One of the ladies who went to Ghana with me last year is a teacher volunteering in Rwanda. We met for coffee and she another teacher friend were astonished that this primary school would end up with computers, internet access and power. They said that this school would end up being THE place to be. The school has already decided to open the classroom in the evenings to use as an internet cafe so that they can raise a bit of money to make the whole project more sustainable.
Jone Panavas, one of the founders of Softchoice has donated the money to allow us to rebuild a basketball court and a volleyball court. This will end up being the centre of the village for the kids. Each day 30 or so men show up to volunteer and I can tell you even though we don’t share a common language we have quite a bit of fun! I guess you can’t order gravel because trucks keep showing up with large stones and the men have to use hammers to break the rocks down to small enough pieces to lay down for the foundation of the court. It is very hard work. Today, one of the local guys hit a rock and a piece flew off and cut through his ankle. It looked quite serious so we did a bit of field first aid and then we put him on the back of my bike and I drove him off to the local health centre. The conditions there were so dingy but three ragged stitches later The Tiger (that’s what he calls himself!) was bandaged up, drugs in hand and instructions on returning the next day. It cost me 300 Rwanda Francs…about 60 cents – quite a bargain.
The people here have so little but they have such grace and such warmth. They are always ready with a smile. As we ride our bikes through town kids come running to the road to wave or give us a high five as we drive by. It is humbling – we are just average people sent here as representatives of our company. We all love it though – we smile, we say hello we yell out Meriwe (good afternoon), Muraho (how are you?) or any other phrase we have learned – they love it and yell back!
Have a great Day!
About Nick Foster
After 18 years with Softchoice, Nick foster now works with organizations to help them become best workplaces. He is also a volunteer with Developing World Connections, and the team leader for the International Project in India.
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