Thank You

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, toys, clothes and other gifts to me and the people I visit in Rwanda. I really appreciate your support and generosity and I know it's all gone to very good use and has brought many smiles to many faces (mine included!).

Also, huge thanks for the lovely emails and notes I've received over the last month. Your words mean a lot to me and I'm happy to be sharing this life-changing experience with you. :) I've kept all the notes and plan to make a binder - or something - as a keepsake. I say "something" because I'm not a crafty person and may be better off asking someone to make it for me! lol

What's next? Project Bella is in full swing and I have my eyes on 4 orphans who have lost their parents because of HIV. In my opinion, they all deserve an education so I've started the process of raising money to pay for their schooling. More to come soon on this - I need to gather a little more info before making any announcements.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. XO

Meet Lilly

Today I was sent this picture of Lilly, the 3-yr old orphan I mentioned in a previous post. She's so gorgeous and she reminds me why my trips back to Rwanda are important - I'll never forgot little Lilly's hugs and cuddles and I hope to see her again soon. xo

Friday Nov 12 - beautiful babies and moving forward

Today was a mixture of inspiration and emotion. We started the day by visiting Faith Victory Association (FVA) – a non-profit organization started by my dear friend, Dr. Immacullee. FVA is an orphanage, the organization that is helping with counselling for the 15-week social therapy classes that I mentioned in an earlier blog, helps small rural communities set up farming co-ops because families are so poor they often eat once (maybe twice) a day, they’re building a new orphanage, and they provide counselling, support and other services for gender-based domestic violence cases. To me, Immacullee is the Mother Teresa of Rwanda. When I was here in December we spent a half day at FVA with many of the women and children that FVA supports and it was great to see familiar faces and to hear that they are stronger now than ever before. Or, as one of the leaders in their community said, “a year ago we were sorting our issues. This year, we are able to breathe again and move on with our lives.”

While we were there, Catherine and I interviewed a 16 year old boy who is HIV+. His parents were both infected and died when he was a small child so he lived with his grandmother until she also passed away. When he started working with FVA he was very thin, sick, and completely orphaned. Now, he looks so healthy and loves going to school. Despite his illness and knowing that his odds of dying are higher than most 16 year olds, his vision for his future keeps him going. He’d like to attend University in Europe and wants to be a doctor. The only thing he struggles with now is security and ensuring he has enough money (through donor support) to continue his studies without disruption. FVA is sponsored by Dr. Immaculee’s private clinic and donors from around the world.

In the afternoon we visited another orphanage. This one is not run by FVA but Immacullee visits as a physician and has treated many of the children there. For me, the orphanages are the best and worst places in the world. The kids are so much fun and love visitors – they’re not unlike kids anywhere else or from any other socio-economic background. They love to colour, play football, sing, dance, they like music videos, and they love affection – something they don’t get enough of. Immediately after we arrived, Lillian, a 3-yr old who is orphaned because her parents died of HIV (she was at the orphanage with her 3 siblings, none of whom are infected) latched on to me and wouldn’t let me put her down. She doesn’t speak much but she loves to cuddle and rest her head on your shoulder.

This orphanage is the worst I have seen (through my limited experience), but from what I hear it’s in desperate need of good management and a lot of TLC. We toured the rooms, where we found mouse feces on the top bunks – I don’t believe any children are using those beds, where there were often 3 kids sharing one twin bed, where medical supplies are low for ailments most of the children have, and where food supplies are so low they can’t afford milk for the newborns and every day the kids eat beans and cassava for all three meals.

Recently they had 3 small children at Immacullee’s clinic for dehydration and malnutrition and 2 babies were delivered by the police – a boy who is 2 weeks old and a girl that is 1.5 months, named Vivian. Vivian, a gorgeous little girl was brought to the orphanage after police found her abandoned in a bush. As I held her and made gurgling baby sounds she smiled and giggled at the attention. It was so hard not to run away with little Vivian...if I legally could...I would have.

