KEZA LOVE

The children of KEZA and our art program. They are so beautiful and creative and would not have been able to do it without the supplies donations of my alma mater Mission Parish School in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Amahoro Out

This is my final post until I touch back on the homeland. Natalie, Alexis and I are sitting in my room under my mosquito net packing up my life in Rwanda. I will be home tomorrow night and can't wait to eat an in n out burger. I gotta go finish packing so I have to go. Kigali-Brussels-New Jersey- Los Angeles! deep breathe...here I go.

Together We Are Free

On August 1st, the Remba family and I boarded the 5:30 am bus in Kigali to begin our trip up north...very north, 18 hours north to Gulu, Uganda. For the past three years I have been a representative of Invisible Children at TCU and I never once imagined that I would be able to travel to the site where the filmmakers once witnessed atrocities and needed to tell the world. The bus to Kampala was shocking to say the least. Imagine traveling through a deep valley in darkness as mist settles on top of the crops and the sun barely begins to peak over one of the thousand hills of Rwanda. Sounds unbelievable right? Then all of a sudden the bus is traveling at no joke 100 mph not stopping for anything in the way. It seems like our bus must have been high jacked as we fly over 3 foot speed bumps spaced 10 feet apart and pot holes that you are almost certain should swallow the axles. The impact of every bump is multiplied 10 fold in the back of the bus were we dont know what music to play on our ipods. The scenery calls for mellow Ray LaMontagne while the brain rattling, air catching, skin bruising results of sitting in the back call for Rage Against the Machine. I dont think I have ever listened to them but they picked a quite dramatic name and dramatic it was. I am assuming it would have been the perfect soundtrack to my long distance African bus experience. Forget about Enya... these people are hardcore. 2 hours from Kigali we reached the border of Uganda. We had to unload the bus and walk across. I was so excited but once again shot down by everyone who has no concept of personal space let alone line rules...especially when they apply to Mzungus. We somehow ended up to be the last ones through customs and the whole bus was giving us dirty looks when we finally borded again in Uganda. Funny that the people who dont know the rules of "No cuts no buts no coconuts" were now extremely angry that we were holding them up. bahhhhh we just shake it off.So from there we drove through lands of Uganda that looked like something from the Lion King for 10 hours and finally arrived in Kampala. We stayed one

 night in Kam

pala and then made our way the next morning to

 Gulu. This next stretch could take on

ly 4 hours if ofcourse you leave on schedule and not 2 hours later, dont have a flat tire or the usual front window

 change in a random small village for 2 hours- so lets just round the whole journey to Gulu from Kigali at a smashing 18 hours. So after that... I took a deep breath and was all smiles as we rolled into Gulu. 

 As of four months ago I did

 n

ot know I would be in Africa let alone Gulu, where my heart has been pulled. I have fought to help end the abducting of innocent childre

n forced to kill and sleep in the streets desperately trying to avoid losing their childhoods.....and now It was beco

ming a reality. A place were childhoods and lives were torn apart by rebel armies seemed to now just be a place of bustling bota botas (motos) in small roundabouts, many many bicycles, and people that can't stop smiling. Everyone you meet tells you "you are welcome" in this high pitch voice and a giggle becau

se thats what they  think all weste

rners sound like. The nights we w

ere in Gulu we were fortunate to experience downpours of rain, which were a blessing to the drought that had been 

devasting to the region for some time. On the first day we we

re there my roommates Natalie, Lexie and I grabbed botas over to

 IC headquarters where they welcome

d us with open arms for

 the work we had done, especially Natalie. We were briefed on all the new projects going on and I was bey

ond impressed. The aspect I like most about IC Uganda is that fact that all the staff minus 3 or 4 are Ugandans themselves. Everyone there is so great and working for the people, which is often lost in most organizations ov

er here which has depress

ed

 me a lot.

 Later that day Lexie and I took a bota through red dirt roads, high green grass, and small huts to an Orphanage called St. Judes. We spent the day as mothers in the toddler wing, feeding them and just giving them that motherly touch t

hat they miss out on so much. That nig

ht we went over to the IC ho

use and had a special screening of the Fall 1009 IC documentary who my ro

omate happens to be the star of. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever gotten to know and I can't wait for all of you to meet her through the screen. 

The next day Rachel had set up a special trip

 for me to drive abo

ut an hour outside of Gulu to Pabbo Secon

dary School. YES I VISITED PABBO!! Pabbo Secondary School pulls students from one of the largest Internally Displaced

 Persons (IDP) camps in 

Northern Uganda. TCU and my friends there have given  so much of themselves to this school for years without ever seeing. That is devotion. I was able to travel there and be one of the few of any of the Schools for Schools who have. The h

eadmaster was so elated. He showed me all of the projects that our money has gone to support. The money we sent over from last fall has purchased a new generator, and is now working on the science lab. In the past our money has already constructed 

2 new buildings, water storage, latrines, desks, and books. I saw our work first hand and to represent TCU was humbling. To see our name on a plaque in a school full of children who have suffered in the middle of no where in Uganda was so moving. As I left the headmaster had one request-to help set up a scholarship

program in the US for one of our partner students to attend University. It would be beyond believable if TCU took a hold of this opportunity and changed a students life who has only kn

own our name by a plaque. I will return and spread the word. Every child is special. 

