sure if any of them will succeed.  However, we will have tried.  I think maybe the practice of applying, and paying attention to every detail on the application will be good for everyone who made the effort.

I would like to go to sleep for a week, but I need to visit the rest of my girls from Eleanor Roosevelt and start getting ready to come home.

Breaking: I'll be back in the US in December.

6 Futures

Yesterday these 6 kids took the TOEFL test.  I have been working with them all year tutoring English.  These are the top English speakers in the village and it was a privilege to work with them.  Needless to say, I love them all to pieces and I wish the best for them.  

They wanted to take the TOEFL to use the scores to apply for American universities that offer the MasterCard Scholars program, Arizona State University and Michigan State University (but don't require the SAT).  The MasterCard program is an amazing soup-to-nuts scholarship that provides plane fare and a small living stipend and is one of the only realistic ways these students can study abroad.  Lots of universities offer tuition reduction, or even free but our kids cannot afford to get there in the first place, or pay for room and board, so they really need a complete scholarship if they are going to attend.

There were some shenanigans.  I, for one, should never be left in charge of 'a' child.  (Ask my beautiful, narrowly still surviving niece Kate what it is like to be under my 'care').  Now these kids are all over 18, and can pretty much take care of themselves, but have not been in places like supermarkets (where I took them to by breakfast food) and restaurants, where I took them to feed them dinner.  Being under my 'care' in the big city of Kigali is maybe not the most relaxing way to prepare for a big test.  I felt a lot of responsibility to make sure all of their needs were met. They were articulating needs 6 at a time at high volume, causing me some anxiety.  One particular lowlight was me forgetting to tell one of the kids, Innocent, that the bathroom door in the Kigali apartment is broken and cannot be shut all the way or can't be reopened.  Innocent pretty naturally closed the bathroom door to take a shower at 5 AM on test day and found himself trapped.  He was in there for a while as I mostly wrung my hands and said "everything is going to be fine" in increasingly shrill tones until one of the other boys freed him using a kitchen knife on the lock mechanism.  They their best tried to take good care of me, but it is a tough job.

I'm not sure how they did on the TOEFL.  The test is difficult and the day was stressful for them.  I tried to make them go to bed early the night before but they wanted to stay up and cram.  The day of the test was crazy.  They needed some passport photos that we didn't have and this caused some stress. (We got them later, see above.)The actual test seemed much harder to them than the practice tests we had been taking. They left the test feeling pretty down.

In turn, this made me feel pretty down.  Maybe I didn't prepare them well enough.  Maybe we shouldn't have gone down this path anyway if it is so difficult.  A planned 'celebration' lunch after the test was late (due to some transport issues) and glum.  They stared morosely at pizza they didn't like and asked to be taken home.  It was so hard for me to see these 6 feel so down.  They really are amazing kids and so talented in so many ways. I hate that I played a part in making them feel less confident, or question their abilities.

I came home and cried.  They went home and went straight to bed. For something I have been working on all year, it felt like a setback.  I don't know if any of them did well enough on the test to be admitted to ASU or MSU.

What I am sure about is no matter how this test went, they *will* be successful in the future.  These kids are so resilient and have already overcome so much.  When I see their work ethic and their commitment, I know they can't help but succeed. I look forward to seeing their progress as the years unfold.

Eleanor Roosevelt: The End of the First Year

Eleanor Roosevelt went home on November 7.  It was heartbreaking hugging the girls as the got on the busses that will carry them across Rwanda. They won't come back to Agahozo until January 4, so this is a long time for them to be in the vulnerable homes they were rescued from.  I understand the need for these girls to maintain relationships with their community, and to have place to go in 4 years when their time at Agahozo ends.  On the other hand, this is such a dangerous time for them, knowing some of them with be without adequate food and shelter, some will be without medications they need, some will be with guardians who don't love or care for them.   Hopefully what they have learned in this year will make this time more bearable.  Since I won't be here when they get back, this was excruciating for me.  I will be visiting a lot more of the girls in the coming weeks, so it wasn't goodbye for everyone, but it was still very hard.

