Shouts of Praise

The day began early. I called a driver at 12:30 AM to wake up and start his walk to the home. He was to arrive at 1:30 and then we were to leave for the airport to pick up Liles. Liles is the son of a Roxie with whom I ]worked at Campbell Mithun for many many years. Rox was one of the earliest supporters of New Hope Homes. Along with her husband, they have really made a difference in our kids lives. Their 22 year old son Liles goes to school at Grinnell in Iowa and would like to make his first stop out of college to be the Peace Corps. When Rox was visiting me in NY late this fall she asked if he could come spend some time with our kids and we were more than excited to have him join us. Back to the story. The driver arrived 1 hour EARLY and kept calling me. He only speaks Kinyarwanda and kept calling every 5 mins. I didn’t know he was there yet so I finally woke up one of the aunties to help translate…the poor dear. He was simply wanting me to know he was here and we could go. Since the airport is 15 mins from us I didn’t want to go nearly 2 hours ahead of time so I asked him to wait. Lile’s plane was due in at 2:15AM. We arrived just before 2 and waited. And waited. I asked security if there is was a ‘moozongoo’ (white person)back in security. The reply kept coming back at “yes” so I waited. An American couple assured me that there was an American who had lost his bags. After a while I decided to walk around a bit to make sure I hadn’t miss him. Sure enough, there he was. We must have just crossed paths when I arrived. He had been waiting for 45 mins. But in the end, all was well. He made it through customs with all 5 computers!!! Whoo hoo. We arrived at The Home and again woke up our Auntie and the guard with our noise. These poor dears. Their days are so long and then we added to it again…but they just smile and greet people with such warmth. I had to practically tie Liles down to not go to the classroom to start setting up the computers. He was so sweet, he simply wanted to have everything ready when the kids arrived. Thankfully I was able to tell him that the guard had the key and we shouldn’t disturb him. Morning came quickly as it always seems to. I will make a recording of the birds for you to hear when I return. I can’t ever remember any other place on the planet with such load birds. My father would think that are wonderfully enchanting…I just grrr a bit when they awake me at 5:30 AM, but yes, God did give them amazing voices…I simply wish He would have taught them to sleep a little longer before they started their morning song. The kids arrived promptly at 8:30…as always. They were so excited to meet Liles. He was quick to join in the fun. He did a great with Simon Says, red light green light, and hide n seek tag combo. He ran so fast the kids laughed and thought he was very funny as he slide around the grass diving to tag a child and just barely missing him. (Yes, he is a very good actor too). It’s so nice to have a good man here. The kids are so often loved by the Aunties and Mommies but the men on staff do lots of work like cooking, being guards or fetching water so it’s good to have a man like Liles with whom they can connect. He became a human swing set and climbing post as he generally had a pile of kids hanging all over him ALL day. He quickly grasped the rhythm of the homes and kids. He will find/create his own special games and ideas as he get to know them better. Each person brings their own specialness to our kids. Sarah is such a joy with the kids. She really knows how to connect with them as a group and takes special time 1 on 1 which is such a gift for them. She does reading or helps them with their letters or words. Her gentle spirit is a welcome presence in our homes. Liles gets lots of airtime in the update as he is the new kid on the block and we welcome him. After play time and ‘wiggle removal’ we went in the class room and did a very hard English center. We put words on the board that they had to make into sentences. Then Sarah added some challenge words for the bigger kids. It took lots of focus…especially when they were anxious to learn about the computers. Isaac was the 1st to finish, thus the first to get to his hand on the computer. Until we get the computer lab table made, we are using a coffee table to put 3 computers on and an old fashioned desk. Alas, the big Mac computer seems to have blown from the power. The rest of the computers seem to be working fine. The kids sat at the computers with a sense of mystery, awe and GREAT joy. You could really sense that they knew this was a very very big day in their lives. Liles took special care to look for just the right software to help them learn about all key subjects. Today it was playing some games that taught them some basic key functionality like up down and left right arrows. We next moved to a rousing game of Alphabet Bingo. Liles called the letters and handed them to Betty. The kids each identified words that began with that letter. Some words were quite impressive. Occasionally I think back to the notion that just 2 years ago NO ONE in our homes spoke English. The transformation is breathtaking. More games followed. Then lunch. Then a little play time with the little kids and some photos. I have been completely slacking on my photo opps….but it’s hard when we’re in the classroom for the bulk of the day and we don’t see the little kids until the evening. I’m getting shots, just not nearly the volume that I have done in the past. We headed back up to the 1st house to prep for a big afternoon. The intent was to skype with Marie Rose and Paul who used to live in our homes and now are in America, then Praise session with everyone including the little kids, then our market. Here’s a bit about each. Paul and RoseMary left about 1.5 years ago and are loved by their “2nd Mom” as she likes to be called. The Mommies and Aunties were so excited to see the kids. We had shown them some photos she had sent and they loved them. They were especially curious about the photos from Halloween. Unfortunately we had lots of problems with skyping today. The call kept dropping. But we were able to hear Rose Marie’s voice and we could say hi. She also heard the group since some praise songs in Kinyarwanda and her Mom said she was smiling “very big”. Speaking of Praise. The entire family/staff comes together each Thursday to give Praise. They dance and sing with complete joy. When the opening songs are done one person take responsibility for preaching. That role rotates each week. Mama Bestina preached up a storm today about Seeking 1st the kingdom. Isaac come and sat by Liles, Sarah and me to translate what she was saying. He did a great job and we all enjoyed the experience. At the end they asked if we had anything we needed prayers for so I added some people in my family and my friends the Knights who are grately in need of employment. The clapped and were happy to add my list to theirs. THEN it was a big party celebration. We took the clothes, jewelry and toys that I brought and others donated and layed them all out on a table. Then the adults all drew numbers and lined up to make their picks We went low to high numbers and then backwards from high to low so they each got 2 things. It was fascinating for me to see what they really wanted. Options include baseball caps, necklaces, bracelets, rings, shirts, a tie, scarves, wraps,tshirts and new/used clothes. 90% of them went straight for the clothes. Light sweaters, t shirts etc were a huge hit. Thus function was way more important than pretty jewelry etc. That will help me so much in future trips. The cook guy the time and asked for a lesson from Liles on how to tie it. Eventually the best solution was for him to leave with it tied and put it over his head as is and tighten it up. Perhaps their will be more time to practice. The kids were a different story. The kids (especially the bigger ones) wanted baseball caps, the Little kids loved the stuff animals. There was some serious interest in flip flops too. Shoes are such a big deal. Our kids each of 2 pair of shoes (until we brought more on this trip from so many donors.) Many of their current shoes are falling apart or their toes are so tight in the front. But their 2 pairs are everyday and Sunday so the everyday ones get plenty of wear and tear. Thanks to so many of you that invested in good quality shoes…they will make a difference and perhaps even get passed from one child to the next if we are fortunate enough. In the middle of the market event we got a skype call from Erika. After multiple tries we got to work again. The big kids came to talk to her. Again, they asked about skates. They asked if she skated and could show them some skates. She went to get them and thought they were very interesting. They just can’t seem to comprehend that a lake would freeze and you can skate and drive on it AND then drills holes to fish through. Finally I take it turns into a big ice cube and they kinda got it. We’re going to skype with Erika and her sons tomorrow who will explain it to them a bit more. As we prepared for a big group photo the “envoorah” / rain, came quickly. It poured like a monsoon. Everyone one scattered. Some to the school room and others to a covering that sort of resembles a carport. The roof is covered with tin so the rain dances on the roof so loudly that some times you can’t hear someone speaking to you that is right next to you. Our wonderful Liles used it as a brilliant shower from the Heaven. He ran around the yard to everyone’s squeals of laughter who was sitting under the car port. Then he came and asked for his toiletries so he could wash his hair etc. They all thought he was quite entertaining. Let’s face it, he’s a smart guy…he got much cleaner than we will with our bucket baths tonight. And when I say it was pouring. It was pouring!!!!!! When the rain eased the families went down to the 2nd and 3rd homes. Sarah, Liles and I just crashed from the pace of the day. We also enjoyed another yummy fresh pineapple and got to know each other a bit more. I don’t know how Liles stayed awake all day but he did. It will help re-set his body clock more quickly. Around 7:30 we headed down to join them. We played some games, had dinner and taught more English to the adults. Thank you to those who have offered to skype with us. We haven’t had much power in the house today and didn’t have internet access this evening so we thank you for your patience. As a reminder, you must go into the exercise with a lot of patience. It may take at least 10 tries before the connection holds. And then it is likely to drop a bit more…but eventually we’ll get a good connection. The lag time on the voices is exceptionally long so you want to speak and then pause pause pause for the reply. Video works best on just ONE end at a time, however with Erika we got both sides running. TODAY, Friday is a good day to try to skype with us. We may be able to do it Saturday and Sunday Morning US time as well. Expect the kids to ask you some fun questions. What is your name? Where do you live? Do you have children? What are their names? How old are they? What can you show me there? They simply want to SEEEEEE things like skates and snow and Christmas trees etc etc. Think ahead before you get on the call to maybe have some things for show and tell. It was a long but fulfilling day and with great shouts of joy for Rain, Liles, Computers, Sarah, and God’s presence among us…sleep is the next order of business.

Pick me up Liles. Pick me up.

OUR market for the adults and kids.

Sarah and Liles helping the kids make Silly Sentences

Sarah teaching the little kids their letters

Liles gives Valance a tie lesson

Some fresh supplies from the market

Sande and the wonderful Sarah

Sande and the wonderful Sarah

Mama preaching/teaching and everyone giving praise while Rosemarie and Paulo listen

Mama sweeping

Liles taking a shower in the rain.

Lionel putting his dishes away after lunch

Kids skyping with the Knight Family in England

Auntie doing the dishes

The Auntie doing dishes How the Mommies carry the babies

Francecsa's Answers to Fabiola's Questions part 2

Q: if I were tall I would give you a house and a car. A: awww so sweet! How about you visit me one day when you grow up? Q: Do you like football (Donna edit…she means soccer)? A: I love soccer, I have been playing since I was 4 years old. I am going to start gymnastics classes soon. Q: Do you like the s...chool? A: At times I do ... my favorite subject is Science. I want to be a marine biologist and work with dolphins. Q: Do you like to read? Do you like to draw? A: I love reading, especially mystery books. I like to draw, but I'm not a very good artist :) Q: Do you love your Mommy? Do you love your Father? A: Of course! I even love my brother, Zack Q: Do you pray to God? Do you pray with others? A: I pray to God every night and we pray at dinner before we eat. I also pray with everyone at Church. I hope you enjoy the clothes I picked out for you as well as the soccer ball. Write back and tell me more about yourself.

Francecsa's Answers to Fabiola's Questions.

From Jackie...Hi Fabiola! Here are the responses to your questions from my daughter Francesca: Q: What do you do in your home? A: I work on my homework (a lot), I spend time with my family, I feed my kitty cats (Pali and Boomer) and keep my room clean (I try) :) Q: In class do you try good? A: I try my best but I need to focus more... ...on school ... less on talking ... I'm pretty social! Q: Do you have friends at school? A: I have a lot of friends .. boys and girls. My best friend is Alicia, she now goes to a different school but next year we'll be together again.

Jen's Answer's to Alice's Questions

See the questions that our girl Alice sent to Jen who sent her new clothes and shoes. Hi Alice; I hope all finds you well. I am very glad that you enjoy the clothes. I enjoy watching football, but do not play it very much. In my spare time, I like to run. Soon I will be training for the Boston Marathon, which is a big marathon here in the United States. Do you like/play football or any other sports? I do praise God and will definitely remember you in my prayers. I like reading very much and read many different types of books. Do you like to read? What type of books do you enjoy? I do like children. I have 13 brothers and sisters and over 35 nieces and nephews. I have been very blessed with many different children in my life. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I hope you are having a wonderful day. God Bless, Jen

Some questions from my God Daughter Sydney

Hi Aunt Donna I'm doing a presentation that i'm doing in school and i have a few questions that I would like to ask 1. how much water do the jugs hold that they get there water in 2. what kind of subject do the kids learn in school 3. do they go back to get more water during the day thanks Sydney I replied by telling here that the kids (not the kids in our home) usually have to carry about 2 gallons and the adults carry about 5. The kids study math, english,and religion. Some people go fetch water early in the morning and in the early evening as it can get very hot during the some. Some get enough to last for the day. Others who have to walk a long long way may get enough to last for a few days. Thanks for the questions kids, keep them coming. Each morning now the kids ask me if there are any more questions or if we have answers to our questions.

Lisa's Question for Fabiola

"Donna, wanted to ask Fabiola- what do you like to do? what is your favorite subject in school? I have three boys Drew (9), Micah 5, Stephen 2. It is snowing and cold here in Michigan where I live!" Lisa, I will ask her tomorrow and we will respond.

Mama's and Aunties playing Alphabet Bingo

Kids Studying with Aunt Claudine.