It’s heartbreaking to go into these places and I have such a hard time knowing that some of these children will die because of illness and/or malnutrition, and that most will not get an education. It’s a rough start to life, but as Immacullee told me, “that’s life and you have to do what you can.” I get so emotional at the orphanages but thankfully the kids don’t know why I cry and are often told it’s because I love them and am so happy to see them. That is true.

When we left I felt emotionally drained and took the time in the car to think about how I am going to help. Project Bella will pay for the education of as many kids as possible, but I’m sure there is more I can do…

Since today was my last day in Kigali, I needed to stop at the market to get gifts. I hadn’t been to the open air market before so it was an interesting power shopping experience. The market is open 24hrs but by the time we arrived it was getting dark so it was difficult to see the merchandise in the crammed stalls of beaded necklaces, baskets, shoes, clothes, wood carvings, linens, and just about anything else you can think of. Our friend Alan came with us to help negotiate prices so we wouldn’t get the “mizunga” price and wouldn’t be taken advantage of. Thanks Alan! :)

Before catching my flight to Nairobi – the first leg of my 26 hour journey home, we went to Bourbon Coffee for dinner and to spend time with Immacullee and Sandrali. It’s so nice to have two people that take care of us, provide us with a car and driver, take us to new restaurants, and give us with as many Rwandan experiences as possible. They genuinely care about us and have become dear friends, and family.

Thursday Nov 11 - Speed "dating" with entrepreneurs and a great art show

Traditionally when Dave comes to Kigali for the workshops he sets up 45 minute one-on-one meetings with the workshop participants. I call it speed dating for entrepreneurs! Dave O, Dave H, Catherine, Elizabeth, Betty and I were stationed around the Serena Hotel pool (which is stunning I might add!) for the day. We coached the entrepreneurs on areas like strategy, sales and marketing, customer service, business development, and leadership. It was so much fun, yet used a lot of brain power so by the end of it we were ready for some R&R.

That evening we went to our friend Innocent’s art show at Heaven Restaurant (aka “the American restaurant”). Innocent is from Uganda but his whole family lives in Kigali and he is one of 4 members that started a co-op called Ivuka Arts. He is a self-taught contemporary artist that is starting to get International attention and is one of the artists that donated a piece to Art for Africa 2010.

Wednesday Nov 10 - Bigger Future Workshop and the US Ambassador

It was fantastic to see the Bigger Future workshop – this series is based on Strategic Coach tools and concepts and was brought to Rwanda by a “Coach” client, Dave Ormesher. The one day workshop, which takes place 4 times a year (approx. 90 days apart) provides entrepreneurs with a lifetime of personal and professional growth, strategic planning so they can work on their business rather than in their business, and enables to them confidently focus on the many opportunities that are available to them. In this first workshop series there are approx. 35 entrepreneurs who come from a variety of industries such as architecture, medical, solar energy, construction and development, cookie and cake decorating, law, importing and exporting, and coffee production/farming, to name a few.

What surprised me most during the day was that it doesn’t matter where the entrepreneur lives or what language he/she speaks, they all have the same struggles and concerns. I had the opportunity to participate in the workshop in Kigali on Tuesday and use a tool called D.O.S (dangers, opportunities, and strengths) which is a client focused conversation we use daily at Strategic Coach. The woman I was paired with is president of the local Junior Chamber of Commerce, has two young daughters, and is in her 30’s. She runs a very successful book distribution company that just got a contract with the government which allows her to sells books to various organizations around the country. Her issues of time and money were no different than what I’d here from my clients and/or prospects in Canada – she wants to spend more time with her family, would like to take an annual vacation with them, she’d like to motivate her staff and create a team culture that enables them to continually increase their sales, and she wants to expand her business into provinces around the country. Her dangers – she’s very busy, doesn’t like to delegate to her staff, and she wants complete control over every detail in the business. Sound familiar, entrepreneurs?

Dan Sullivan, the creator and owner of the Strategic Coach program is a genius for designing a program that is applicable to any business owner around the world, and for understanding exactly how they think and act – even before they understand it!
Because this workshop was their last one for the year, at the end Dave asked each of them to provide a testimonial about how the workshops have helped their businesses and/or their lives. Some of the responses we heard – I was able to grow my medical business by 15%, I took time away from the office to spend with my family, I’m thankful for the tools because I didn’t have to struggle like so many entrepreneurs do, and so much more.