 **************

After a year in the village, Josiane is healthier, but still has her persistent, hacking cough at times. She enjoys singing with the choir and will continue this next year.  She was placed in the most remedial of the academic classes this year, but she made the biggest progress in her entire grade and got the highest grades in her entire class.  

Violette drastically improved her English this year.  She has found her niche with the student led, 'Genesis of Creativity' a fashion and modeling collective.  You saw her vamping on the runway in a recent post . She's excited about coming back for next year.

Ornella started and finished the year strong.  She did well in school and performed in debates, village quiz, basketball, science day, the school-wide chess competition and pretty much every opportunity that came her way.  I have challenged her to keep pushing her English outside of class with a current events discussion group made up of mostly Sr. 4 & Sr. 5 students.  She is a leader for her entire grade.  She already has a job tutoring English over the vacation, which should keep her busy.

Honorine worked hard at every opportunity she had.  She seeks attention at every turn and will continue to perform poems at Village Time.  She learned a lot socially this year and I expect that development to continue over the next years.

Adelphine is always a joy.  She still has her trademark broad smile and ready laugh for anyone. Still, she was sadder than most of the girls about the other cousins leaving. She is taking the separation pretty hard. I am looking forward to visiting her at her home in Kamonyi.

Chantal spent a lot of the year worrying about her brother who was home alone without a guardian.  The joy of being here can turn to guilt if someone you love is hungry and alone.  She was so excited to leave the village to go and see him and care for him.  She was very strong in her language classes and the school tagged her a 'language leader'.  She is planning to teach her new English skills to her brother when she gets home.  She will always be my attitudinal north star.  She was so positive with every challenge and such a delight to be around.

Noeline's transformation this year was quite substantial, though it might not show in the photos.  She got to be a kid at least a little bit, and this was something totally new for her.  She also got to have a few possessions for the first time, so started doing girly things like fretting about her outfit and accessorizing.  It was great to see her laugh and joke and dance.  Noeline was an absolute star all year on ASYV news, reporting regularly on the news around the village.  I think she'll continue to write and take steps to pursue her dream of being a journalist.

Alice has much better English than she lets on.  She made a lot of friends this year and is a very social girl.  Maybe she's not taking school that seriously, but everyone can't be valedictorian and I'm not that worried about it.  She's a confident girl and I think she's going to be just fine.

Adelaide really struggled to balance her interest in sports and dancing with some pressure she got from female Rwandan staff to stay at home and do fewer activities.  I tried hard to counterbalance this that she should do everything in the village and take advantage of as many opportunities as possible.  She's a very thoughtful girl and we'll see how this turns out of the coming years.  I really hope she sticks with the basketball team because she enjoys it and it's a great way for her to build confidence.

Agnes' self confidence grew by leaps and sounds this year.  She started to think about her opinions of things and to challenge things instead of accepting everything.  It was amazing to see her presenting a book report on Malaysia in English in front of her entire class when she had been too shy to speak many words even in Kinyarwanda at home when the year started.  She is well-liked by the other girls and is serious in her studies.  

Samila did well in school all year. She started the year a little more sophisticated and maybe a bit standoffish from her sisters but by the end she was a well-integrated part of the family.  She wants to continue pursuing drama and sketches and likes to watch movies.  At her behest, after everyone finished their exams we watched Twilight 1, which I had heard so much about of course, but never seen.  While I can't recommend it, the girls enjoyed it and we all had a good time.

Yvonne is a shining light.  She is so direct, and so positive at the same time.  "Cousin, you are dirty! (me coming back from running).  Go and wash!"  Said with a laugh and huge grin that makes it seem like a nice suggestion not a criticism.  Thanks, Yvonne. She had some back aches and headaches this year that are usually a sign more of stress than anything, but I think she'll be okay.  She is going to accompany me on some of my travels to visit the other girls and keep and eye on me.  I'm in good hands. She was very excited to go home and see her grandmother and her younger sister. She works hard at school and enjoys dancing with the other kids.

Grace found her voice this year in the theatre productions and sketches.  She learned to be loud and confident to express herself.  It was a lot of fun to see her on stage. Being an Adventists separates her a bit from the family.  She never does farm or muchaka with us, instead she goes to church on Saturdays with about 20 other kids and then does these activities by herself on Sunday.  She was a serious student who did well on her report cards, and I can't see any reason she won't continue to thrive in and out of the classroom next year.