Lots of learning and playing

Isaac's math problems Sande teaching English via Hangman The days pass slowly and quickly here. The bigger kids are off school until the end of January so it’s wonderful having them around to help. Isaac who just turned 11 and Sande who is 10 teach school each day for the other kids. The babies stay at the 2nd /3rd home and the rest come up to the 1st home where I am staying as are the chickens and the community center/class room. No, not all on the same room silly. They start with a quick game with Miss Donna like running around playing tag, or jumping up an down…anything as my friend Erika would say …to get the wiggles out! …Then they can settle down to learn. They start with filling in letters that are missing from words that are written on the chalk board. Or perhaps they are scrambled and they have to make them into words. Then there is math exercises. The kids simply write down what is n the board in a very small notebook and the fill in the answers. Then they bring their notebook to the “teacher” who does the grading. I jump in to help a do a small lesson in between but it’s important not to disturb the natural order of things here and that includes having 10 and 11 year old work on their leadership skills. I am also impressed with their ability to play hangman and come up with some pretty tough phrases. Today they figured out phrases like “I am a Christian” and “Jesus is my Savior”. I think back just 4 years ago when these kids could not even comprehend the idea of another language and now they can unscramble words. Yesterday we had great fun playing Alphabet Bingo. Thanks to whoever donated it! I called a letter and then they put a marker on that letter until the card was completely filled. They love the word BINGO and take pride in shouting it out. I turned it into an English lesson as they each had to come up with a word that began with that letter before I moved on. Later that evening I played with the Mommies and Aunties who can only speak a few words in English. I asked the bigger kids to watch the little kids so the Adults could have some fun. The Mommies and Aunties weren’t quite sure what I was up to when I made them all come and sit and play. But it didn’t take long until they were laughing up a storm. Some of the middle aged kids came to help and translate and took great joy in seeing the Aunties try to figure out how to say the various letters. The first round we played with one card…then they added a card for each round until the final round when they were each managing 5 cards. It was such great fun. They also played Go FISH. Thanks again to the donor. Your gifts bring new skills and laughter to our homes. The older children in Rwanda grow up quickly and often are responsible for watching their younger brothers and sister. Some of our kids ,when they were living on the street might have been just 6 taking care to get food and shelter each night for their younger brother and sister. With that in their DNA they are quick to run and help one of their brothers or sisters who might fall down and cry. It’s a beautiful nurturing spirit that is fostered here. Today was a big day for Kayitesi as Tina responded to her answers from the blog yesterday. I have posted them here so you can enjoy too. Kayetasi was fascinated that she could write something yesterday to some in America on my computer and this woman named Tina would reply. All day long she kept coming up to me to ask me… Does Tina like that? Would Tina like to swim? May I see more pictures of Tina? Will Tina come to see me? It was so precious. Fabiola saw that Lisa has written back to and liked seeing her name in the type on facebook. She read it out load and felt very proud. Speakiong of facebook. If you are reading the blog and want to friend me ,my name is Donna Wiederkehr and we also have a fan page called New Hope Homes, Rwanda. Both are great ways to stay in touch with what we are up to and when we have needs for new shoes etc. I wish I could split myself into a 40 pieces so I could be to truly be present to each child to understand what they need. I try my best to find a connection point but it’s hard when everyone wants to be reading or playing or showing me something. For your kids. Here are a few more things they might enjoy hearing about. Hi Kids, Thanks for following along with our story. If you have questions, have an adult send me an email at rwandadonna@mac.com. I told you about the how we get milk and water here. Did you think of ways that you can save electricity or water in your home? One of the great things about Rwanda is that it is good to the environment. Imagine how much energy we could save in the US if we did some of the same things like don’t use electricity unless you really need it. Same goes for water. Most people in Rwanda walk everywhere as few people have a car. Many of the taxi’s are actually bikes with a padded seat on the rear fender…people pay to get a lift to work or the market if they have the money. It’s a fun sight to see. Here’s a really surprising thing about how good Rwanda is to the environment. Would you believe that all 3 homes don’t produce any garbage except for scrape from fruit or vegetables that go into a compost bag. Think about it! Nearly 40 people living together and no real garbage. I am embarrassed by the fact that I actually make garbage from wrappers on granola bars or boxes of raisins etc. I try to squish it down to make is small, but it’s still too much. When I first came to our home 4 years ago they didn’t even have garbage cans as the idea is so odd to them. I told you Rwanda is the smallest country in the continent. It’s also the most densely populated so that means that there are more people here per mile any most any of the other countries. Did you know that Africa is 4x the size of the USA? That’s really big isn’t it. We put big nets over our beds each night. They keep the mosquitoes away. You know how sometimes in the summer a mosquito will circle around your head and ears and make you crazy when it comes so close but you can’t get it. The nets keep them from getting us. It’s also important in Rwanda and in most part of Africa as mosquitoes can carry a bad disease called malaria that can make you very very sick. Sleeping under the nets is great way to prevent them from biting us a night. I also take a pill each day to help protect me. When we raise extra money we go out into the villages where their houses are made from mud and straw and gather the people at a church to give them nets. Most people can’t afford the $10 it takes to buy a net. We give them nets that fit over a bed. Many people can’t afford a bed or they have one bed that 4 people share so the net can fit over all 4 people. Would you like sleeping in your own bed or would you like to sleep with your whole family? Did you realize that $10 could really save a life? I think that’s great. Speaking of money. The average person in Rwanda makes $210 a year. That means they work all day and only bring home $1. Next time you get an allowance think about these people and be thankful. We did something fun with the big kids today. We went swimming. While there isn’t much water in Rwanda, Chantal wants to give the kids as many life experiences as she can to help broader then view of life and swimming is one of them. Tomorrow Sarah comes back for 3 more days. Then Liles arrives with the computers. When Sarah gets here we want to try to get photos of the little kids holding the notes you sent. It’s hard to balance the need to be with the kids, share their stories with you and take photos to help with fund raising etc. I am thankful that we’ll have more hands here to help soon. Thanks for sharing in our journey.

Tina's Answers to Kayitesi's Questions

Here are my answers-- loved the note! "When are you getting married?" I am getting married in August 2010-- Aug. 6th. "I will give you a home when I grow up." Well, my dear, you don't have to do that! I think you should come visit my home in America! ... See More "And I see you in America." Hopefully we will see you in America soon. I would love that. "When will you have baby?" Oh goodness, one thing at a time dear. Yes, I do hope to have children someday-- in a couple years maybe. " Do you like to play? Do you like to read? Do you like children? " Yes, I LOVE to play-- I like to play board games, card games, sports outside, I love to ride my bike, go rollerblading (do you know what that is?) I love to read also. I read every night before I go to bed. And yes, I love children. That's why I wanted to help Donna bring so many things to you and all of your friends. love, tina

For the kids - Part two

Some of our kids have questions for your kids. Check em out below. Will try to collect more over the next two weeks. Please send some to use too. I’m sitting here with Kayitesi, Fabiola, Betty, Alice and Nshimiye They are going to say things for me to type and I will type exactly what they say. This should be fun. First let us tell you the ages. Kayitesi is 9 year old and her brother is Sande. Fabiola is 10 years old. Betty is 5 years old. Alice is 6 years old. Nshimiye is 6 years old Fabiola is 1st to speak. My school is Sun Rise. In my class I am #10 in my exams. Bobbi's friend, Thank you for paying my school fees, God bless you. To Jackie,Thank your children Zach and Francesca for giving me clothes and bag and the shoes and the socks and I pray for you God be with you. I want to ask your children …What do you do in your home? In class do you try good? Do you have friends at school? if I were tall I would give you a house and a car. Do you like football (Donna edit…she means soccer)? Do you like the school? Do you like to read? Do you like to draw? Do you love your Mommy? Do you love your Father? Do you pray to God? Do you pray with others? Alice says: Thank you for giving me clothes and shoes. Every day I pray for you, God bless you. Jennifer thank you for giving me clothes. My questions: Will you pray for me? Do you like to draw? Do you like football (aka soccer?) Do you like to write? Do like children? Do you like to read? Do you like to praise God? Kayitesi. Susan and friends,Thank you for paying for me to go to Sun Rise school for the 1st time. God bless you. And thank you Donna because you have given me the bag with the clothes from America. God bless you. Tina, my questions are: When are you getting married? I will give you a home when I grow up. And I see you in America. When will you have baby? Do you like to play? Do you like to read? Do you like children? Betty: Thank you for giving me the clothes Max and Henry. And you gave me the shoes. God bless you. My questions for Max and Henry are: Do you like to read? Do you like to school? I love you so very much. Thank you. God bless you. Do you like to pray to God? Do you like to go to school? Do you like to draw? Do you like to read? Do you like to play with football (she means soccer).? Do you like to read a book? Do you like God? Marie Rose: Thank you for helping me and you given me the bag and the clothes and the shoes and the socks . Thank you very much. God bless you. Bobbi my questions for you are: How are Paul and RoseMary? Do your kids like to read and draw? Paul and Rosemary, do you like to school? Do you like to play basketball and so many peoples like to play basketball? God bless you and I pray for you. Children for you , do you like to pray with God? God bless you. Nshimiye Hi Ashley thank you for given me the clothes, bag and socks. And shirt. And shoes and bag. And socks. And Shirt. When are you coming back to see us? I love to read and share and writing. Do you share? Do you like to pray?

This post is for your kids.

Here the girls (left to right: Alice, Marie Rose, Kayitesi and Betty) demonstrate water is carried on your head. Our kids don't have to do that, but they wanted to show you. And below is where one of the Auntie's sits to do the dishes. (For some reason I can't get paragraphs to appear in the posts...I know these can get hard to read without them...but...) For the Children Many of you have written me to share that you are reading my blog to your kids so this update is dedicated to them. Hi kids, Thank you for loving our kids so far away in Rwanda. Ask your Mom or Dad to show you where Rwanda is on the map. Can you find it? It’s a very very tiny country, in fact it is the tiniest of all the countries in the entire continent. But, I think tiny is wonderful. Some very wonderful things come in tiny packages. Can you think of some? My favorite is your heart which is tiny but can do amazingly big things when you love someone. Thank you for loving our kids. Rwanda has many many hills, that’s how it got its name the land of 1000 hills. It’s very green in much of the country. We are in rainy season now so the rain helps keeps it green. Rain is especially wonderful as it gives people lots of fresh water. Many of the people get their water from a stream each day…not the faucet. Kids as young as 3 years old learn to walk sometimes miles to get water and bring it home. Most people carry heavy things on their heads including water. Water gets very very heavy so they must be strong to carry it. Imagine if you just had one jug of water for your whole family each day. Maybe two. How would you use the water? Would you drink it? Would you use to wash your clothes? Would you use it to boil some food? How much would you save to take a bath at night? These are things that people in Rwanda had to think about every day. Imagine how excited they would be to turn on a faucet and see the water just flow freely. I bet there would turn if off every single time quickly to save it. Can you think of ways to save water in your house? Another smart thing people do is to put funnels on their roofs so the water comes down to a bucket. Kind of like a gutter. My friends the Kittleson’s collect rain from their gutters into a big barrel and use the water for their flowers. That’s a smart idea don’t’ you think? Water from the stream here isn’t often clean water so they have to boil it before they drink it. That is if they have enough money to buy charcoal to heat the water. If they don’t have enough money then they drink it as is. Sometimes that means that they get very sick tummies. At New Hope Homes we have a bit barrel in the back yards and collect form the roof, but we have a lot of people so we usually need more water. One of the men takes a wheelbarrow with about 6 big jugs in it and walks about a mile or two to a well and gets more. Another thing that is very different is how we get milk. You go to the store or the refrigerator to get yours right? It takes a lot lot longer here. First we had to buy some cows. Good cows cost about $2000 each. Those are the cows that produce a lot of milk each day. Then we had to buy land to put the cows on. Next we had to build a shelter as it’s very hot here. Then we had to find people to care for the cows. We have 3 men that do that and one of them sleeps with the cows so no one takes them in middle of the night. Cows need to eat so the men had to plant crops and feed the cows. In the dry season they have to come to town and buy the cows food. Next we had to built a house for the men to stay in. It’s a very simple house, but needed. Then they milk the cows. AND THEN…someone from New Hope Homes gets on a bike and goes up and down and up and down over the hills to get the milk. It takes 45 mins each way. Then they deliver the milk to us. But wait…we’re not done. The Mommies and Aunties boil the milk AND then and only then…do the kids get to drink the milk. They drink it warm here as few people have refrigerators so the kids each get two cups or a couple of kids get two cups and pass it around. Here’s how they do it. The Mommy puts the hot milk in a cup and the other one is empty. The bigger kids pour the milk back and forth between the two cups to help make cool down. When it’s cool enough to drink then they pass the extra cup to the next kids. The bigger kids help the little kids because it’s hard to do and we don’t want them to get burned. Can you try it with two cups and pretend that it is hot? Pour it back and forth at least 1 0 times. It’s a lot more work that just going to refrigerator and getting a class of milk isnt’ it? When we built our 1st house we could only afford to give the kids a half of glass of milk a day. Thanks to some friends of mine (Bill Dunlap and his wife Jo-Anne) they bought 2 cows for the kids, they can have all that they need and we can sell some to raise money. We also just put in a chicken coup at the 1st home. We have 100 chickens and think they will start laying eggs by the end of January. The kids are excited to have more eggs now too as most of the food is rice or a dough-like thing.. We try to get them protein about 3x a week. Do you know what foods have protein? Ask your Mom or Dad if you have the right answers. Our kids LOVE getting pictures of your kids. They are hanging on the wall in all 3 homes. I brought more with me, but right now there are pictures of all the kids from Abbott Street in a big group picture, and individual photos of the kids like Alice, Max, Henry, Adam, Ben, Cameron, Zander, Meredith. And kids from Viriginia named Matt and Kate, From NY named Nina in a cowboy hat. And lots of family photos like the Kochs and a bunch more. Send me your photos and I will bring them with me next time. I also will take photos of the kids today with the photos you sent me on this trip and your letters so you can see how excited they are.to have them. Laundry here is a big job. With nearly 30 kids it takes a good portion of the day to do the laundry. The Mommies and Aunties sit on a small wooden bench and the take a small bar of soap that is made for washing clothes by hand and scrub scrub scurb. It’s all time for them to talk to each other as sometimes 2-3 people will sit around a bucket and wash it. Then the laundry is hung on a clothes line or put in the grassh for the sun to dry it. I will tell you more things in another update. Did you think this update sounds like like is hard in Rwanda? I don’t want you to think that. It’s just different. What you think might be sad, could be a good thing if you really think about it. If people don’t have a lot of money to buy lots of stuff…guess what…they have to use their imaginations to think of fun games. They get to spend lots of time with their family just loving each other. Sometime in America we get so busy working and talking on the phone, sending text messages and chatting on facebook that we forget to play or to laugh or to just be a family. So, can you think of some other things that are good about Rwanda? I will tell you a bit about the fact that 3 homes produce literally zero garbage in another update. Can you figure out how that could be? Send me your other questions on this blog or via facebook and I”ll try to answer it soon. I will also tell you about how we do other things. Until then “da-ga-coon-dah”….I love you.