After the workshop we were whisked off to the US Ambassador’s house for drinks with him on the terrace. Mr. Ambassador is a very interested man who loves Rwanda and what the Bigger Future workshops are doing for the country. He’s very supportive and appreciative of the work Dave does here. I’ve never met an American politician and I can assure you they are different than Canadian politicians and any others I’ve met through my travels/experiences. The Ambassador is both gracious and tactical. He touches you at least two times- the first is through a handshake and the second may be another handshake, a pat on the back or possibly your arm, he says your name at least once and cross references members of the group throughout the conversation. He also makes a point of going around the group to get “your story.” I’ve been told that he’ll never forget your name or your story so I look forward to testing this next time I’m in Rwanda with Dave and Bigger Future. (Unfortunately my picture is blurry so I'm hoping somone in our group has a clear one)

After our 45 minutes with the Ambassador, 16 of us dined at a great Indian restaurant near the President’s house. Three of our Rwandan friends came with us and none of them had tried Indian before and I doubt they’ll go back anytime soon. At one point I thought our friend Cyusa (chew-sa) was going to blow up because one of the dishes was too hot for him. The next day I asked him how his stomach was holding up and he grumbled and then moved on to another topic!

Tuesday, Nov 9 - Bigger Future presentation and back to Gisimba

I'm now on my way home and have taken the opportunity to update my blog...

The morning as busy with an introductory presentation to 60+ entrepreneurs who registered for or are considering The Bigger Future workshops for 2011. I opted out of presenting this year and instead did logistics for the morning along with help from Catherine, Betty, James and AJ.

After the presentation Dave and I returned to Gisimba to take a photo of the 16 Sonrise School students (including Bella) that started school this past year. Sonrise is a private English school that was started by Bishop John after the genocide. It’s a very good school with a great reputation and allows students to continue their studies in a college or University setting upon completion of S6 (senior 6 or grade 12).

coffee beans, textiles and dining

I've been behind with my blog updates because we've been so busy so I apologize for not adding as much detail to my posts as I'd like.

On Monday I met with foreign entrepreneurs that have moved to Kigali to set up investments. In the morning, our group spent time with Matt and James, both from the US, who run a large coffee distribution company that sells Rwandan coffee around the world. It was incredible to see the process that a coffee bean goes through before going to market and what surprised me most was the difference between a quality bean and a “bean” used for low quality grocery store brands.
The picture above shows the hundreds of women who are part of quality control. They work seasonally and hand pick the best beans, each day going through one full bag of beans.

I also met with a Spanish woman who moved to Kigali two years ago to expand her clothing business. Ines and her partner, Mark, have employed Rwandans in fair conditions and provide them with an opportunity to create clothing that integrates muted colours that are popular in North America and Europe with bright, bold colours and patterns used in Africa countries. The result, award winning clothing that is sold around the world. Ines and Mark have registered for the 2011 Bigger Future workshop series through Global Relief and Development Partners.

While we’ve been here we’ve had an opportunity to experience some incredible meals. As Kigali grows more and more new and trendy restaurants open. We’ve had some traditional Rwandan dishes, but also pizza, Indian food, and a lot of chips (French fries) – since they come with everything!

seeing Bella

Sunday, the 7th day of my trip, was spent at Gisimba Orphanage. When I was here in December, 2010 I met a 15 year old orphan who had lost her entire family due to war. Her story touched me and when I found out she wasn’t attending school I took action and raised enough money to support her until she has completed high school. Thanks to my parents, Sylv and Andrew, Hillary and Gary, and Annika for your support.

