Hi everyone!
I am sorry that it has taken this long to actually write to
you but my motto here tends to be “This is Africa!” And for those of you who
are unfamiliar with that motto, it means anything can happen at any point and
you just have to go with it. Time and material aspects do not run this culture
– the people do! I attempted to get on the internet at a local hotel earlier
this week a few times but was informed that the internet throughout the entire
country is down. I’m not sure how that is possible, but “This is Africa!” I’m
going to make this update as detailed as possible since I don’t know when I’ll
be able to send another one and I want all of you to know what is going on in
my life here in Rwanda.
(Me outside my African house in Rwamagana)
I landed in Kigali and met ALARM’s country representative,
Benjamin, at the airport Saturday night. I later met up with my roommate and
fellow teacher, Maja, and her daughter, Charissa. Maja has been teaching at IWE
(Institute of Women’s Excellence) for a month now and I am living with her near
the school. Charissa has been in Rwanda for almost 3 years because she was
involved in the Peace Corps and then was offered a teaching job at a school in
Kigali but she’s heading back to America for good next week. It was great to be
in Kigali with them because they know the lay of the land. Sunday I was able to
go to church with Benjamin at a local school that trains teachers. Then
Charissa showed me around Kigali. We walked around so I could take in city life
in Rwanda and then I was able to buy a phone. Phones seem to be almost more
important here than in America sometimes because that is the only way to
communicate with people and since “this is Africa” people are never where they
say they will be at the time they wanted to be there. Most people don’t have access
to the internet so phones really become the way to get in touch with people. I’m
very thankful to have a phone since apparently the internet goes down country
wide out here and communication with all of you is important!
(The path up the the school)
I arrived safely in Rwamagana and visited the school Monday.
Thaddy is the Chaplain at the school and Theopiste is the head mistress. They
declared themselves to be my African parents while I am here and have taken
such good care of me! They gave me the name Uwitonze (wit-tone-z) which means
gentle and kind and the teachers gave me the name Keza (key-za) which means
beautiful baby girl or young girl. So they call me Uwitonze keza Kelsey or one
of those three now! They gave me a tour of the school and later made sure I was
safe and comfortable at home by checking on my throughout the day Monday and
Tuesday! IWE has over 400 girls and about 10 teachers. There are six grades
here – senior 1 through senior 6 (that is like grades 7-12). However, there are
12 through 16 year olds in senior 1 so the age doesn’t matter of the girls.
Whenever you come into the school is what counts. IWE was founded to help
orphaned and poor girls who have suffered from the genocide and AIDS. However, the younger grades consist more of
girls who just want to come to IWE for an education and they do have families
that live in Rwanda, Uganda or Congo. The first three years the girls learn
everything and then they pick a track in senior 4. They can pick from 2
combinations to study: math, economics, and geography as one or math, physics
and chemistry as another. However, the class sizes are getting bigger and
bigger and there is no more room for the girls so they have the senior 5 class
in the chemistry lab but soon (like next semester) there will need to be about
5 more classrooms to accommodate all the of the students and they don’t know
where all of that space and money is going to come from.
(The classrooms)
The girls were so shy on the first two days and would just
giggle if I tried to talk to them. The teachers were fairly shy as well.
Wednesday was a huge turning point and most of the girls attempt to speak
English with me now. The teachers are very eager students and ask me a lot of
questions about English and how to say certain words. The President decided
that the country’s new language this year would be English. It was French in
the past but he wanted everyone to learn English so now all classes must be
held in English. However, the teachers
do not know enough English to teach the students so they become intimidated by
the language. Maja has been working with them and I speak to them a lot in
between classes and at lunch. They are coming out of their shells and starting
to smile and speak in English more frequently. They joke with me and tell me
stories about their families and life in Rwanda.
(Me with the Senior 1B girls - ages 12-16)
Two of the teachers, Silivia and Noah, have really been a
blessing to me. Silivia comes over on Tuesday mornings for English lessons and
this week we really hit it off. The reason she comes on Tuesdays is because all
teachers have 1 day off from classes because the school can only afford to have
them for 4 out of the 5 days. So Maja and I have off and so does Siliva. She is
22 and is the French teacher at IWE. She walks us home sometimes and we have
had some wonderful talks about life. Maja told me that she would not even speak
English before last week and she knows a lot but is just not confident in her
skills. She is improving everyday and she has even decided to teach me some
Kinyarwanda, their native language. Noah overheard her teaching me and decided
to start joking with me and asking me different questions in Kinyarwanda. We
laughed and he told me to try harder and study every night so that we can joke
in English and in Kinyarwanda. I’m trying but it is hard! I know some basic phrases
and want them to teach me as much as possible since I am teaching them. Noah
has had an extremely difficult life and must live away from his family because
it is not safe for them to live in Rwamagana with him. However, learning
English has finally given him hope again and a spark back in his life. He also
walks us home at night after school since it gets dark at 6 and it is unsafe to
be alone after that. He is very protective and insists that I stay with him on
the roads so nothing will happen! It really is so great to have these amazing
teachers at IWE who are so dedicated to their students and learning the
language!