My heart is full.

Walking the long road to church is great fun if you sing the entire way.

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE UNTO THE LORD. Today is Sunday. Sunday in New Hope Homes is a BIG day. The kids put on their Best clothes and walk about 30 minutes to a near by church. We create quite a stir with the parade of sweet faces, the Mommies, Aunties and 3 white women (Sarah, Kelly, Donna). We just smile and welcome them with Good Morning!…How are you? in Kinyarwanda as they stare , point and giggle. I was dressed in my Rwandan finest so they get an extra kick out of the Moozoongo (white person) dressed in their customary clothes. Wonderful worship songs were sung along the way. We came early enough to catch the 2nd half of the English service. The preacher preached up a storm and light up the community. He talked about how people need to 100% whole by themselves and committed to God and to find a person of that equal footing as finding someone to complete you or having them view you as completing them won’t be successful. The kids sat patiently for nearly 2 hours like little angels. Then we moved to the balcony for the 2nd service – the one in Kinyarwanda – we stayed another hour or so before the kids simply got too hungry to stay. These kids really understand the Joy of the Lord and love to give praise. They know that people are praying for them every day. The life they lead prior to coming to New Hope Homes gives them the perspective that few people can comprehend. After church it was lunch and nap time. Excellent. The afternoon was more play time lead by Sarah and Kelly. They did fun games like red light green light, tag, etc…then I added Simon Says and hide and seek. Lots of laughter was mixed throughout. We also had a chance to video the kids singing some more songs…mostly praise songs in English and Kinyarwanda. Kelly’s angelic voice lead them in a few of the numbers. Transition time followed as the kids hosted a goodbye ceremony for Kelly who is heading to Uganda tomorrow. Sarah is joining her for 2 days and will return back to us. The kids sang some special songs for Kelly and the tears began to flow. Saying goodbye is so hard for these kids. When you’ve been orphaned or abandoned saying goodbye plays a different tune in your heart and head. For Esther the departures are literally gut wrenching. It is painful to see her sob massive amounts of tears. These kids LOVE having visitors but the goodbyes are hard, especially for wonderful people like Kelly and Sarah. I held English lessons for the Aunties over dinner prep and for the Mommies during clean up as there is no rest for these wonderful people. The Mommies are especially proud when they remember any English word. I pray that all those who come continue to minister to the adults as well as the kids. Sande and Isaac both love to take photos so they had my camera for good portions of the day. Alas as I reviewed photos tonight, the lens had a few too many fingerprints on it. Oh well, these’s always tomorrow. I am feeling 80%+ now so I will probably my endless shooting spree tomorrow. I will miss the joy that Kelly and Sarah bring to our home. I’ll be solo until Sarah returns in two days and Liles arrives the following. Liles is the son of Roxann Goertz with whom I worked for 20+ years. Rox has been a big supporter of New Hope Homes and when she was visiting me in NY a few months ago asked If her son Liles come join me. Liles hopes to soon enter the Peace Corps so they both thought is would be a great bridge experience. Liles is bringing 4 computers with him and some outstanding educational software that he scoped out and chose. The kids can hardly wait for him to arrive. Today we make a joyful noise of praise for each of you.

Alice feels very very pretty.

Betty is feeling the love.

Anastacia wishes the world some peace too.

Deborah our sweet little girl with cerebral palsy really loved this look.

Ariente is exceptionally pleased with this look.

The Desami twins are doubly delightful & Dasami is thrilled with his new shoes.

Caria is ready to take on the world.

Dorcus is bright and sunny.

Esther loves her sporty new dress

Fabiola looking fab.

Grace is turning heads today.

Florence strikes a pose.

Innocent in his favorite color.

Ingabire is the talk of the town in this number.

Isaac is ready to spread the Word

Kwizera loves his clothes....my camera...not so much.

Kayitesi thinks this dress is beeeeeeutiful

Mbabazi loves her dress. Oh la la

Lionel is ready for school now.

Marie Rose - Pretty in Pink

Nshimiye is ready to rock

Prince looking very smart

Mwami loving it.

Rebecca Loved her outfit...but not the camera

Sarah

Sande Loves the sports theme

Sylivie's Groovy new clothes

Smiles to light up a Nation.

Have you ever seen a smile this big? Today was the big day here at New Hope Homes. We got up at 6:30 to begin prepping for the distribution of the gifts that you sent with me. It took about 2 hours to get everything set up and then over 4 hours to distribute. Here’s the way Santa’s Elves did their work. All the kids gifts of clothes and shoes were laid out in alphabetical order. Then the kids started outside one by one. 1st we measured their feet to get an accurate reading of their real size as it’s been a bit hit or miss. In the early days Chantal would trace the kids feet, send the sketch to me, I would take it to the store and guess the size. Not quite an exact science, but a start. Today we were able to properly measure each foot with real instrument and start again. No surprise…only 2 kids were actually in the right size shoe. Sarah and Kelly measured the feet and wrote down the proper number on the spreadsheet. Then we asked each of them their favorite color so we would know in the future. Next they received their present and came outside for a photo holding the bag. Then back to the main room for a fitting, then a photo with Erik (Chantal and Mbanda’s son) , then a photo in their new outfit. The smile on each of their faces was ear to ear. To receive brand new clothes, just for them, is like giving a kid in the States a new Wii or PS3. It’s a HUGE deal. They study each of them carefully and look with pride as it is “theirs”. Next Erik would ask each child what type of clothes they would like to receive next..ie do the girls want dresses, pants, shorts, skirts etc. and do the boys want pants or shorts. Then they got to ask for a wish. What is one present they would like to receive some time this year. The answers were beautifully simple…a ball, a small truck, a coloring book. Then back inside to adjust for the proper shoe sizes and clothes. As mentioned up front we had a lot of adjusting to do so all of your clothes and shoes went to a child…just perhaps not the intended child as we wanted them to have a proper fit. The kids LOVED the notes and pictures you included in each of your gifts. They opened them with such care and studied each of them as it had their name on it. Know that they will keep this notes. Proof is Fabiola brought out a folder yesterday of a story that my friend Lynn wrote about her 2 year ago. She brought it to me in the same folder as I presented it in. It has clearly been cared for over the years. She was proud to show me that she still had it and loved it. She’ll do the same for them. Thank you for all the time and effort that you put into sending the exact right gift. Your attention to the details was duly noted. As the kids came out in their new outfits the Mama’s and little babies were sitting on a small wooden bench and oooed and ahhhed as each new child emerged. The Mommies really loved seeing the joy on the kids faces. Erik, Kelly and Sarah were AMAZING. This was major production for over 4 hours. It takes a lot of patience to properly meet each child’s needs in such a beautiful way. I am so thankful that they were here. Last time I did this solo with the Mommies and Aunties who really don’t speak and English so it was challenging at best. Erik said goodbye and we continued to inventory the excess shoes and clothes. We used nearly every single stitch of clothes – including 4 extras bags full. We also have a terrific inventory of shoes now…wonderfully enduring shoes like Tevas, Keen’s and Crocks. Exhausted, the adults took a little rest break while the kids went to have lunch. When they returned the big kids too the little kids into the classroom and began teaching. Sande and Isaac wrote addition and multiplication examples on the board and the kids copied them onto their paper and worked on the solution. It’s a very orderly process and so impressive to see 10 year olds teaching school. Next we worked on recording our music DVD with the kids singing songs in English and Kinyarwanda. We’ll be working on this for a few more days. The kids do a great job, but as you can imagine…are a bit figitity…so you get what you get. But their little sings are just adorable. As I am writing this the kids are yelling and screaming in the yard playing games. The sound of their laughter is something I carry with me. I think back to the fear on these kids faces when they came into our homes. How frightened they looked. How dishelved. How they suffered from malnutrition. How dirty they were. Now they are full of joy and the Love of the Lord, they are healthy, happy and love their brothers and sisters. Yes, laughter tells so much to the trained listener here.

Sarah and Mikelle (aka Kelly) helping feed the little kids

Kelly and Sarah's Evening Singalong

Ready for Church - although there was no church today

Happy New Year - make a joyful noise

January 1, 2010. Kelly, Sarah (2 volunteers from the States) and I rang in the new year standing in the yard of the 1st home listening to the cheers throughout the countryside. They echoed over the hills and surrounded us from every side. Sarah and "Kelly" sang Blue Moon…to the …well you know…blue moon. I still didn’t have a voice, so I just listened to their joyful song. As I listened to the joyful noises and cheers ringing out around us, I could only imagine the screams and horror that were heard 15 years ago doing the genocide. It must have pierced each soul that could hear the scream as they listened to the bodies of their family and friends being pierced by machete. It gave me pause to reflect on how far this country has come. We lit a candle that Reid Holmes and his wife Katie had given me at Christmas and soaked in the blessings of being in the Land of 1000 Hills at the start of new decade. I slept like a rock thanks to Tylenol pm, aleve, and sudefed…ya, I know that’s a lot, but it worked. I had been living with Zicam for 2 weeks which was doing a terrific job of holding off the cold, but I slid a bit in my timeliness in transit...and voila...the onslaught began. This morning, however, my voice was a little better and the screaming pain in my throat subsiding so I slept 9 hours. The Mama's and Auntie's can't quite seem to understand why I haven't been the regular Miss Donna but I certainly don't want to set off a wave of illness in the homes. This morning,we were greeted by the children all dressed up and ready for church. However there wasn’t any church today so after a little re-jiggering the kids went back to the other compound and changed. Kelly, Sarah and I began sifting through all the donations and making a plan. They were so thrilled at all the wonderful things that you brought for me to bring. It was practically like Christmas for them as they whooped and hollered at the various clothes, shoes, educational toys etc. They have been here for nearly 2 weeks to they have a handle on the real needs and praised God that you have fulfilled them. I had the privilege of joining the Mbanda family for a New Years Luncheon at Chantal’s father’s home. It was a joy being with all of them and enjoying a beautifully cooked meal. This evening the girls sang more songs with the kids. They do such a great job of ministering to them through music and lessons. They have taught them some terrific praise songs with motions. I am going to video them tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a BIG DAY. Eric decided we should do it before he leaves...so tomorrow morning all the kids will come to the 1st home to receive the gifts that you provided for each of them. We’re working on a plan to avoid the chaos and to ensure you get a photo of the child you sponsored enjoying their wonderful new outfit and shoes. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll break out some of the educational toys. I asked the adults if they wanted to start up English lessons again in the evening and they literally screamed for joy. It’s so easy to overlook the needs of the caretakers here because of the joy and communication skills of the kids. But the adults are just as much in need of the attention and education. It will be fun to start it about again. Hopefully my voicebox will be back. I look forward to giving you and update on each child over the course of the next couple of weeks. Gotta dash. Time for my bucket bath shower...more about that later. Thanks for sharing in the journey.

The countdown begins 12.31.09

We’re about 4 hours away from new years here in Rwanda. Alas my sore throat and loss of voice have kept me in bed for a good portion of the day. I figure it best to knock it out fast so I can get back into gear. By early evening I popped out to see the kids who are still trying to figure out why I don’t have much of a voice. Thankfully two young ladies Kelly and Sarah are here and doing a great job. They’ve been singing and doing school work. They also went to Chantal’s home yesterday to bake cookies and brought them out today for the kids to frost. Excellent pre-planning from the States on their side. I may have to do that next time. It reinforces how many people come through our kids lives every year to add just another touch of grace and love to them. Most they will never see again, and some like me, they will never stand of chance of losing. I’ve signed up for life! But each, in their own way bless these kids and leave a LASTING imprint. I am so impressed with the kids command of English now. It’s really come a LONG way in the past 11 months. We also did a fun new thing today…we skyped! I sent a computer over in March with some other volunteers and have been funding the wireless here but haven’t been able to pull off a call. Today we did. We skyped with The Pursey family who was able to meet Kayitesti. Susan Pursey rallied friends and co-workers to raise $1100 in the past 3 weeks to pay for her boarding school. Kayitesi loved speaking with their kids Bryn and Beckett. Bryn even braved the MN snow to show them how to sled. Next we connected intermittently with my Mom as the video kept dropping too. The Kittleson’s were next. Then out of no where Tina Puente’s Dad called me on skype. Totally great humor. I passed my love to Tina via him. I hope we can keep making calls so people in the states can get to meet our kids close up. Today I told the Kids the Liles is bringing computers. The look on their faces was indescribable. They are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. At the moment we have one XO computer that the Kvam’s donated last year. These traditionally sized computers filled with kids software is sure to open up serious new doors for our kids. Thanks to Roxann, their friends and the folks at Campbell Mithun for sending these along with Liles. My only mistake was telling them about the computers today because as the evening presses on they all keep asking “what day?” “When do the computers come?” Liles, you’re sure to the hit of the party. We just have to wait 7 LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG days for your arrival. I also got an opportunity to meet Eric Mbanda who is visiting from the states. Another facebook friend turns 3d and it’s wonderful. I wish he were staying longer so we could get to know each other better. The house is now still. Everyone went down to the compound to play and ring in the new year. Claudine the Auntie who is my home went to church to ring in the new year. She’ll be there from 9 pm until 6 AM. I would love to be at either place but for now, I need to get rid of this throat issue. FAST. I may have the guard walk me down to the compound just prior to midnight…or just stay here and soak it all in solo. Nice reflection time. Thank you for sharing in our journey. My prayers as I set out on this trip were that I would learn what I needed to learn here, have the wisdom to meet the kids needs and the discernment to determine how we can best help them next. I will keep my eye on these three and thank you for caring enough to follow along. PS. Thanks to Ashley’s WONDERFUL additional funds, we now have raised enough to send Innocent to boarding school. Just a few hundred more needed to help with Kayitesi and we’re set. If you care to dump some year end tax money, just click on the button to the right of this post or go to calmministries.org. May your new year -Your new decade = bring you unspeakable joy and deep wisdom.

Desami's morning bath.