I haven’t seen Bella since December but had progress reports from friends who visit Kigali regularly that she was doing well. I was both excited and nervous to see her and when Dave (a Strategic Coach client), Elizabeth (my colleague at Strategic Coach) and I arrived, Bella came running out to great me and gave me the biggest hug I think I’ve ever experienced. I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome and I was so relieved to know that I have made a positive impact on her life. She is far more expressive than she was a year ago and although she still struggles with English, we can have a basic conversation. She’s enjoying school and loves math and physics and tells me with conviction that she wants to be “a doctor, doctor, doctor.”

It was a pleasure to sit with Bella and give her an English lesson so she can practice while she’s on break from school for the next few months.

And thanks to my Strategic Coach team in Toronto who have donated clothes, toys, and books to the kids. They loved them!

As a result of meeting Bella and so many other children who are unable to get an education - sometimes because they can't afford a pair of shoes or even a pen - I have created Project Bella. Project Bella will be a registered non-profit that supports and pays for the education of children in developing countries. Thanks to Kathleen, Tanya, Carmen, Jen, Akash, Zoey for your on-going support and advice with this worthwhile cause.

Saturday - living on $80/year

The last few days have been so busy, it’s now late and I have to be up in 5hrs for a presentation so this blog post will be a very quick update of what we did on Saturday…more to come soon.

On Saturday we drove about an hour out of Kigali to Vista which is a small village near Nymata – south west of the city.

The day was filled with mixed emotions as we met Genocide survivors and Genocidaires who live together and are taking part in 15 weeks of social therapy classes as part of the healing process in Rwanda. We met a man whose entire family was murdered during the genocide (63 people) including his wife and children and who is now friends with a man that spent 10 years in jail for murder. Now, because of their social therapy sessions the two men are leaders in their community and one is helping the other build a home. They’ve been able to move past their hurt and pain to rebuild their community, and as someone who has had a family member murdered I struggled to listen to these two friends tell their stories and share their experiences of forgiveness. The level of and capacity for forgiveness in Rwanda is incredible and continues to amaze me and as I sat listening to them I struggled with my own reconciliation process. Not just for the hurt that was caused to me and my family, but to look into the eyes and shake hands with a convicted murder without judgement is still something that I try to overcome.

In addition to the social therapy that is taking place, co-ops are being set up in communities so they can grow crops and sell their produce in local markets. There is a strong surge to get out of poverty and have a better life and although everyone knows this will take time they also know that there is a better future ahead. Interestingly, the government is pushing for this in rural communities so that their capital city does not become the sole place of trade in the country, and the reason this is important is to prevent animosity and ultimately fear and hate amongst the people of Rwanda, which is what happened years ago and lead to genocide.

We spent time with children that are being sponsored so they can attend school. I had the privilege of interviewing the children and their families for one of the projects we are working on that pays for their education because they are orphaned or come from families that are extremely poor. Danny, an 11yr old who has 3 siblings has been attending school for a few years and loves going because 3 times a month he gets to eat rice. His parents are in their 60’s, which is equivalent to about 80 in developed countries, and they make approx. $80/yr. A typical meal plan for Danny’s family (and most families in the area) is cassava and bananas and they eat 2 times a day. Danny is very patriotic and loves his country. He wants to get an education so he can support his family and his country and get out of poverty which he says is “very, very bad.”

Surviving Rwandan Roads

Over the last few days we’ve spent many hours in a car –some of the roads were in excellent condition and others were less than ideal. ;-) Most people would not believe the road system here and how it functions without apparent rules, but somehow vehicles and pedestrians alike manage to navigate the roads without harm. I haven’t seen another country where the roadside (even highways) are the place to stop and talk to friends, for kids (often as young as 2yrs) to play, where business is conducted, and where vehicles of all sizes fly by often honking their horn to warn pedestrians ahead. The bustling streets and highways of Rwanda are filled with action at all hours of the day and despite having a dividing line to indicate which side to drive on, nobody actually follows it. We experienced this first hand as we sped around mountains and cut corners on the inside lane, and passed vehicles in front of us with a blind spot straight ahead. There were a few moments were my heart slowed and I definitely stopped breathing as I clung to the console!

