This email was sent early this morning and I have changed the girl's name for her privacy...
"Had our brush with reality today. One of the primary age girls was crying went we met with the group of Gisimba kids at Sonrise. JF pulled her aside. She has been sick on and off every day. It turns out she is HIV+ and is suffering. We had a meeting with the headmaster and he agreed we should take her back to Kigali for care. Everyone was crying, even the headmaster.
So now we have "P" with us as we head back to Kigali."
This email from Dave was sent after a few correspondences after the above email...
"Melanie,
Bella would love to receive some English books. Even primary school level would be great. We are buying her an English dictionary tomorrow and sending it up to her.
Positive ending to the story about "P". As we were driving out of the Sonrise compound, JF asked her if she was feeling better that we were taking her back to Gisimba. She equivocated. This conversation was all in Kinyarwanda, but the discussion back and forth was intense enough that the driver stopped the car. I wondered if we were going to turn around. Then JF explained that "P" was very happy to be going to Kigali to get medical treatment, but that she was determined to come right back to Sonrise because she knew that was where she belonged.
I'm sad to hear about "P" and hope that she will get the treatment that she needs and deserves. I don't know how she contracted HIV and as much I want to know the details, it's not important. I'm happy she wants to return to school to continue her education, and have realized that it's vital that more children are educated. It's really the only way to help stop the spread of this terrible disease that will rob too many kids of their childhood.
What started as a 3 weeks vacation to Africa has turned into...well, as my colleague just said to me, "what I love is that you've made this so real for me, too, because you're the girl who loves her designer jeans and buying shoes, but you are so dedicated to helping people in Rwanda. It makes it real."
It's a pivotal turing point in my life because what started as a start, middle and end has only hit the starting point, and I look forward to what's next and to providing an education for more kids.