Speechless

Literally and Figuratively. Literally Somewhere in transit I left my voicebox. What is left resembles a tired old baratone. Hopefully it will return quickly. Figuratively Upon arrival I was greeted by Chantal and Mbanda. I had sent them several emails to NOT come to the airport at 2:30 in the AM to pick me up, rather send a driver. But as always, their hearts are too big to contain and they arrived. We hugged and hugged and hugged. I am so happy to be here. Getting through customs was a bit of a challenge given that I am one person traveling with 7 monster size bags. But after about 30 minutes of my best Kinyarwanda and photos of the kids they let me pass. Visiting with Chantal and Mbanda is simply like coming home. They have adjusted the sleeping arrangements so the volunteers are now at the 1st house and the kids are in the 2nd and 3rd…so I am staying in the room that I first stayed in 4 years ago. Sweet memories. Jean Pierre met us at the gate and greeted me with a hello, how are you in English. He was one of my most diligent students. Dear dear Claudine was the next to greet me. She is one of the Auntie’s and full of the love of God. We hugged….neither of us wanted to let go. I sent Chantal and Mbanda on their way as I started to get settled in. Sleep was of course futile as I was like a kid at Christmas thinking that Santa had delivered the prezzies, but I couldn’t go down and see them. in this case, the prezzies were simply getting my arms around the kids. As the rooster cock-a-doodledooed the daybreak hours later I went to greet the kids. As I walked to the compound I soaked in the simple pleasures of life in Rwanda. Beautiful people walking to and fro, remnants of the morning rain lingered with sun sparkling off of it. As I approached the compound I wondered if the old truck would still be rusting on the corner. Check. Double check. Still there. Progress comes slowing and quickly in this country. I took a deep breath and listened to the laughter of the kids behind the gate. I reminded myself to have no expectations. They may not remember me. They may be distant. As I banged on the metal gate I heard Fabiola and called her name. They kids came running and warmly welcomed Miss Donna with so much love. Later that told Chantal that they loved me this much…you know…the kind where you stretch your arms out as far as you can to show that it’s a lot. The walked through the compound the squeals of various kids as I found them in some stage of getting ready for the morning. The weaker of the Desami twins is getting stronger. Yeah. So much to learn about each child to see how they are doing. The kids at the boarding school are home until the end of January and are using the time wisely. THEY are teaching the kids in the classroom each day. More to report as the days go on. For now, know that I where I belong on this New Years Eve. In the country and with the people that have captured my heart and love. It’s the perfect way to ease into a new decade. (That's not to say that I don't love America and my family and friends there...well...you get it.)

Making Progress

Amsterdam security was a bit challenging as they are now allowing only 1 carry on. I am of course packed to the gills with massive roll-on filled exclusively with camera equipment, external hard drives, a back pack and oversize fanny pack. Thankfully I was able to 'inspire' them to let me on with everything. If I had to choose I would keep the suitcase and send through the backpack as Kenya Airlines lost Abby and Sarah's bags for a month on a trip about a year ago. The camera equipment is essential. Safely in Nairobi now staring at some Tuskers beer and thinking about my Dad who loves it. Next stop Burundi...THEN Kigali. Then load the bags up and head to the homes. WHOO HOO.

Here are the photos referenced in the prior post.

It takes a village

As I begin the 1st leg of my journey, I am overwhelmed with the generosity of so many people that have embraced our kids in Rwanda. They have given so freely of their time, resources, love and/or prayers. As I prepare my heart to breathe in the gift of seeing our kids, I have been reflecting on the village that accompanies me. Here are some highlights. I almost hate to call people out as I am sure to forget so many, but I want people to understand the village that it takes to help our family village in Rwanda. THE KIDS OF ABBOTT Each year the kids of Abbott Street in Mpls do a big fund raiser to help. They host a water and lemonade stand about a block from a major art fare in town. The kids work 8 full hours trying to inspire people to donate money to help our kids in Rwanda. The Moms and Dads are present but really let the kids do their thing. The kids have all sorts of selling techniques including my favorite where two kids catch someone a block away and tell them the whole story. Zander ,Cam and Henry were the key pitchmen this year. By the time they approach our stand the ‘buyers’ already have their wallets out. We laugh and rejoice. Special thanks to the people who come by and make a purchase. We just ask for a donation, so the going rate is quite extreme – from 50 cents to vast sums like $100 and $200 per glass. Tina Puente has been a regular at our stand. She seems to think that our lemonade is VERY good as she continues to pay top dollar. Jennifer Martin bought a $100 cup too, she then called later to see if we needed to sell some virtually…you got it…she bought some more via the phone. Sue Manber bought a $100 virtual glass from our facebook posting. The kids took a photo of them holding the glass and posted it for her to see. These kids have been the foundation of our 1st fund raising as they decided they wanted to help DO something. They put their heads together and came up with the plan to send one of the kids to school for a year. Thus they set out to raise $310. 1st year total sales equaled $660. The last two have been over $900. Isn’t that simply amazing? Ahh, what we could learn from kids. Nothing is impossible for them. They don’t see the barriers that we do as adults. They just set out to DO. It’s been a full circle experience for these kids as Chantal and Mbanda (the couple from Rwanda) have come through Mpls 2x and personally visited with the kids. The kids in the neighborhood also have done amazing things like Alice forgoing presents for her birthday party and instead asking the kids to bring stuff for our kids in Rwanda. Anthony who has purchased 2 bikes for our kids. Adam and Ben who each year comb through some of their favorite toys and give to me to send along with their love. Various kids also do their own fundraising in the summer with individual lemonade stands. Merideth (about 6) is really into it and I love coming home to find a Ziploc bag with a bunch of loose change in it from her days sales. Think about the size of her heart. She works for her sales and then freely gives it to our kids. These kids give so freely. Thanks to you parents who are teaching your kids such important life lessons. The Mommies of Abbott Erika has been the driving force ensuring we send the best supplies that are needed. She is constantly pressing me to be attentive to the shoes that are more durable, the best type of clothing etc. etc. Danette, Tera, Lynn, Sarah, etc etc. You are such a blessing to the true preparation it takes for each trip. Personal rally people. Our village is supported by people like Susan Pursey who this year decided to personally set out to raise $1100 in the past couple of weeks to send Kayitesi to boarding school. She’s rallied friends and co-workers to fill in the gaps. People like the Hansens who are sponsoring Marie Rose’s boarding school. People like Bobbi Miller who quickly found a person to fund Fabiola’s boarding school when the current funding fell through. Tina’s decision to provide for the needs of one our kids set off a giving cascade effect amongst her friends who joined in. They each took so much time to make sure they sent just the right things. Then all the people who give so freely each year. Lee Baker, Earl Herzog, Pat Cameron, Hansen’s etc etc. Know that your investment in our kids’ future will yield outstanding results. FRIENDS IN NY. The giving spirit has expanded as I have been working in NY for the 1.5 years. Former co-workers at Lowe sponsored kids with clothes and shoes. People like Erika Horvath who sent though a massive supply of brilliant shoes. People like Ros Weinstein who has been to Rwanda and immediately jumped into action. Peole like Leeann Leahy, who had each of her kids shop for one child around their age. Big hearts like Lisa Colantuono who sent a massive box of supplies on my last trip.The love that comes from each of you is carried forth in each item and each dollar. FACEBOOK FRIENDS Some of you I know personally, others are virtual friends that I only know through facebook. What I do know is you RESPOND. When I post needs, you fill them. The list for this trip was: shoes, socks, undies, educational toys, an outfit. Etc etc. You personally did it. You invited your kids to make the selections. You simply wrapped your arms around our kids and said “how can I help”. I am grateful for the opportunity to accompany 7 bags filled with your love. For some, the giving was from their surplus…for others it was from their base income needed to sustain their lives. In each case, I am grateful. A special shout out to the Facebook friends who help spread the word like Mike Duda, Mitch Caplan, John Gerzema, etc etc. This team has used their vast following on Facebook and twitter to help spread the word about our work in Rwanda. Each of you, in your giving, is literally changing the course of Rwanda’s future. This is not an overstatement. Rwanda is 1 of 5 countries in the world with a life expectancy under 50. The average person makes $210 a YEAR. School is compulsory through 6th grade, but the student teacher ratio is 75:1, so it’s hard to really teach. Chantal and Mbanda believe education is the way out of poverty so this is why our kids go to private school. At $310 a year, you can see that it is a gift. The kids in Rwanda REALLY understand the gift that education brings to their life and the diligent way they study reflects it. Last year 4 of our older kids (about 8-11ish) had shown such promise they were accepted into boarding school about 2 hours away. Cost for boarding school is $1100/child/year. Funding appeared and they were able to attend. January of this year I was able to join them on their journey to school. I can’t fully put into words the excitement in what this opportunity represented to them. I can’t wait to see how a year has blessed them. The bonus for me is that surely they will be able to speak some English now. WHOO HOO. Most of my posts are not likely to be this long. And hopefully they will be filled with the photos you crave, but for now, these are thoughts I wanted to share. I have included one group shot from my January trip so we can see the joy that await me. It does indeed take a village. I am thankful for each of you. PS Didn’t get much sleep on the 1st leg of my trip due to a few screaming babies…and I mean screaming. ..the kind where in between the tears they gasp for fresh breath and go again. Bless their dear hearts.

Boarding

Thanks to Steve, Sherri and Scott who helped me get 7 huge bags into the Schaefer-mobile and to the airport. Delta took all 7 so it's sure to make for an amazing New Year when I arrive. Prayera for protection that all bags make it through and nothing is removed in transit. I will update when I next have access to the Internet. The plane will begin boarding shortly. Thanks for sharing in the journey.

Departure Countdown

I leave for Rwanda tomorrow. Thanks to the incredible hearts of so many people I am bringing along 5 bags of supplies. A total of 350lbs of goodness. I've packed your wonderful wonderful outfits for each our 30 kids. My friend Erika was again my partner in crime to try to get things organized. I am also bringing lots of educational tools to help the kids with their skillsets. Some classic fun things are packed too: jump ropes, candy canes,CDs, DVD,s pick 'em up sticks, kurplunk etc. CJ stopped by today with some extra toothpaste, shoes and wraps that he couldn't get to Etheopia, so I am thrilled to add them to the mix. In the past 3 weeks we've also raised the funds to send nearly 4 more kids to Boarding School. We're looking for about $350 more if you have any year end tax deductions that you are looking for. You can donate online via this blog or at the website: calmministries.org. Kids in Rwanda, even at a very young age, believe that Education is the most powerful gift that they can receive. They take studying to be a real treasure. Many have asked how I get to Rwanda. The route is long: US to Amsterdam, then to Nairboi, then Burundi and ultimately Kigali, Rwanda. I land at 2:10 AM on the 31st to I should be thru customs and into the arms of the dear Mommies by 4AMish. The outbound layovers are not too bad this time. 3 hours in Amsterdam and another 3 in Nairobi. The return has a 6 hour layover in Nairobi and 10 in Amsterdam. I am especially excited about the 2 other folks that will be joining me from the States at various points of my trip....more about that as it unfolds. So often people say "gee, I would sure like to join you on one of your trips to Rwanda"...these 2 decided they really wanted to experience it close up and booked their flights. It's going to be so wonderful to share it with them. For now, I fight the exhaustion of endless days with limited to sleep to ensure I have just the right supplies and push through for another 12 hours. I will update this blog as I get access to the internet. No blackberry this time. I will also share a bit more background about our work if you are new to New Hope Homes, Rwanda. Here's to a safe journey and the insightful eyes so I can discover what's needed next.

10 more days

I leave for Rwanda in 10 days. It's call coming together so quickly. Thank you to all of you who so generously reached out to help provide our 30 kids with new clothes and shoes. I feel like Santa as Erika and I begin to pack the bags. Clearly each of you took time to really think about what each child might like. The personal notes/photos you enclosed are so precious. I will be sure to hug each child with your love when I greet them. As I put my head down each night, I have flashes of what it will be like the first day I am back. I land at 2:15 AM so I will probably be to the house by 3. A night watch man will let me into my room and one of the mommies is sure to wake up. I will hug her until she can hardly breathe. Then I will try to sleep, but I won't be able able to much. The house start stirring around 5:30 or 6 AM as the Mommies and Aunties start preparing for the day. The kids then slowly awake from their bunk beds gently lifting off the malaria nets, tieing them up to the ceiling or the top of their bunk go outside with a tiny cup of water to brush their teeth. As soon as I hear that people will be up, I'll be flying through the house hugging and crying as greet everyone with Moolahoo (hi) and Daga koon dah...(I love you). I will be a pile of mush and full of unspeakable joy. And that will just be the 1st hour. Imagine what will follow. As a reminder, we was still looking for sponsor for Kayitesi and Innocent in order to send them to boarding school which starts in January. Let me know if you or a group of friends is interested in helping with your tax deductible donation. Cost is $1100 each.

Thank you for all your generous donations

Thank you for your generous spirit this Christmas season. We now have clothing and shoes sponsors for all 3 kids. I will be hand delivering them to Rwanda on January 31st. It's going to be an exciting trip as 2 other people will be joining me for parts of it. More as the final prep begins. I simply can't wait to see the kids.

Spreading the Word on our Story

Today we were blessed to be on the radio sharing more of our story. It will be re-streamed Saturday night at 7 pm EST and Sunday @ 10 am EST. Join us on relevantradio1330.com. Thank you for loving our kids so abundantly.

Current Needs for our Kids in Rwanda.