Getting directions and altering your order in a restaurant. Yes, I realize it may seem strange to have these two, seemingly non-related topics together; however in Rwanda I believe the result is similar. Rwandans are very hospitable and helpful but trying to get directions or alter your menu choice is equally as difficult and causes a lot of confusion and much discussion. The infrastructure here isn’t as organized as Europe or North America and there are no addresses so landmarks are paramount when asking for directions, and good directions are hard to find. Changing your order or requesting something “special” is equally as difficult and we’ve found that it’s best to order a menu item exactly as it’s described and not ask for anything more or anything less, not even warm milk for your tea/coffee. How would the majority of the North American population function if we weren’t able to modify our choices?!

On another note, welcome Elizabeth, James and AJ who arrived late last night.

This morning we woke at 4:30 to drive 3hrs east to Akgara National Park, which borders Tanzania. Most of the animal populations were killed after the genocide so park officials have reintroduced elephants, lions, hippos, etc.

Tomorrow we are going to the site of the new Faith Victory Association’s orphanage, school and lodging and then to our friend Sam’s for a BBQ. Sam is a young entrepreneur from North Carolina who has lived in Rwanda for about 5 years. He supplies solar energy to rural areas in developing countries because over 90% of houses don’t have electricity.

The internet connection is fickle so my posts are probably going to be quick over the next week, and don’t be surprised if I jump from topic to topic but I want to try provide a good overview of my trip.

"Mizunga, give me money"

Highlight of the day: taking pictures with a group of children along the side of the road.


After a very peaceful sleep I believe the jetlag is gone. Thanks melatonin. :)

Kibuye is a gorgeous town surrounded by lush mountains and Lake Kivu, which could blow up at any time because of the methane gas that is below the lake's surface. Apparently this only happens about every 70,000 years...it does make me wonder when the last explosion and mass extinction took place.

Catherine and I spent the morning enjoying our lake view and decided to skip the usual white bread and omelette breakfast in favour of tea and fruit. After deciding what we should do for the day we took a taxi (cost $10) into town and had lunch at a small local restaurant that served a buffet of rice, spaghetti, beans, potatoes, (goat?) meat, sardines, green vegetables and some sort of tomato broth (cost $3).

After lunch we walked through the town of Kibuye (approx pop. 48,000). We attempted to bribe a woman carry a basket of bananas on her head for a picture. Turns out the joke was on us and we paid for a large bunch of bananas and didn't get our picture. However, the woman walking past us was quite happy when we gave her all the bananas to take home.

After an hour of walking we tried to get a taxi back to our hotel only to discover that there aren't really any - except if you get one directly from your hotel or you choose to brave the motorcycle taxis, which we were not prepared to do. We walked some more - this time down a looong hill towards a local resort where we thought we could call a taxi. Turns out we went the wrong way and could turn around and walk back up the looong hill or call our hotel to arrange a pick up. Thanks to Jacob the owner of our hotel for coming to our rescue. Yes, we could have done this earlier but we didn't realize we had the number! Oops.

After many years of travelling and after being lost in so many locations around the world, I often have the most fun when things don't go according to plan, and welcome the unknown. This latest incident was no exception. It appeared that the people of Kibuye were just as, if not more fascinated with Catherine and I as we were with them. Throughout the day we overheard "Mizunga, Mizunga" which means white person or foreigner. Unfortunately, many of the kids we encountered would follow it with asking for money. But the kids we met along the side of the road as we waited for our ride were happy to practice their English with us, let us take photos and show them themselves on our digital camera screens, and ask where we are from. At one point I believe there were 20 people (adults and children) standing around us staring.

The adventures of 'Mel and Cath's East African Adventure' continues...

Surviving Rwandan Roads

Highlight of the Day: after 12 hrs of travel actually making it to our hotel in Kibuye. This was a day of small victories.