Josiane was written up in the Village Times (a newsletter for friers and donors at ASYV) for her transformation this year.  She really benefitted from being in a safe place where she didn't have to fear physical harm or punishment.  When she started out the year I didn't think the muscles in her face could form a smile, but by the end she was laughing and teasing me with all the other girls. She improved so much in school. (It's a lot easier to learn things when you're not having a panic attack, apparently.)  She enjoys hanging out with her sisters so much.  She wants to study languages and maybe be a translator one day. 

Happiness became a 'Village Super Star' this year.  She is an amazing singer and it was clear she has one of the top voices in the entire village.  She worked with other singers and musicians to write and record her own song here in the village recording studio. There is an elaborate video with backup dancers and about 15 costume changes. She did all this on top of her choreography for the dance group.  It's clear she'll continue to be active in the performing arts and be a regular at Village Time.  She's classically shy offstage, but in her element and confident on stage.

*************

I'll miss them all so much, and it' so hard to think about family time next year without my being there.  They'll be fine, they have each other, but I'll be a mess without them back in the US. I think the village gives them so much, from basic needs like food and clothing to mental health care and arts enrichment, to a top quality education, but I think the most important thing the village gives them is each other. They are told and taught to behave like a family and for their whole lives they'll have 14 other girls who love them and can help them find shelter and work and care and between them there isn't a problem they won't be able to solve.  It's hard to go home and accept that I won't be with them any more, but I know they have so many other caring adults in their lives at Agahozo.  They are in good hands and they are being given every opportunity to succeed.

THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT OF MY ENTIRE LIFE: THE ONLY MEAT IN THE SAUCE

You know I get sick of cold showers and communication barriers and rice.  I am so sick of rice.  And I get a little cranky about doing my laundry in a bucket and all the dust in the dry season and all the rain in the rainy season.  And then out of the blue, I get the biggest compliment of my life.  Literally.

I bet there are teachers working crummy jobs for no pay in some American public school system for 20 years that deserve something like this a thousand times more than me, but the trick is that I am working with the best kids, the absolute best kids.  Rwandan kids, at least these ones, are not 'too cool for school'.  They don't have sarcastic senses of humor or a need to distance themselves from authority to be cool.  (Is every high school teacher reading this booking a one way plane ticket right now?)

So here at ASYV, we are running a little competition for the seniors.  We are inviting about 20 students to stay for a week after finals and the National Exam for 'Application Boot Camp'.  A lot of our kids won't have access to computers or native English speakers after they leave ASYV so the more work they can do applying for scholarships before they leave, the better.  There are 122 seniors, and they'd all like to stay, but we can't help everyone intensely, so we are going to select about 20 kids to work on application essays and collecting transcripts and letters of recommendations and whatnot.  The competition for the selection process is fierce.  They all want to stay and do this.

The application for ABC is one essay from the common application (... actually last year's common application but that is a long story) and one essay question from the Mastercard Scholars program.  The thinking here being whoever is selected has a good start on the applications we want to work on at the camp. The first essay you can choose from topics like a fictional character that impacted you, a national issue important to you or a person that influenced you.

Immaculee asked me if I would help her correct the English in her essay.  I said yes and we made an appointment.  I like Immaculee, and she's a great student, but she's a quiet kid and I don't know her that well.  We don't eat together or hang out outside of class.  I  didn't think I had made that big an impression.  Then she gave me her essay and I just started to cry:

     I am influenced by an inspiring woman who is always helping young adults to find their destination of the future. Her name is Courtney Kelly. She is an American of 37 years old from New York. She has been an IT business worker for 14 years after her graduation from university. After that, she decided to change her career into other thing she felt that she was more passionate about. This is helping Rwandan teens in Agahozo-Shalom as a volunteer, where I met her teaching English in class preparing for TOEFL. She influenced my life, thus I became a new person.

     First and foremost, she influenced me in social life. She used to help people in different domains such as teaching them English, advising them and this taught me to help others. Now I give any kind of help to my classmates and this gave me a good name in my class. Next, in social life I am influenced by her kindness and being flexible. I use to be a hard person; I never joked but through observing how Courtney is humble and how she jokes with people I decided to change my behavior.