We're trying to quickly assemble care packages for our kids in Rwanda. We welcome your participation if you able to help assemble one of more pieces of our care packages. Please reply on facebook to New Hope Homes, Rwanda or rwandadonna@mac.com Our next care package for the kids in Rwanda. Can you help?Share Today at 7:07pm | Edit Note | Delete We are trying to create a care packages for our sweet kids in Rwanda. As time goes by we realize that we need to have quality clothes and shoes as the dirt road really tear up the shoes. Each of the kids now have about 3-4 sets of clothes and Chantal would like each of them to have one nice outfit for church. Thus we are looking for quality shoes and one nice outfit per child. Additionally we are gathering up quality backpacks as the ones purchased locally are only lasting 3 months. I will do one shipment from MN and one from NY to Colorado for Chantal and Mbanda’s kids who are going to bring them with them. All packages need to be to Colorado by May 3rd. Here’s the master list of needs. Needs: Backpacks: 7 for boys. 14 for girls. Clothes Remember, all clothes are handwashed in bucket so please consider durability and lack of irons. Name Sex Shoe Size Clothes size Age Dorcas F 6 5T 2.5 Ester F 11 5 6 Nshimiye M 11 6/7 4 Alice F 9 5 4 Sunday M 3 10 10 Kayitesi F 13 10 7 Lionel F 1 7 8 Isaac M 2 10 8 Innocent M 1 7 5 Sarah F Under 12 month 12 month to 18month. Ingabire F 5 2T 1 Deborah F 6 4T 3 Silvie F 8 4T 2 Dorine F 10 6 5 Marie F 13 6 7 Betty F 10 6 3 Fabiola F 13 8 8 Kagabo M 12 5 5 Mwami M 9month old 9 month Desami M 9month old 9 month Desami M 9month old 9 month (yes, there are twin boys with the same name) Prince M 8 4 2 Kwizera M 2T 9 month Caria F 2T 1year Rebecca F 6 4T 2 years Mbabazi F 5 4T 2 years Ariane F 6 5XS 2 1/2 Backpack for Girl – 14 needed Back pack for Boy – 7 needed Nice pair of shoes for one of the kids above (list name) 1 nice outfit for one of the kids above (list name) cold, cough or flu medicine for kids. Let me know if you want to ship your directly to Colorado or to NY or MN. You can see the photos of each child on the main website: calmministries.org Thank you for reaching out in love to our kids. Donna

GREAT Report Cards

Chantal and Mbanda Skyped me late this afternoon to tell me the kids got their grades and WHOO HOO, they all did well. Here's the report. 1st, the kids going to school near that homes in Kigali Marie Rose #2 in her class a 94.9%! 2 years ago, she was eating beans and potatoes from the garden and weighed just 28 pounds at 4 years old. Innocent is #4 on his class with 92.7% Kayetesi/Peace is #17 which is still GREAT in a class of 30. -------- Now for our 4 adventures that are in their 1st semester at Boarding School. This is their 1st time away from New Hope Homes and we only get to visit 1x a month, so we were thrilled that this advanced school is yielding great results. Lionel (1st grade) is #2 in his class with 96.6%. He will be moving immediately to 2nd grade when they get back from Easter break. Issac (3rd grade) is #16 with 81.5% Fabiola (2nd grade) is #6 with 95.6% Sande is (2nd grade) #32 with 86.8% How exciting is this? We THANK their sponsors who have sacrificed much to pay for their schooling. This is great news especially if you think about what was happening in the country just 15 years ago. 3rd day of the genocide. Deathtoll would add another 10,000 people. As a reminder, we are looking to quickly assemble come care packages for the kids to be shipped in Early May, We need back packs 1 Nice pair of shoes and 1 nice outfit for each child Some cough and cold medicine for the kids. Let me know if you can help. Email me at rwandadonna@mac.com Blessings and Love. Donna

15 years ago and today

15 years ago the genocide was in full rage by morning. It started the night before when the plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down at 8:23 pm. By 9:15 the killing began. Today we are continuing our journey of mirroring those same 100 days with goodness. I just heard from Chantal in Rwanda today with a current need. We have people traveling to New Hope Homes in Rwanda in May and we would like to fill their bags with current supplies for our 30 kids. Here are the needs: New good quality backpacks. The local ones seem to only last 3 months. New good walking shoes with good soles. We're learning about this one over time. Functional over cute. Durable is key. A nice set of clothes. Over the counter cough and cold medicine for kids. I brought over a big supply in January and they have already gone through most of it. Please reach out to me at rwandadonna@mac.com if you are able to help with any of these needs. Blessings and thanks for reaching out to us. Donna

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This evening marks the 100th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda

This evening at 8:23 pm a plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down. Less than and hour later @ 9:15 pm the killing began. Over the next 100 days 1 million people were killed. Imagine, in a country the size of Maryland 10,000 people a day killed (mostly by machete) for 100 days. We are setting aside that same 100 days to do try to replace that duration of horror with acts of goodness. Our mission is simple. We pair 10 orphaned and abandoned kids with a widow to be their Mom, adding 2 aunties we create a family. These are not orphanages, these are truly homes. Kids that will be ours for our lifetime - extensions of our family. Thus far we've built 3 homes and care for 30 kids. I have personally witnessed lives transformed over the past 3 years that we've been working on this effort. 30 kids that have gone from living on the street and wondering where their next meal might come from and when it might come...to being top performers in school and dreams of being President. So much more to share over the next 100 days. Next is to build the 4th home. Consider joining our page on facebook too - New Hope Homes, Rwanda. More over the next 100 days. Thanks to Jim B who shared our story on the radio this morning.

Update

Thanks for your patience as I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. My heart still lives in Rwanda while I continue my work in NY. The kids are doing well. Chantal visited the 4 big kids in Boarding School and returned with a terrific report. I've updated our website with new photos and plan to keep at it doing it over the next few months. Next up is to begin the process of editing the videos. We've also entered into the brave new technology of being able to make online donations via the website, this blog and our new page on facebook. We pray that our investment will make it much easier for those who are able to contribute in this very challenging economy. Monday marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide. I am doing an interview that morning to kick off our fundraising efforts. Our focus will be on building the next home so another 10 kids will have the opportunity to thrive. I ask for your prayers that we'll bring more people to help with our work via prayers, expertise, personal visits and if possible financial commitments. If you are facebook...go to the top right corner and type New Hope Homes, Rwanda and become 'a fan.' More over the next 100 days as we reflect on the transformation of the country post genocide.

"Puddle" tears.

(note - see youtube video posted as listed 2 entries below) Tears that won’t stop flowing. A few days before I was to leave I helped the Mommies, Aunties and Kids understand that I would be on a plane to America soon. The kids are able to understand this in English (well sort of), the adults require a sense of naming or counting days and then me making the universal airplane sign with my arms spread out while saying “America” and using the Kinyarwanda word for “tears”. Eventually they get it and then say “channie” tears. Meaning VERY MANY tears. A fews days from departure it really didn’t matter to the kids, but the night before I was to leave they started crying. The older ones simply withdrew and stopped talking to me. I tried to get them to play and sing songs and they just sat there staring at me. I asked if they were tired or sad, and they said sad. I tried to get them to shake the sad feelings but it wasn’t possible. They just stared at me. Then one by one they put themselves to bed without the big fun goodnights. Ahhh, my heart was breaking. The adults were eager to get in their last English lesson with “Teacher” Donna so we worked very hard at the key things. They would have gone on for a long long time but I eventually needed to get some sleep. After I went to my room I heard them out in the living room having a go at it by themselves. It was so wonderful to hear them trying to help each other with colors or key words like shirt, pants etc. Speaking of “shirt”. Remember when I said they had some difficult with the letter R? Well some of the aunties could only pronounce Shirt as Shit. I tried to explain that is was the a word for poo ( I use the term delicately) by motioning to my rear end while creating the sense of being on a toilet. They eventually got it and thought it was very very funny. OMG, they laughed so hard. As I gave my goodnight kisses all around each of them said “thank you” in English. They were so proud to be able to say the word in English. I walked by to my room and started to cry. I simply don’t know how to leave these people I love these kids with all my heart. They are my kids to me, not some distant collection of kids in a far away African country. I love them to the depth of my soul. I cried and cried and cried then began to pack. I got up at 5 am the next morning and was there for each child as they opened their eyes. I rarely was there at the moment over the past 2 weeks so they loved the surprise of having me there with a smile and my ‘da-go-coonda’ greeting (I love you!) I decided I needed to try to keep the kids happy that morning rather than sitting around with a bunch of teary eyes. Early on I took my luggage to the gate. As is our tradition, the kids love to carry anything when we are walking some place so each wanted to carry a bag, I spread things out so they could each have a little something. My water bottle, a camera bag, a duffle, back pack , jacket etc etc. They giggled as they tried to manage some of the bigger pieces. Then they got sad but I quickly got them back to the yard and started to play so they didn’t have to stare at the bags. I love morning at the homes. The kids get up early. The older kids in the top bunks carefully take the mosquito netting and tie it up above their heads. The netting is massive as it covers the top and bottom bunk. Then they make their bed in the top bunk and work their way down the ladder. After making a pit stop they all go to the living room and take their cup and toothbrush from the cabinet and the oldest one puts a little toothpaste on the toothbrush. Next they head to the dining room area and put the tiniest splash of water in the cup and head to the yard. They crouch down and begin brushing their teeth in a line. When they are done they take what little amount of water is left in the cup and wash their face. Some of the kids have pj’s so they look so adorable crouched over washing their teeth. Dorcus is the funniest. Everything is funny to her so brushing her teeth always makes me laugh. As the kids are starting to get ready the Aunties are already beginning the process of scrubbing every inch of the floors with a towel or old broom with a towel on it. It takes a long time but is reflective of the pride that they have in these homes. Everything is spic and span. They also make every bed with military precision. The jersey sheets that some friends of mine donated 2 years ago are still holding up nicely. We brought another supply of cotton ones that will get rotated in as the older ones wear out. The kids from the 1st home came over early. They surprised me as they rounded the corner of the court yard. I had spent some time with them the night before and they too were crying when I left. Mostly Marie Rose and Dorene. Tanteanay Claudin looked at me so seriously and said “Miss Donna”…and put her arms out like an airplane and sat it with a question in her voice. Yes was my reply and then she said “no!” at which point I burst into tears and quickly headed down the hallway so the kids didn’t see me “Sorry sorry” was her reply. She is absolutely amazing with these kids. She has so much love to give and does so in abundance. One by one the kids started to cry and it was a mess. I went to my room to compose myself and when I returned she had them all in a circle and motioned for me to come into the center. Each of them put their hand on me and began to pray with tears streaming down their faces. I couldn’t hold it in and joined in the puddles of tears. Dorene just kept looking at me with such sad eyes, the same with MarieRose. Just shoot me and put me out of my mystery. Remember, each of these precious angels has been orphaned or abandoned. So to them I was just another person who was leaving them. It was expecially apparent to the 3 new girls that we received last week as they of course thought I came with the place. The oldest one who didn’t speak any form of English shared her anguish with the look in her eyes and her face. Aghhhhhhh I don’t know how to leave these wonderful kids. We all went to church as a way of creating a nice send off. They were farely composed by then but still have me the longing look of – please change your mind.. Eventually I put each child on my lap. Wrapped my arms around them, said a silent prayer and held and rocked them. Each one cried. Some of them like Esther literally got my pants wet from the tears. Tears usually just stream down the face and are a tiny drop at the chin if they aren’t wiped away by then. I have never seen such puddles of tears. I mean puddles. There was no sound, no wimpering, just tears and the occasionally big eyes looking up at me. When she settled down I moved to the next child. Some of the boys thought it was great fun to sit on my lap and take off my watch or ring etc. Some of the girls were fine too. But most of the kids, especially the girls just were moosh. As I moved to the row behind Esther she just kept looking at me and crying. I eventually reached for her and held her again cradling her deep in my arms. She finally fell asleep and I handed her to Claudine so I could keep moving. Thankfully the last two were Dorcus and Ariene who think that everything in life is fun or funny so they smiled and played with me as I held them. They are total goofballs and I am thankful for them in my life. Marie Rose who was sitting in the front row just kept turning around and looking at me studying my every move. Eventually the service was over and Chantal decided all the kids needed to come to the airport to send me off. I jumped into her SUV and 5 kids piled in the back the rest, including the aunties got into the van. As we were driving I told Chantal about all the tears and the I wanted to make the airport experience fun. She said “what was I thinking, I’m going to have 20+ crying kids and aunties at the airport…how will I get them home?” I was blessed to have MarieRose, Kayitesi, Dorene, Alice and 2 others that escape me at the moment in the car so they proudly sang the news songs that I had taught them to Chantal’s delight. Alice did a solo rendition of “This old man” that was so cute. All the kids think “nic nac pattywack” is very very funny. Alice is so smart she really picked up the concept of the rhyms and remembered how the song went. The kids love seeing the airport and all the activity. By then I was composed an committed to the kind of departure that Chantal did with Issac, Fabiola, Sande and Lionel at boarding school. Kids feed off our reactions so if I cried they would cry. If I blew big kisses they would focus on trying to send them back and laugh as they did it. The kids did great. The Aunties were a mess but they saw was I was trying to do and did their best to mirror my approach. 2 of the Aunties said “Donna, I love you”. The first time they had been able to speak those works in English. Aghhh, the pain. I was doing pretty well until I got to Chantal. As I wrapped my arms around her and hugged tight the floodgates opened again. I told her she couldn’t ‘get go until I found my happy face again. It took a while but eventually I was able to back away and produce a smile and start blowing kisses as I got into the security line. I stopped just before I disappeared in behind the wall and just looked at them trying to memorize each of their faces. Sure I took over 7000 pics and have nearly 200 gigs of photos and video, but that’s different. I wanted to take them in as a family and scan each face, smile,body as a 3d image. I stared as long as I could before Chantal said “Miss Donna, go or you’ll be late!”. I blew them 1 more monster kiss that made them laugh as I disappeared behind the wall. Yes, I stuck my head out for 1 more peak and sure enough they were all still standing there staring into the place that I had been seconds before. I giggled and blew a last kiss. Disappearing behind the wall into security I tried to compose myself but inside every muscle, every joint, every living flowing thing within me was in pain and crying out. To be continued this weekend.