Here's a synopsis of our day: wake up at 5:30am, dress and have breakfast. Get in the car and drive 2hrs west to Ephriam's coffee plantation. Nap in the car. Stop for 2nd breakfast before going to the plantation. Drive uphill for 30 minutes on extremely bumpy road (where are the chiropractors in this country?!). Walk around the plantation, learn about the crops and the process of growing coffee. Try a raw coffee bean, which is white out of it's pink shell and very sweet and slimey. Get back in car and drive back to town. Nap again, despite the state of the roads. Literally knocked heads with Catherine as we both did a simultaneous head bob, and woke up laughing. Have lunch - altering your ordering in any way causes complete confusion and takes at least one or two discussions. Catherine asked for no cheese on her salad - she got cheese. Ephriam sent it back for her and it took him 5 minutes to explain that she wanted the salad but without cheese. 15-20 minutes later it came back with no cheese. Success. :)

Get back in the car for 2 more hours, or what we thought would be 2 hrs, but turned into 4 hours and then we got lost trying to find our hotel- despite the many attempts to ask for directions. There are very few signs in Rwanda so getting lost is common and a good test of patience. After reaching Kibuye and after a few attempts at finding our hotel we finally hired a taxi driver to lead us here. It was well worth the 500 francs ($1) he asked for!

Couple of cultural nuances -
1. The workers at the plantation make less than $2 for a half day of work then they are free to work other jobs.
2. It's illegal to have sex before the age of 21 yrs, if you're caught then you can be convicted of statuatory rape.

Catherine feels right at home now that she's seen her first development project and now feels like she's in Africa!

We are about to have dinner at our hotel along Lake Kivu - it's so peaceful here and we're really looking forward to trying the local fish.

First days

This is going to be a little choppy because I'm rushing to pack for our early departure tomorrow and need to get some sleep too.

Highlight of the day: Seeing Sandrali and Immaculee!

Thanks to Josh and Harry for making the first leg of my long journey so enjoyable. Josh and Harry were my seat-mates on the flight from Toronto to Amsterdam and made a 7 hr flight feel like an hour.

Josh - originally from Ottawa now lives in Toronto and works for World Vision as a project manager. He kept me entertained with good music and Sudoku. Josh thanks for “sharing” your table with me!

Harry - a young father of four from Guelph was flying to Amsterdam to meet clients. He works in the farming industry and enlightened us with his views on starting a farm in today’s modern economy, and the massive expense of following his dream to become a conscious dairy farmer. Harry lost his brother to ALS 2 weeks ago – thanks again for sharing your story with us Harry.

I love that three strangers can meet on a plane and it feels like you’ve known them your entire life. We solved a lot of the world’s problems that night...over a "few" glasses of wine!

When we landed in Amsterdam, I went with Harry and his friend Brian, also a colleague of Josh’s, went to Harry’s hotel for brunch. It was a great way to pass the 5 hour delay to my next flight.

Thankfully I was able to skip the Nairobi portion of my flight and get a direct flight to Kigali. I was on the inaugural KLM flight which saved me 4 hours of travel time and allowed me to arrive in Kigali at a reasonable hour, which I fully appreciate. When we arrived in Kigali we were met by fire trucks – no there wasn’t a fire. They sprayed water along the plane to welcome KLM to Kigali, Rwandan dancers, media, and about 75 people cheering on the tarmac. I guess it’s a big deal to welcome a new airline.

The bad news – no luggage and it wouldn’t arrive for 24 hrs. Good thing I packed an extra outfit in my carry-on.

I checked into the guest house and caught up with Catherine, my colleague form Toronto who decided to join us on this journey.

First day in Kigali, after a great sleep – thanks melatonin- I woke to the sun shining through my window. I got up, had breakfast and then went back to bed for a quick nap. It was a lazy morning with a visit from Sandrali and Immaculee, friends we met in December. There is something so comforting about coming back to a place and feeling at home and I was so excited to see them.

The rest of the morning was spent getting cell phones, exchanging money and sitting at Bourbon Café for lunch. Bourbon Café is a North American style coffee shop that serves American food and they have WiFi so it makes it an easy virtual office.

Our trip to Kibuye (western side of the country) was delayed by a day because we waited for my luggage to arrive. So at 6am tomorrow (5.5hrs from now) Immacullee’s brother will pick us up and drive us 2hrs west to our hotel, but not before we stop at his coffee plantation for a tour.