IWE’s main English teacher is Amani. He is a wonderful
teacher but is still learning aspects of English as well. His big dream is to come
to America to study law so that he can come back to Rwanda and create a system
of laws that will benefit the country and bring their economy up. His life has
also been difficult but he is a very godly man. He lives just around the corner
from us so we see him quite often!
Life in Africa is quite different from what I’m used to be
again, “this is Africa!” I went to Zambia for almost 2 months when I was 14 and
lived the lifestyle there but this is very different. I am living in the bush
here (aka the middle of nowhere with dirt roads and lights and water on a good
day). The weather here is nice most off the time. It is awesome when there is a
cool breeze but it gets so hot in the classrooms when there is no breeze. But
overall, there is no humidity and it is in the high 70s to mid 80s every day. It
is the end of the rainy season and beginning of the dry season so we still get
some rain but not too much. The roads are mostly dirt in Rwamagana but are all
paved or cobble stone in Kigali. Overall, the country is extremely clean and
beautiful! Maja and I live in a three bedroom house that is surrounded by a
gate, which everyone has in Africa. There is electricity and running water but
both can go out at any time. We have to sleep with mosquito nets over our beds
and tucked under the mattresses so that we don’t get eaten alive at night. We
have been blessed with an amazing housekeeper, Regina. Hiring housekeepers is
also normal in Africa. She comes at 7am to make us breakfast before we leave
for school. During the day, she gets anything we need from the market or other
stores, buys more electricity when we run out (you pay before you receive the
electricity here), cleans the house, and prepares our dinner for when we return
between 6 and 7 at night after school. Breakfast foods consist of peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches and fruit or sometimes eggs. We eat lunch at the school
and that is rice and beans or maize and beans every day. Maze is corn that they
dry and then ground up into this sticky mush to be honest but it is so good
with their sauces. It was my favorite in Zambia! Our dinners are random foods
as well but we usually have fruit salad, rice and beans or a type of pasta with
veggies. Their tea here is amazing and I probably drink about eight cups a day!
Regina makes a large pot of it for me and keeps it hot in a thermos for me at
night.
Maja and I leave for school around 7:30 every morning and
walk a half hour on dirt roads to school. When we are running late, we take
motor-taxis (motorcycles) to the school and pay about 40 or 50 cents for the 3
minute ride. The school is on top of a hill that overlooks a beautiful valley
and hills in the distance. The view is absolutely breathtaking and pictures
don’t do it justice. Maja and I teach English classes based on the needs of the
students since there isn’t a curriculum to go from really and it is hard
because they don’t have enough English vocabulary to keep up with anything
other than vocabulary lessons and basic aspects of conversations. We begin at 8
and teach through 12:30. We sometimes teach with the English teacher, Amani, or
we teach little break out groups for those students who are struggling with the
general English classes. At 12:30 we break for lunch. There is not enough room
for all the girls to eat in the dining hall so they have shifts. Lunch is over
around 2 and then classes continue until 4:30. We teach the teachers English
after school or teach a sewing class to some of the girls. I am usually
available after school to just chat with the girls and work on their English.
They ask me funny questions like, “Have you ever seen with your eyes Chris
Brown (the singer)?” And when I tell them I haven’t they do not understand
because we are both from America. So I try to explain but then they ask what
other singers I have seen with my eyes and if Justin Beiber and I are friends.
I just laugh at this point and then they continue to obsess over my hair! They
have never seen anything like it and are completely fascinated by it. Around 6
the girls go back into the classrooms to study their notes and review the
lessons from the day so we finally take the half hour walk home if we haven’t
already started to make our way home. We have long days but they are great
ones. God is using me in some really amazing ways here! I am so blessed to be
surrounded by so many amazing people.
(The girls in Senior 1B answering Teacher Amani's questions)
I know this was a long letter but I wanted to thoroughly
inform you about my trip so far – thanks for sticking with me! And thank you
all so much for your thoughts and prayers! Please, pray for IWE as they are
struggling to accommodate all the students this year and teach them a new
language. Also, pray for the teachers who are trying to learn English
themselves so they can pour as much into the students as possible. Pray for the
school as a whole as they are trying to manage all of these girls and there are
more and more that come to school each term and there is no more space for
anyone to sleep, eat or study. Those are my main prayer requests but if you
could pray for me as I continue to teach and love these people that would be
great!
I hope you all are doing well. I could not be here without all
of you so thanks again for all of the support, love and prayers!