No Trash

No Trash There is something wonderful about the way our homes and the country of Rwanda approach trash etc. There is none. Plastic bags are not allowed into the country, in fact they take them away at customs if they are in sight. They were banned in 2005. In our homes everything that isn’t food, clothing , furniture, charcoal cooking stove or a water bucket doesn’t’ exist. Because there isn’t any pre-packaged foods there aren’t any packages etc. It becomes dramatically apparent as I study the contrast of zero garbage coming from the 26 people that I live with in the compound that comprises the 2nd and 3rd homes and ME! I bring over small cans of chicken to eat, snack bars etc. The contrast is remarkable and embarrassing. Other than skins of a pineapple or bad leaves of kahl , or the shell of an egg that goes into the compost bag, the kids, aunties, cook and nightwatchman produce zero garbage. As the country moves forward and embraces more of what we consider progress this is sure to change….for the worse. Let’s consider who is more progressive in this story? Oh what we could learn from the wonderful people of Rwanda. Te

Video post on Youtube

Share the journey of: Chantal's introduction of our 3 new girls: Anastaci, Grace and Florence The children welcoming them at our learning center. The children singing a welcoming song. Watch Anastaci overcome her fear to share a song. As painful as it is to share the fear and sadness that overwhelms her, know that 24 hours later she was running and playing with the kids. The photos posted earlier in this journal share the before/after. Video is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJK-gdFlkgo or go to youtube.com and put newhopehomes in the search bar (note-no spaces among the 3 words. More to come.

Fetching Water and enjoying the journey

Fetching Water Our homes are plumbed for water and someday we hope to have it actually working. Water is in short supply in Rwanda as is the pressure to pump it most of the time. Thus we get water from a big drum in the yard or go about a 25 minute was to a pump where we can buy it for 100 rwandan francs per jug. Or about 20 cents. But when you consider the average person make just a dollar a day you can see how carefully that water needs to be used. Bathing. The little kids sit in a small kid size tub and the Mommies carefully place water and soap on them. The older kids can do it a bit by themselves. They stand in the bucket and use a small amount of water from a pail to suds up. The kids use just a tiny tiny bit of water for brushing their teeth etc etc. This week I joined Valence (the night watchman) as he went to get the water. Of course it was a day that rained and I had all my camera gear so I didn’t get too many photos. He was sweet, he kept tucking under overhangs so we could try to stay a bit dry. One of the stops was for another pump system. There were about 25 containers lined up ready to be filled from a garden hose like thing. It was stationed in a small building much like you would find when filling your propane tanks in the states. The people there thought the Moozoongoo (me) was a most unexpected visitor. First they did not want to welcome me, but eventually they warmed to my presence and eventually let me take just a few shots. They waved goodbye as we continued on our journey. The wheelbarrow that carries the water is light on the outbound (empty containers) trip but on the return is was slow going. The slower we move the better from my pov as I love to soak in the life that surrounds me and let people react to me and me to them in return. Not many people welcomed me to take photos but I did get a couple as you’ll see in this entry. If I had my way I would just hang out and get to know these wonderful people. But, alas we continue on. The people love seeing their photo in the display of the camera. It’s great humor as the 1st time they seee it they giggle, then the crowds form and want to see it. The adorable young woman kept bringing more and more people from her house to see the photo and then kept posing. We had a great time.

Chantal and some of the kids

Chantal and Laurent Mbanda

Hearts of gold and the commitment to put their dreams into reality.

Sweeping & Washing Dishes

New Bike!

The Koch family handed me an envelope with $100 in at as I was heading to the airport for my trip to Rwanda. They told me to use it how I thought best. Chantal initially thought about buying 2 goats and then some ice cream for the kids. An alternative would be to make storage cubbies for the kids to organize their clothes etc. After 1.5 weeks of debating we finally decided on a new bike. The Koch family's oldest son Anthony has been really engaged with supporting our kids. About a year ago he donated 1/2 of his savings to buy the kids 2 new bikes for Christmas. With this many kids and only 2 bikes (both of which are stored at the 1st home with the school, we thought the 2nd and third homes would love to have one to share. Needless to say, it was a hit. Next thing is to get some helmets from the states as falling without one is not goooood.

Ambassadors and Orphans.

Rubbing Elbows with Orphans and the Ambassador. Kate enjoyed her 1st full day in Rwanda. She has such a joyful spirit. She slept well under that mosquito netting and we had to wake her for breakfast as she was dreaming such sweet dreams. Lots of play time with the kids. Then I arranged to go meet the office of Orphans of Rwanda. It’s a group that sponsors orphans for the University. I met the Director while in NY so I wanted to visit with their local office here in Rwanda. They send over 160 kids to the Universities throughout the country to help them achieve their ultimate best. We’ve got both ends of the spectrum covered now. We’ve got the little ones and they have the older ones. Kate and I did this adventure on our own with a driver so we felt quite impressed with our communication skills etc. Kate is going to help teach the driver some English and he in turn will help with her Kinyarwanda. Next came a very special time. We were invited with about 100 90 other Americans to the home of the new US Ambassador to Rwanda. He in his wife have been the country for about 3 months. He was gracious beyond measure and spoke from the heart about his desire for us to do “Collateral Good” in the country ie when helping someone here, try to grab hold of the person next to he or she to bring them along too. He asked for people to speak about something wonderful we have seen while being here. Two people spoke up. I was one of them. It was lovely to be able to speak about the work that Chantal and her husband are doing here. The Ambassador spoke about the strength of the Rwanda army helping fight the genocide in Darfur. Powerful imagery when you think about it. He said this country can live under the shadow of the genocide or shine a light all the good things that are happening here. The peace corp is coming in 12 days and it is a BIG deal here. They view it as great sign of progress. It was an honor to make yet another powerful connection with people that love this country that I grown to love. To Kate’s family. Your daughter is a gift to these people. Fear not, she is in great hands and is already and asset to our precious children.

Our Jugs for water & the lineup at the waterpump.

Water is so precious. I wish as American's we really understood that. Clean water is even more rare. Water is used very respectively and responsibly. When you bathe with buck you get it. Here is our wheelbarrow with empty water jugs as we prepare for the trip to the waterpump. Round trip it takes about an hour or 1.5 hours. Water is 100 rwandan francs per jug...or about 20 cents. If you make a dollar a day, you see how important it is to not waste any water.

Katy and Donna

The morning line up to brush teeth

Kayitesi, Alice and Innocent

Kwiezera's morning bath

Esther's beautiful butterfly

Thanks to Erika, I brought a big box of crayons. Thanks to Chantal I went to town and bought a ream of paper. We carefully cut each page in 1/2 and then the kids drew on both sides. Check out the beautiful MIss Esther's piece of art.

Mama Imaculee

Mama Bestine

Kids lining up to jump rope

The night before the big kids went off to school we played for hours. Here is the line for jumprope.

A serious inventor

Not sure who made this wireframe car/truck-like- object, but it was quite inventive. Here are some of the kids showing show off the invention.

Dorene getting ready to wash her shoes

Good shoes are treated like gold in the homes. The Mommy washing them up each night. Not sure what happened here, but suddenly Dorene started washing hers in the middle of the day. Not sure if she did it on her own since they got dirty or if Mama told her to do it. It was the only time I saw one of the kids doing it so I think she did it on her own as a matter of pride.

The kids dressed up and walking to church

Lots of time to sing songs and giggle on the way to church. Note the love the Marie Rose has for the newest daughter Anastaticia (Marie's arm is the one around Anstacia's shoulders....a VERY common sighting on most days!)

Kyetesi waking up and securing her net.

The nets protect the kids from the deadly Malaria that comes from the mosquitos. Our nets fully cover one bunk bed. The child at the top is older and able to pull it up and secure when not in use.

Valence getting the fire started on the stove

Mama Bestine and Auntie Angie getting a lesson from Betty and Alice

I walked into the 2nd home and was delighted to see a spontaneous English lesson going on.

A long update

The last few days have been a blur. I will try to capture some of the key pieces. Paying it BACKWARDS Perhaps the best concept I have created in my life is a new one that I am calling the ‘pay it backwards’ idea. We all know about paying it forward. I have noticed that while the kids are doing wonderfully in their English studies the Mom and Aunties have zero understanding of the language. They see the kids advancing and don’t know anything about what they are saying etc. Of course they all speak Kinyarwanda and is always their 1st choice. But in order for the kids to thrive and the caretakers to feel a part of their lives they need to grow together. Kate and I bought some simple English books on the street in downtown Kigali, then Chantal took us to buy some large pieces of paper to serve as poster board. Next was a small notebook and pen for each of our new adult students. The 1st night the adults gathered after most of the kids were down. They came in so eager to learn. We practiced the basics. Hello, what is your name etc etc. Then a bit of colors and things. It’s great doing it in the home as the props are the key things that they need to have a handle on. Table, chair, shirt, shoes etc etc. Kinyarwanda language pronounces R like L’s and it exceptionally hard to get their tongues to make the sound of an R. Frankly it’s nearly impossible but we keep working on it. But this teaching is old news. The new idea was to continue the learning on a ongoing why when I leave, then after Kate leaves etc etc. In order to grow together the kids can help. So, Marie Rose is now the official teacher in the 1st home and Kayitesi is the teacher in the second home with help from Innocent and Alice. It took a bit for the kids to get the hang of it, but when the did it was like a HUGE floodgate opened for the adults and they loved it. The way the concept works is the “teacher” says “what is this?” touching a chair or holding a cup or bottle etc. The ‘students’ then have to answer one at a time. The teacher points to each student and makes them say it correctly. The teacher often laughs that they don’t’ have it right but the adults just laugh and are not offended in any way. When they have it correct the “teacher” applauds their work and the students cheer for joy. After 2 days of doing this, I see the adults asking the kids what things are and the kids joyfully answering. We look for learning time while the Mommies and Aunties are working. A great time is when they doing the laundry or everyone is eating. Colors and What is this are easy then. So imagine the adults sitting on water buckets doing the laundry by hand and a small child standing near them asking what this are. “What is this?” holding a pair of shorts. “What color?” Perhaps the color is red. Then the teacher says “find more red”. The adults look for shoes, shirts parts of their clothes…anything that is the same color and quickly point it out while repeating the word. I will attach a small video here that shows how it worked in the beginning. It’s getting way better now. Alice is a bit shy with her colors, but she’s eager to help. Yesterday I walked into the 2nd home and found the Mama with 2 babies on her lap along with the teaching book and 2 young young kids trying to learn on their own. I also made simple charts with colors, numbers, objects and key phrases for each home. Chantal thought it would be a great way for them to study it when they pass by. I cannot fully express the joy on Mama Imaculee’s face when they proudly says “Hello Miss Donna…how are you?” And she has finally master “yes and “no”. Kate will continue the technique over the next 6 weeks and ensure the concept sticks. We are also going to try to create a simple program that continues when the next set of visitors arrive. I can hardly wait to see how we progress over the next year. I don’t say this to be boastful, but when God puts a simple thought in your head, you run with it, and you see it thrive….it’s exciting. We had a very fun experience on my last night of teaching. The kids had gone to bed and the adults from the 2nd and 3rd homes gathered for lessons. I wasn’t sure if they wanted to as we had been teaching over the course of the day. When someone passed by I would say “what is X doing?” The right reply was “Amina is WALKING”, “Charlotte is sweeping” , “Mama is washing” etc etc. But they wanted to proceed so we went for it. Part way through it I decided to get a big bag of red fish (the gummybear like things) that I had brought from the states. I stood there holding the bag and they couldn’t figure out why I had it. Then I asked what color something was and the 1st person that answer it right got a fish. They laughed until they split a gut. With the bar now raised they were much more attentive to trying to get it right. When they all answered at about the same time I ran around the room and gave them each one. They thought this was soooooo funny. One of the colors they keep forgetting is “white”. Finally I had to give them the simple reminder. “Miss Donna?” “Moozongoo?” WHITE was the reply. They laughed until they couldn’t breathe. RAINY DAYS and FACEBOOK. Africa rejoices when it rains (unless you live in the muddy slums…but even then you find some joy) but 30 kids trapped in their homes makes for some challenges. Of course it was a Saturday and I wanted to get all the kids together to play at one home. All day I had been waiting for the kids from the 1st home to come to the compound for the 2nd and 3rd. As luck would have it, the second the rain came they arrived dripping wet, but ready to play. We went for the basics. There are lots of songs they like to sing so that gets the party started. They especially like ones with hand motions like head and shoulder knees and toes etc. Thanks to some fast replies from many friends on facebook we added quite a few new ones to their collection. Kumbya, He’s got the whole world etc etc. But, by far the most entertaining new one was “This old man”. I they kinda got the idea of the rhyme but the part that made them laugh every time were the word “PATTYWACK”. They giggled and giggled. One of our fun songs is do, re, mi. We start low working our way up, then up down then doo me me, me so so, ray fa fa…..I hold the last tea tea for a long long time making funny eyes at them as they know what’s coming next…we do the do me me. me so so really fast and they all run around screaming. Someone taught them duck duck goose. I didn’t know they knew it until I saw the teacher playing it. I wasn’t sure it was possible to play it inside with all the kids. But Mama said “yeggo” (yes) and we pushed the furniture back and had at it. I made the Mommies and Aunties play too as they had never done it. The kids LOVED “goosing” the adults and the adults laughed so hard when they goosed each other. Laughter and more laughter. Keeping a ton of kids entertained takes a lot of energy but they are so worth it. The light that shines in each of their eyes is so bright. A full out belly laugh is good for their souls and mine. Everyone once in a while I think about what their lives would be like had they not come to New Hope Homes. Orphans being raised by an older Orphan or a small baby disgaurded at our gate. They may have found some definition of love but their tiny spirits would always be living in some sort of fear. They certainly wouldn’t have the opportunity to achieve their personal best much less know about The Lord. Sure, 30 kids is just a small dent in the needs of this country. But at least there are 30 more kids that will one day be able to help shape the future of their country. I thank God for Chantal’s vision for New Hope Homes and the tenacity of her commitment. CHANTAL Speaking of Chantal, I ask that you keep her in your prayers. It’s very clear to me the impact of adding the 3rd home has been on her time. When we had one home it was super manageable. Two became a bit more work, but a 3rd home and 30 kids is a serious undertaking. Simple things like getting their food supplies, thinking about menus, treating sick kids, getting them to school, working with the Mommies, Aunties, cooks and night watchmen to ensure they are doing things properly much less keeping their bonding strong. Sieba the social worker that the government required her to add now that we have 30 kids helps relieve some of the pressure but it’s still an endless responsibility. An update on our 3 latest kids to join the home – Anastcia, Grace and Florence They are doing well. Florence the youngest (about 2ish) is the most delighted to be here. She some running filled with glee to greet us and seems to have adjusted nicely. Her favorite place is to be in Kate’s arms. Grace is the middle girl and is generally quite happy. She loves posing for photos and seems to have fit in quite nicely. Anastacia the oldest and initially the most skeptical is 75-80% there. Most of the time she is playing, laughing and smiling from ear to ear. Then there are those moments where she withdraws to some place deep inside. I don’t know if she’s missing her Mom who died or just trying to take it all in. She’s sooooo far behind in school that she seems a bit aware of this. The teacher is terrific and keeps encouraging her. When she withdraws her face looks down and you simply can’t get her to look up. But I will focus on the 75-80% of the time where she is full of joy. Her best pal seems to be Marie Rose as they are at each others side all the time. Last night I cuddled up with her while Marie was “teaching” English. I held her a long long time and finally asked Marie to ask her if she likes it here. Her reply was “yeggo”/yes. I think asked if it was good or “chanay” good…VERY good. “Chanay” was her repy. VERY MUCH. I take that as serious progress over the past 1.5 weeks since they landed on our doorsteps. I give it about 2-3 weeks until the light is fully burning in her eyes too.

