Visiting Rwanda for the third time was made all the more special by my 24 year old daughter, Catey, accompanying me.
We spent 2 weeks hugging babies, playing and laughing with the children at the House of Bright Hope, and visiting with our dear friends; Steven, Providance, Alice, Emma, the youth of Togetherness Cooperative and some of the women from the New Destiny Cooperative.
This trip was my first opportunity to visit Steven and Providance and their family of 18 in the newly purchased House of Bright Hope. What a delight! When Catey and I arrived, excited hands grabbed us and children’s voices babbled as they escorted us from room to room. “Look, we have a bedroom!” “Here is our bathroom! We have TWO of them!!” “This is our living room!” Their excitement was evident, and contagious. The prior apartment this family was jammed into was a narrow, dark series of small rooms. Their new living quarters – light, airy, spacious, and roomy – give them the first safe and secure home this family has ever had.
On another visit, we went outside to play. Oscar, Steven’s 8 year old son, led us to the lawn, saying proudly “We play here so we don’t get hurt anymore.” Their former ‘play area’ was a narrow patio of cement, or the dirt alley by their old home. The House of Bright Hope is situated on three lots, giving the kids both grassy and paved play areas. They even have a covered play area for when it’s rainy. Imagine 14-20 children aged 6 to 20 running, yelling, kicking the ‘futball’, playing keep-away, chasing Catey…. sheer joy. Steven joined us for one spirited ball game, causing a great deal of laughter from his kids!
A highlight of the visit, for me, was spending time with Providance and the older girls cooking a huge meal for the family and some friends – 28 people in all. While she and the girls did the majority of the work, I whipped up potato salad, coleslaw and a stir-fry from the ingredients they had on hand for me to cook ‘muzungu’ (white person) food with. You should have seen little Queenie’s (Providance and Steven’s five year old daughter) face screw up in disgust when I offered her a bite of the potato salad. “No, no, no”, she squealed, backing away. The other kids were braver and gave me a thumbs-up on the food.
Seeing the kids happy faces, and observing the joy and stability in this home was such a transformation.
We also visited the New Destiny tailoring shop, where there was a new sense of energy and excitement. The once-empty room was humming with activity. The walls are covered in hanging racks filled with fabrics, and a long counter fronts the room filled with embroidery threads, and sewing notions. Garments in various stages of completion pile at the sewing stations, and out front work in progress was being pressed and finished. A generous donor, a good business plan, and wise follow-through are resulting in a thriving Cooperative.
Lori Martin took us with her on four home visits where we saw first hand the results of the New Destiny Cooperative approved micro-loans. Each of the visits were filled with pride and a sense of accomplishment. I was reminded of how a helping hand can make such a difference.