After 5 months in Rwanda I feel like I am settled and gaining stride; feeling more confident to take on projects and make connections with people. My work at Friends Peace House has fallen into a routine. I walk to work every morning through my neighborhood after a breakfast of tea, eggs and bread, winding my way up along the uneven dirt road. I usually sit in the main area of the office so that I can better interact with people who come in and out. Owen, another volunteer through the Mennonite Central Committee program also sits near me in the main area and we help each other with various projects. Often the English teacher, Aime, and Thacienne, the Accountant and Office Manager, will also sit and do work there while Antoine, the head of Friends Peace House, works in his office right off the main area. Other people come in and out including Emillienne who takes care of the grounds and also prepares the tea break for us each day. Visitors swirl in and out of the office, often asking for Antoine and sometimes sitting on one of the two big couches for a little while, chatting with us before heading into his office. I sometimes also wander the rest of the compound where Friends Peace House is located to ask a question of Emmanuel, the head of Mwana Nshuti, our Vocational Training School, who could be anywhere either having a meeting in his office or monitoring a class, or wander into Antoine’s office to ask a question, trying to catch him between meetings. I enjoy the pace of work in Rwanda and the way people stop what they are doing to grasp each other’s hands asking, “Amakuru? (What’s the news?)” and people respond, “Ni meza. (It’s good).” Whenever someone enters the office for the first time that day, they go around to everyone to shake their hands asking them how they are. It is something that I think Americans should learn from because often when people go into work in the US, they briefly acknowledge their colleagues before sitting down to work. It is nice to have that human connection and friendship every day and to just take a break to say hello to everyone.
One of my favorite times in the office is the tea break. Almost every work day, everyone gathers in the main office area around 10am and we sit anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour just talking and catching up. Kinyarwanda, French and English swirl together and I try and keep up with my very limited Kinyarwanda and intermediate French. This is again a pause in the day to sit and enjoy your coworkers and take time to check in about people’s families and weekends.
My work continues to be very fulfilling. I am helping to teach English to the kids at the vocational training school. We recently graduated one group of students and at the beginning of January a new group started. These students inspire me every day. All are from the lower socioeconomic levels and some have children and/or spouses; others have to walk an hour to get to school and some are also taking care of extended family members.
When I first arrived I had an idea in my head of what I might be doing with Friends Peace House recognizing at the same time that projects will come up that I could not imagine. Right now I am assisting in rewriting their 5 Year Strategy Plan which has turned into 3, 5, and 10 year strategy plans. I am learning a lot about myself; gaining patience and ingenuity to continue working while I wait for all the answers I need. Through this process I discovered the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) that is part of the Rwandan government and would provide Friends Peace House some money if our vocational training school met certain qualifications. I am working to find ways that our school would meet these requirements which includes WiFi throughout the school and a computer lab. I am continuing to look for grants both for my football for health program as well as an entrepreneurship program created by last year’s volunteer that has yet to be implemented because there is no funding for it. Especially with these projects, I am recognizing the long-game that many peacebuilders play. Even if I do not get funding for either of these projects, I have still moved them a little forward with various connections I have made; and trying and ruling out various grants. And I am working to set up the next volunteer so that they can continue moving Friends Peace House forward toward getting the WDA Authorization so that FPH can receive some more money.
Recently, I traveled to a rural prison and participated in a fascinating Alternatives to Violence Program training (created by an American Quaker and now an international peacebuilding tool). I am also exploring opportunities to provide free or low-cost sanitary pads to girls at our vocational training schools because often pads are not accessible to girls in Rwanda, especially in rural areas. The vocational sewing program may include training in fabricating reusablepads or the agricultural program may provide banana fibers to produce disposable pads. I am pursuing both of these options right now.
My French has improved beyond recognition, which I believe also has something to do with my confidence improving as well. Before Rwanda, I did not feel confident just starting a conversation with someone in French but now, I enjoy playing around with French, throwing in an English word when I don’t know the French word and asking for help with grammar. Because of this, I feel much more confident in my French speaking abilities and have translated for people on multiple occasions now.
Through this wonderful opportunity, I continue discovering more about myself, my Quakerism and what I want to do in the future. It has been very gratifying, recognizing that I do want to continue doing social justice work with marginalized communities through my Quaker faith. I am looking forward to the next few months in Rwanda to continue learning, growing and exploring.
At a Rwandan wedding wearing traditional dress
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