A good day of play & We wlecome Miss Kate

Tuesday January 13th. We played all day. It was a nice to to simply just chill with the kids. I was able to spend time in the classroom in the afteroom at the 1st home and work with the teacher and kids with conversational English. We practiced changing the "lucy lucy" to Excuse me Miss Donna - Look at this! Miss Donna then replies "What (insert name). They replied "See the (insert sometime...elephant etc etc.) We welcome the wonderful Kate to our home tonight. Kate is 25 and lives in Colorado. She works for Compassion and took at 2 month leave to come stay and play with the kids. It's her 1st time leaving America and she immediately filled the homes with a sweet spirit and joy. We'll be roommates and I welcome her presence.

Quite a transformation - sad to joy

A quick update on the 3 sisters that we welcomed a week ago today. They are doing great. They laugh, dance and enjoy their new brothers and sisters. Here's the photo evidence to show the transformation of Anastacia, the oldest and most skeptical and Florence the littlest.

Teary kids say goodbye to "Mama" before we began the drive to school.

Close up of the little boy from the market

A view of the 20 homes. Blue tops are the health clinic

The Ox suprised me by poking his head out of the home.

Kids in the Child of Head of Household project

Kids in Child of Head of Household project

1 of the 20 homes for Child as Head of Household in Ruhengeri - about 6 kids per home

Near the 20 homes for the Child as Head of Household

Bananas at the market

Boys bedroom at Boarding School

Fabiola's new Friends

A small young boy in the market. Imagine if he was given the chance to really succeed

Everyone says goodbye to Chantal and Sieba

Fabiola's beautiful new look.

Fabiola is ready for school. Before the haircut

Boys with new haircuts

The Big Day

Monday January 12, 2009 No more tears left to shed. Today was the big day. The 4 oldest kids are off to boarding school about 2 hours away. I greeted each of them around 6:30 when they were up and getting going. “ It’s the big day!!!” Smiles everywhere. They were dressed and ready to go by 7:15. Bags packed full of glee. But as with all things Rwandan, not everything goes according to plan and were delayed a bit. We hung out at the 1st home until all the necessary arrangements were ready. Tantia Claudin, the amazing 18 year Aunt who is such a blessing for the kids was sooooo sad. She was trying to comprehend life without Fabiola in her home as well as the 3 boys from the 3rd home. They spent some time together in the living room and cried and cried. All of them except Fabiola. She keeps everything locked inside as a woman-to-be of steel. Good and Bad as you know. We would like to see her let her emotions be real. The boys just kept crying and crying. They were happy to go to school, but so sad to be leaving everyone. Isaac just kept staring at the photos of everyone on the wall. It was like he was memorizing all of his brothers and sisters and trying to comprehend what this next phase in his life would be like. Mama Imaculee came in and we prayed together on our knees in a circle with Claudin and the kids going to school. Then everyone just sat still and stared. Claudin and Mama kept walking around brushing away the tears of the kids and then they stepped back and wiped away their own too. I was a wreck. Hey at least they get to see these kids before the next year! But my tears were more than this. I was just trying to comprehend what their lives could have been. I think about all the kids involved in the genocide in Darfur. Each of their lives is just a precious as these kids. Each of them have a name and each of them has a bright future if that right resources could surround them. I know these kids are well on their way. We packed up and began the long 2+ hour drive to Rougneiri. The rounds up and down and around the hills could make the strongest tummy weak with nasua. Fabiola asked that we drive slow but she did great. We sang songs and took in the scenary. It’s so nice for me to get outside of the city as the hills are soooooo green and lush and breathtaking vs the business of the citylife. The boys followed behind in another car. The check in process was a mob scene. Kid and parents lined up everywhere. Each child with a suit case and a bucket for their bathing. Fabiola was sans one important item. Her hair. After spending 3 years growing it out with lovely braids we confirmed this morning that she like all of the kids have to be shaved. It’s very common in the country, in fact mandatory even in the public schools through senior year of high school. We had just been a unique situation with our private school where it was note required. So our dear Fabiola sat in the chair brave as could be and watched her head be shaved. She’s beautiful. Not one tear. Not one from our mighty strong girl. We was knew it was a requirement of school and she wants to be in this school. Bless her sweetness. The kids got in the line to be processed. It was nuts. But finally we made it through. The kids just kept looking around trying to take the big grounds in to see what this new adventure was all about. Isaac blinked back the tears. Some girls immediately approached Fabiola and tried to connect with her. She just kept her head down but eyes up trying to see if this was good. The girls were persistent and began to win her over. When our tour guide arrived to show us where to go, the older of the girls that had been chatting with Fabiola was assigned to be her friend. She took Fabiola’s hand and led us to the room. The compound is large, holding 600 kids. They sleep about 14 to a room in bunk beds. Chantal and I could hardly believe how many kids were in each room. An Auntie is assigned to each room to keep them comfortable and safe. Next it was off to the boys room. We think they will all be in the same room, but it was unclear before we left. The kids looked amazing in the clothes that The Leahy Family and Lynn donated for this very occasion. They seemed to be finding their way when it was our turn to leave. Chantal gathered the kids and said a prayer. More tears. But this time, she knew that they would follow her lead so she wiped away their tears and hers to show them smiles and love. They seemed to fight back the fear to fall into a million pieces and rallied. I took a moment with each one. Told them how much I loved them and that I would see them next year. I look forward to the day that they have email. As we left I bust into a million zillion tears. Chantal wrapped her arms around me and said “oh Miss Donna, this will be good. “ “Don’t worry.” “Yes we know how much you love these kids.” Etc etc. The tear drops flood my computer as I type this again trying to be like Fabiola – strong. But alas, I am a wimp and I miss them so much already. The boys have each other in their room. Fabiola is in a big room all by herself. Well not exactly, she has 13 other girls who will quickly become her friends. The compound is so different from our homes. They wash their hands in a center courtyard area. I presume that is where they brush their teeth too. Not sure where they bathe. Our kids go outside to wash their hands and brush their teeth too, but it is a home…not a big school grounds. Enough whimpering. They’ll do great. I just know it. On the way back we stopped to see the homes that CALM build (Chantal and Mbanda’s nonprofit) for child as head of household in the area. There are 20 homes. 3 small, I mean very small rooms (wait, I take it back…it’s about the same size as my studio apt in NY!) Outhouses are in a center area and it’s lovely. A health clinic decided to build in the area right next to them so they’ll have good care too. We did a quick tour of one of the homes and shot a quick video with Chantal. Next to the market. Produce costs about 30% less here so Chantal wanted to fill the SUV with everything we could fit into it. While she negotiated I shot a bizillion photos. Chantal didn’t think they would welcome the camera here, but eventually I became fast friends/entertainment and everyone wanted their photo taken. The sun was setting so the fun lasted only about an hour or so. The drive back was challenging as the full moon didn’t seem to shine much light on our windy road, but the good Lord got us back safely. I got into a taxi with Sieba for the final phase. Our driver tried to find gas at 4 places before we finally got about $5 bucks worth. The needle still registered empty so I hope Sieba made it home as I was the 1st to be dropped off. At home everyone was anxious to hear about the trip. The best way to was to show the photos as without the big kids we are back to basically no English being spoken in the homes. The Mama and Aunties have a handle on the basics…hello, good bye etc but can’t really explain much about the day. The best way was to quickly download my photos and let them tell the story. Before I began I said “Mama” she relied “yegoo…(yes) “Fabiola!” “Yes Miss Donna”. I made the motion of the buzzing of the hair and she said “oh no” and laughed but felt Fabiola’s pain. The Mommies, cook and night watchmen laughed too. Not at her, but at the situation. When they saw the photos, they oohed and ahhhed. Loving 30 kids like they are my own makes today a big emotional day. I am completely spent.

Aim High

Sunday January 11th, 2009 Umbrellas were in order today. Not from rain but from the intense sun. It’s Sunday. A day to praise God for the many blessings of life. I dressed in my fancy Rwanda skirt and sash. I came from my room and Mama said “Miss Donna, Very Smart”. A very nice complement indeed. It took a while to get the kids organized for our journey but eventually we were on our way. 16 kids all dressed in their finest. 2 Aunties and Miss Donna. We are quite the parade. We used to go to a very small church, but this was huge. We could hear the singing as we heading down the final dirt road. The praised the Lord for nearly and hour with song. Adults in the front with plastic chairs, the middle section is wooden benches with a wooden backs and the final section is small benches for the kids. We were properly greeted and escorted to the back section. The kids danced and praised God. I was advised the video camera was not allowed without permission. So disappointed to not be able to capture the glorious sound for you, but also thankful to not have the distraction of the camera. Isaac and Sande are the new photographers so they carry the cameras everwhere. We arrived at 9:15ish and the service ended at noon. I kid you not….these kids were angels. Stirred a bit, but my gosh, I can’t imagine how they do it. Perhaps it the strong presence of the ladies who take turns walking through the section of kids with a small stick/switch in her hand to keep everyone in line. Importantly she never had to come to our section of angels. Marie Rose was amazing. She kept her arm around Anastacia (the oldest of the new kids) and could tell that Dorine was having a hard time staying awake so she had her put her head in her lap while she soothed her head. Such love from a child. You can see how the child as head of household thing works for so many. The rest of the kids sat there and watched the singing or praising. Fabiola and Isaac took turns looking at my bible. Fabiola read a section along with the minister. She read very quietly to me while he preached in Kinyarwanda. My bracelet, ring and necklace kept a few of the other entertained. Isaac and Sande filmed our route home. We stopped at the 1st house and played for hours. Auntie Claudine is amazing. She is constantly playing with the kids. Today she had them all lined up to do leap frog, then she helps them do back bends, she balances them on her legs and she cheers them on as they try to swing or play. She’s 18 years old and is a beautiful minister of love. Suddenly they all yelled and ran inside. “mr bean. Mr bean” The show was on TV. We watched for 3o mins on the tiny scratchy tv but they laughed in all the right parts. Some of the news now is in English. My how things have changed. The big kids got small suitcases for their trip to boarding school tomorrow. Eventually the whole gang came back to the compound for the 2nd and 3rd homes. We played and played. Tag/hid n go seek, jump rope. Sang, danced. You name it, we did it. This evening we colored a bit more and I continued to work on the Kinyarwanda song that I have been learning for the past 3 years. Mama finally seems to think I have it right when she yelled from the other room “bravo Missy Donna” when I finished. Tomorrow Chantal and I take the 4 oldest kids to Boarding School. This is a HUGE deal in their world. Issac is the oldest @ 10 and is very aware of what this opportunity can bring. He now wants to be President of Rwanda and Sande wants to be president of the US. Fabiola would like to drive a car and I’m not sure about Lionel. Aim high dear children. Aim high.

Baby in the beans.