     Second, I have been influenced in education by her support by teaching English without any reward and knowing that it is a hard issue to handle because English in the village is a problem but she never gives up. This influenced me very much. Right now I can express myself in English and I learned from her to continue what you started. Now I love teaching others. Additionally, I had been influenced to be motivated in studying because I saw her one day very sick but she came to teach us English. This made me to love school now I cannot miss school, even at any circumstance.

     Furthermore, I have been influenced in the domain of health.  In fact, I was a kind of person who cannot do sport, even running 10 meters was a problem. Now my mind had been influenced by her because she does sport without thinking on other factors like being a woman or making herself tired. Right now I can do sport, even run a long distance. I reduced the fat and my circulatory system is functioning well therefore my I am healthier. Above all, I used to over work and getting tired every time I had head pain because I did not know how to plan for my day. Influenced by how Courtney plans for her day, now I am the best organized student in my class. I do not feel any stress or any more head pain.

     All in all, my life has been influenced very much and it is obvious, her kindness, her confidence, her hard work and her flexibility made me special and a changed person, not only I personally, but also many people in the village. I can estimate and say that we take her as the only meat in the sauce.

Visiting Honorine

I have so much to tell you.  It's been a while since we had time to talk.  This is the start of the third term and everyone made it back safe and sound this time to the village.  I can't believe I'm 2/3rd of the way done with my year at Agahozo.  It really has flown by.  I feel like it's almost time for me to go back home and there's still so much I haven't achieved.

Let me tell you about my visit to Honorine's home in Gisozi, a Kigali suburb near the Genocide Memorial.

Of the 15 girls in Eleanor Roosevelt family, only two 'went out' (left the village) on this 'break'.  As mentioned in a previous post, due to changed academic requirements for sitting for the leaving exam, 9 of the girls in my family had to stay through the break and study for what will amount to be a Junior High graduation exam.  Four others stayed and participated in an amazing 2 week theatre program that they absolutely adored.  Honorine and Agnes were the only two to have already completed the required exam and were not in the theatre program.  

I visited Honorine at her home on the first day of the vacation.  She has an amazing adoptive mom who would be the subject of a CNN Hero documentary or at the very least an episode of Extreme Home Makeover anywhere but Rwanda, but in Rwanda her story just blends in, as not that extreme.  Josephine has no biological children, but has 16 adopted children with no other family or guardian.  They all live, when not at school, in a very modest, tiny home.  When I visited most of the other kids were still at school, so I met one younger brother (8), one younger sister (15) and Josephine.  She speaks no English but smiles and hugs a lot and was happy to read to me from her Kinyarwanda Bible.  The family has no income and lives entirely on donations (mostly informal).  Josephine was a baller and when the kids turned on pop music on a tiny radio to dance, she got up and danced her heart out with them.  (Of course I had no choice but to join in.)

I couldn't believe how small the home is and there really isn't space for everyone to be inside at once, but somehow it works.  They really enjoyed the photo session so I took quite a few.   Below is a small fraction. These are taken in a common courtyard area a few paces from their home.

Josephine

Josephine, Honorine and two of her siblings

At one point Josephine literally ran back into the house and came back with this ID card.  No one could explain it to me but they all asked for it to be photographed and to be photographed with it.  I think this is someone who has passed, but I don't know the relation.

The document

Zoomed in on this ID card at their insistence

Family Portrait?

Honorine takes a photo

Josephine, Honorine and me

In some ways this was a tricky visit, because Honorine doesn't speak that much English and she was the only one who could translate.  There was a lot of smiling and nodding and hugging, but not to much to say.  I could tell that Josephine was a gracious and welcoming host, that Honorine was proud to have me there and that everyone was very friendly.

When Honorine came to pick me up at the designated meeting spot, she was so excited.  Then the whole way through the dusty walkways up to her neighborhood, about a 30 minutes walk, she held my hand and smiled and giggled while the residents stopped what they were doing to see what the Muzungu was doing in the area.  I was glad to see the type of living conditions she had and honored to thank Josephine for taking care of so many abandoned children.  She is a true inspiration.