A traditional market "presentation"

Love is in the air

Saturday January 9th, 2009 I should have know it was going to be a great day by the way it started. Mama brought me a bottle with about a gallon of bailing hot water. I was already dressed but kept saying “marcozee, maracoza” thank you thank you. That bottle mixed with a regular jug of water and I have a hot or medium hot supply of water for a bath. WHOO HOO!. I immediately changed and went back into my room to enjoy the treat. Whoo hoo. 2 gallons of warm water. Enough to bathe and wash my hair. Yes indeed I came out looking rather glamorous. Given that it was Saturday the kids don’t have school. So that meant all day play. And when I say all day…I mean all day. March, sing, toss the ball, play in the dirt, giggle etc etc. Perpetual motion times 20. Late afternoon I brought 2 coloring books and a fresh box of crayons. (Thanks Erika). They squeeled for joy. Isaac carefully reviewed all the pages with one set of kids and Sande did the other set. Each picked out a page to color. Actually 2 pages if you count front and back. The crayons were placed in the middle of the pile and the creativity began. The 1st few days the kids kept say “Lucy” “Lucy”. I asked Chantal if there was a Lucy here recently. “No” was the reply. I kept thinking about it. Each time they would some running and say “Lucy Lucy”. I would say “Missy Donna”. But then say would say “Lucy Missy Donna”. Eventually I figured it out. Lucy is Look See. It presume it came from people taking photos and then showing the screen of the camera to them say “you want to see?” Hence was born “lucy!”. So today when drawing there was a lot of “lucy” shouts to review their creations in progress or when completed. Late afternoon they announced that Isaac, Lionel and Sande had to go to the market to get their hair cut for school. I should have said “shaved”. We walked to the market with Claudine and one of the night watch men. He took the kids for their hair cut and I went with Claudine to have some pj bottoms repaired. Chantal had told her I wanted to go to the market so I was happy to have another opportunity to do so. People everywhere. Stalls of every imaginable thing. Fresh fruit, veggies, nails, shoe repairs, tennis shoes, fish, you name it. Of course the “moozongoo” was quite the stir. It’s important in this kinda of situation not to simply start snapping photos or it can get ugly. I simply show the camera and say “eggo? (yes) or oiya (no)? Oiya is the 1st reply. Then I say hi, how are you in Kinyarwanda, shake hands, ask their name. Then the crowd grows and I ask again. I have about an 80% hit rate of then gaining permission to take their photo. I always like to show it to them ….the entire crowd wants a look then they all laugh and others jump in for theirs to be taken. As you can imagine it takes some time. The little kids always want theirs taken so I am happy to do so. Then the mamas want to have their babies photos taken. They are usually on their back on lying on a start of vegetables that they are selling. I wish I could afford to bring a Polaroid camera with me and hand them a copy. I then push through the crowd to the next section of nay-sayers. The conversion begins again. Someone behind me is usually yelling ahead “moozoongoo..franc.” This means make sure you get the white person to give you a franc in order to take the photo. A few English speaking people emerged from the crowd. One trying to act all official. He asks about the “purpose” of my photos. I tell him I am a friend of Rwanda and simply want to have some photos. He backs off when I show him that I ask permission. If they say no, I don’t take it. The scene repeats itself for an hour. The people are so precious. The creativity is impressive. Outside of tailor was the ironing board. The iron was shaped like a traditional iron but the top part of open and inside was some hot charcoal. You must be very careful to get the temp right or disaster strikes. Chantal and Mbanda will be back on Monday. We shots little tour video of Chantal in all 3 homes. I look forward to my editing in the states. We stopped by the 1st home on our way from the market in order to play a bit. I spend the bulk of my time at the 2nd and 3rd home and miss hanging out with Dorine, Fabiola, Kagabo etc. I see them every day , but I live in the 3rd home so it’s just not the quality time that I would like. But you can only do so much in a day. We asked permission to come back to the 1st home the boys took their baths. Mama Immaculee quickly washed up Lionel, Sande and Isaac while I ate dinner and we were off. The security guard walked with us. I had small flashlight that I game Sande and then I put on my head lamp. That laughed but quickly saw how functional it was. ( I let the boys were it on the way back home) We played at the 1st home for about 2 hours. Isaac and Sande are learning to take photos with my camera. They love to do it and are getting pretty good. Isaac took some shot with Miss Donna and Miss Dorene tonight. Love love Love is in the air.

Friday January 9th A productive day. Smiles and giggles in the morning. Time with the kids at school. Time with Chantal helping organize. Then we went on an adventure to the site where we would like to build the 4th and 5th homes. Frankly we could build 4-5 homes on the property if the money comes. The drive is about 20 minutes from the first 3 homes. Up a bumpy dirt road. I asked to get out of the suv and walk around on the primary street and slight offshoots. Chantal always laughs and says “be careful Miss Donna”. I am never out of her site. But a moozoongoo (white person) in this part of the neighborhood is a rarity so like a pied piper the kids appear. From the bush, from behind trees, from the ditches from the rough home structures. The stare. They assess me ( I can only imagine what they say.) Then I stick my hand out to say “moolahoo, ah moo koo roo”. Which is….hello how are you? They laugh at the moozoongoo speaking Kinyarwanda. But they appreciate the effort. I reach out to shake their hands and do so with 1 hand bent across the other elbow. A sign reserved for people of respect. They are taken back that I would show them this respect and they laugh a bit more. I ask their names (Wee twan dee?) Then I try to repeat it. The emphasis on TRY to repeat. I generally destroy it. But again, this moozoongoo is the entertainment for the week so I go with it. My camera comes out and they either run away or jump in front of it to have their picture taken. I show each and everyone their photo in my digital display and that makes the entire crowd laugh. There were about 30 kids around me today for this round of fun. Everywhere I walked they followed. Of course when it came time to film Chantal for our fund raising video they simply did not want to keep quiet or out of the film. Oh well, I guess I started the nonsense and it was hard to stop. Chantal eventually got them to settle down a bit in order to record her. We then checked out a small house on the property. An ox surprisingly stuck it’s head out and the kids laughed at my surprise. They entertained me with their version of a gameboy or video game. An old tire and a stick. You run with the stick through the center of the tire trying to keep it upright. Great fun. As we left they sang a nice song for me and danced in the street. Could life be any sweeter than this? When you see these kids on video on TV you see sad faces. Dirty homes and nothing that they really own. But when I see them I see happy kids, families together and a real community. Sure, I would love to give them so much, but sometimes I think they are the ones who have it right and we’re the ones with it backwards. We returned just as school was getting out and the chaos followed. Kids running, playing, “missy donna, missy donna,” kids falling and crying, others picking them up. Energy to light an nation. The young workers wanted to spend some more time with English lessons. I have about a dozen pages with English Kinyarwanda translations. It was of great help. Alas there is no dictionary translation so we build it as we are able. 2 hours later it was time to walk to the 2nd/3rd homes. We danced and say our way home. They people on the street thought we were quite silly and stopped to watch our parade of kids and the moozoongoo walk down the dirt road laughing the entire way. We were singing praise songs and having great fun. At home the older kids played with the nerf football that Max and Henry picked up. The yonger kids just basically want to climb on me. We started a tickle fest which last about an hour. In the end they were all lined up on the their backs and I would swoop in an tickle the growing row of bellies lines up for a tickle. The mommies and aunties sat around the corner doing laundry and laughing at missy donna. Next week came inside and did our usual evening process. I download photos of the day and the older kids help me sort them into the various names. I am getting better at who is who, but still have a few that confuse me. Speaking of confusion. When Chantal sent me the list of kids she had the name Dsami written twice. Both 9 month old boys. Erika and I looked at it an wondered could their really be 2 boys with the same name and the same age? We laughed saying maybe they are twins, but in the end assumed it was a typo as the names were back to back on the list. Yesterday I realized that indeed there are 2 Dsami’s. And yes they are twins. The sad part is one of the boys is fighting some serious challenges. When he arrived in the home one side of his head was very swollen and both eyes were crossed. Chantal says this is from malnutrition. It could simply break your heart. The joyful part is his head now looks quite normal size to me and only 1 eye is crossed. Hopefully with God’s healing grace, the love at New Hope Homes and the quality food will continue to provide progress. Speaking of amazing. Last night I went to Chantal and Mbanda’s home to spend some time together before Mbanda headed to Sudan this morning. As we we chatting about the video that we were trying to shoot Mbanda said, “well what about the 20 homes we built for Child as Head of Household last year?” What homes? was my reply. These 2 never cease to amaze me. A friend of theirs from the states donated $80,000 to build 20 homes for Child as Head of Household. All of the homes are next to each other in about 4 or 5 rows. They are simple 3 room homes but can you imagine being 16 years old and now being able to care for your younger brothers or sisters in this way? $4000 to build a home and change a life. The cost of concrete has gone up dramatically so this year it would be about $5000 or slightly more. The local church is overseeing the kids and helping select the proper kids to receive such a life changing gift. The homes will be transfer ultimately to the baby in the family so it will stay in the family as long a possible. We hope to see the homes on Monday on our way to drop of the 4 kids who are going to boarding school. That assumes we get gas. As the moment there is a very limited supply of gas in the country. I am not sure why but if you drive by the stations there is either no one there or a long 2-3 hour wait. Chantal knows one of the gas station owners who told her to come by at 11 pm tonight and they will fill her up. So goes life in Rwanda. Tonight after we assigned the right photos to the right names we played the esl games that I brought. Spelling, matching colors etc. The kids get so excited when I bring them out from my room. The yell and shout with joy. They they organize into 3 groups to play. Of course the little kids just wonder around an pick of pieces making everyone crazy. The big kids are very very gentle with them and coax them into proper behavior. Later the kids continue working to teach me a Kinyarwanda song that I have been trying to learn for 3 years. Slow learner but getting there. The perpetual motion in the house and everyone one wanting to be on my arm, leg or lap is joy filled and exhausting. The good kind of exhausting.

Rebecca's Mom in her home.

Joy, Praise and Tears.

Thursday January 9, 2009 A range of emotions. It was a day of joy, giggles and tears. Joy is waking to a household of giggles, laughter and hugs. The morning starts early. The Mama’s and Aunties getting the kids cleaned up, dressed, fed and ready to play or ready for school. The giggles echo through the house and could charm even the grumpiest of people. Deborah our sweet girl with CP comes running. Arms out. Giggling and grabbing my leg with the universal “up” sign for a big hug. Then more giggles and laughter from her. Then Ariene and Dorcus which could practically be twins except Dorcus is the one who simply lives to laugh. She’s about 2 and can find joy in simply anything. A shoe, a sticker, a twig…just anything makes her happy. Oh if we could all live such a simple life. She simply cracks me up nonstop. I have no idea what she’s saying but she does try to mimic what I say. Her favorite is “whoops”. The Mama’s and Aunties sit on simple wooden stools and start the wash. 3 buckets, some water, some bar soap formulated for just such a “hand machine” and lots of elbow crease. It’s tough tough work. The greet me with joy and “allo (hello) Missie Donna” The sky continues to be gray and moments from rain at most times, but when the sun shines it really shines. The people are so happy to have the rain that they rejoice in every ounce of mud. Rain is especially good for those that have ways to collect it as it means less walking to a stream to collect some for the day. Kids as young as 3 can walk 1-3 miles for semi clean water with their brothers and sisters for the day’s needs. And we simply turn on a faucet in the states. I walked to the 1st home and checked on the new kids. As expected they had already begun to come out of their shells a bit. The youngest was fully groovin’ on her new world. She came running, full of hugs and joy. The middle one was in the zone and the oldest gave me a smile and a hug. Progress. Another 24 hours and she’ll begin to understand that this really is her home and she’s on her way to reaching her fullest potential. The notion of fullest potential is important to Chantal. She doesn’t just want these kids to get off the street. She wants them to not only survive….but to THRIVE. She is committed to having them reach their fullest potential. As we now have 30 kids she is also trying to build some systems into the care giving. One of these involves food. All 3 homes have worked independently on that front. She is now creating monthly menus, bringing someone into train the cooks and then allocates the needed food each day via Sieba their social worker whom the government now requires us to have. They process ensures a more well balanced food intake for the kids and helps keep control of budgets. Money is needed everywhere. The country operates on a cash basis for 95% of purchases and things are needed all the time. Charcoal for the stoves, someone is sick and needs to go to the doctor, a light breaks etc etc. The outflow is nonstop. Yesterday we were blessed with 2 super old computers that were donated. I was able to get one working to the joy of Chantal. We’ve given it to the teacher to keep track of lessons etc. She has never worked on one, so that is one of my projects for tomorrow. The afternoon was filled with praise. All the Mommies and Aunties gathered with the children for about an hour or more of praise to God. They sang lots of songs that filled the classroom and the Mom from the 3rd home did some preaching. They gather every Thursday to do this and each home trades off on leading the lesson for that week. It’s beautiful. Miss Donna had the opportunity to sing the Our Father for them as it’s a prayer they know in Kinyarwanda and they appreciated the difference in the music. I ran an errand with Chantal. At the stop I was able to check out their new supermarket. It was amazing. Darn near as nice as anything you’d find in the US. Shelves, dollar store like merchandize and stoves, and us branded items too. I was blown away. Kigali is on it’s way to its 2020 vision of being “Chicago”. On it’s way …but it will take a bit more time. It’s even possible to use a credit card in the store. Unbelievable. I was also able to get some chicken breasts and meat for me. Yes, I am indeed living large in Rwanda. Then came the heart break. We wanted to visit Rebecca. Rebecca is a half sister to Paul and Rosemary who were adopted by a loving family in the US. While we are NOT an orphanage, under special circumstances we have adopted some of our kids. Rebecca is about 2 and had been living in New Hope Homes for about 9 months. Her mother has aids and initially brought Paul and Rosemary to us when she was no longer strong enough to care for them. Unfortunately this young woman has been full of some lies and has taken us on a tough journey. We always have the kids tested to determine if they are HIV + or have aids. Chantal has always believed that we will take what God sends us and thus far we have not had to deal with the aids issue. Until now. Rebecca had always seemed “warm”. Recently she broke out in a rash all over her body. The doctor wanted to have her re-tested for aids. And yes, indeed his worst fears were realized. Then the challenge became ….what to do. The Mommies and Aunties are not simply trained to deal with these disease yet. Remember, it is the number 1 killer in the country and education is still in the works. Chantal began to see Rebecca being ostrastacized and tried to give them proper training to care for her. But it wasn’t working. So at the end of last year (08) Chantal decided that the best thing for Rebecca was to return her to her Mom who has been doing well via her meds and was able to care for her. Because she has aids she is fearless in touching and loving her and Chantal felt that at 2 years old that counts for A LOT. So the plan is to have her Mom keep her, Chantal will provide the necessary funds to ensure she gets the food and supplies she need and watch on her progress via the nearby clinic and doctors. So yesterday was the day to check up on her after being back with her Mom for about 2 weeks. She living is a moderate slum area. Dirt floor, brick walled home. 1 bed for 4 people, a small pan on the floor for cooking. We also wanted to bring the care package that The Leahy’s (friends from Lowe) created for Rebecca. Imagine living in those conditions and getting new shoes, socks, undies and a new outfit. It was very exciting, yet heart breaking. Rebecca is getting new test results on Monday so we’ll be checking in next week on her status. As we returned to our car. Chantal just stared out the window and cried. Enough said.

Rebecca, her Mom and friends + Chantal giving Rebecca her love from The Leahy family

Miss Donna's view of Heaven on earth

Reading at School

Sunday

Sarah

Prince

Nshimiya

Mwami

Mbabazki

Marie Rose

Lionel - Mr Linden Hills!

Lionel

Kayitesi

Kagabo

Isaac

Innocent

Grace

Florence

Fabiola

Ester

Dorene

Desami

Deborah - our sweetheart with cerebal palsey