On the final night we were there we walked into Kope Cafe and happened to see Jolly Okot eating alone in the corner. Jolly s

aw Natalie and let out a little scream of joy and ran up and hugged her. We talked for a long time and heard the story of Jason, Laren, and Bobby from her own mouth. It was so great to get able to hear it from a different persepective. She made us laugh and showed us where the guys stayed the first night in Gulu. So crazy to think that Laren was only Natalies age. Gives hope that the youth will change the world lik

e he is doing. Jolly offered us to stay in her house in Kampala on our way home. We were all headed out the next day and were quick to take up th

e offer. She is such an amazing woman and we could talk for hours not to mention her husband Emmy is just as amazing! I am going to miss them. Nelly and I are the only ones who stayed one more night at Emmys and Jollys house cause there w

asnt room on the 1 am bus the night before. To top off such 

a surreal trip to Uganda nelly and I went to catch the bus and ending up having to chase do

wn a Jaguar!! We were 15 min late to the bus leavign because of traffic and there was no way we could miss our bus back to kigali. The bota botas started grabbing our bags yelling at us to get on that we would catch the Jaguar Bus. ha ya wasnt a real Jaguar but might have well been! We sped down the Kampala roads at probably 80 miles per hour, no helmets, hopping curbs, ridding on side walks, holding on for dear life, catching air on speed bumps, ducking under sidewalk signs, swerving in between cars hoping our bags dont catch a side mirror and let us down. Still no bus in sight. I call Nelly and look back to say "Are we seriously doing this right now?" She says like a CHAMP "We are seriously doing this." I reply "Were doing this." Hang up the phone and turn back to see a glint of the bus in the distance. I tell the bota that im not paying him if we dont catch the bus. He lays on the throttle....ya might not have been a good idea to tell him that. We are gaining on the bus when the botas honk...the bus driver sees us and opens the door but is NOT stopping. I tell the bota to go ahead of the bus so we can get off and catch the moving bus all at the same time. I jump off... throw a 20,000 shilling note at my bota to split with Natalies, throw my bags to the man on the bus (all while running keep in mind!) look back to Nelly who is fighting with her bota and many bags. I am now inside the bus as nelly runs alongside throwing me her heavy bags. She finally reaches out her hand and i pull her on. phew we made it. Like a movie....we made it. ARE YOU KIDDING ME that that just happened! unreal. we grab a seat and take some deep breaths. Rwanda here we come. 

REMBA

Here is the latest KEZA:REMBA INITIATIVE Video. My beautiful roommate and friend Rachel Burney is making her dream and vision of spreading love through beauty. She is a Paul Mitchell hairstylist combing her humanitarian heart and trade to share her skills to those who are persecuted and struggling to support their families. Produced by Ricky Norris and Natalie Warne. 

Beauty will save the world.

Remba Beauty Initiative from Ricky Norris on Vimeo.

Amahoro (Peace)

Last Monday I began my art program with the kids! It has been so much fun an I am so thankful to my elementary school for making this happen. The kids are on break for 3 weeks and come everyday for two hours as we do art projects. They are teaching me colors in Kinyarwanda and the mothers have been teaching me words to use so that I can keep control of them. They are so amazing and I love walking in everyday to the center as they smile and run up yelling "Teacher!" so that we can begin and get crazy with paints. 

This past week I also realized that my time in Africa is almost up. I have 3 more weeks left and LOTS to get accomplished. On August 1st I will be going to Uganda

 for a week, so before I leave I must make sure that the market for the women is secured here in Kigali. I will be signing contracts with retailers and setting up my jewelry displays at each location this week. On August 9 KEZA is having our first Fashion Show presenting our Spring and Summer 2009 lines, Malikia, Umoja, and Shuja-ah. Time is about to fly by and before I know it I will be on a plane wrapping up my 2009 epic travels. Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Spain, Rwanda... It all flew by in the blink of an eye. In no time I will be driving across the country to Texas alongside my Dad as we take a father daughter roadtrip to College for the last time. I am so excited and although the last 8 months have been the best time of my life I can't wait to see all of my best friends again and celebrate our last year of college. 

On that note life after school has already been plaguing my mind. I have been applying for jobs left and right, researching different countries I want to live in and ultimately going on a spiritual journey to find the path I want to take for the rest of my life. I have been struggling with this a lot and praying for direction.

I can't explain it but in these past three days I found it. I found what I want to do with my life. 3 months in Rwanda I still had no idea until the past 72 hours. I traveled close to the border of Tanzania and had MY LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE. I am not going to explain it now because I feel that I will only be able to devote myself to explaining all to you on my way home. I'll tell you this much, I have never in my life thought I would be part of something like this and that I would know so quickly what I was being called to. I now have peace of mind...

Amahoro. Urukumdo. Africa. <3

Erina 

Kazi KEZA !

Our promo material has almost completely come together due to our talented Ricky Norris. Here is the video that he created for a presentation at the US Embassy alongside some jewelry display trees that I put together and had to transport on the back of a moto! (also, small fact: you wouldnt know it but I was holding the mic for the interviews...talented eh? ha ha according to Ricky thats big bucks in the industry... but we wouldnt trade this for the world ) 

Please take the time to watch the video as in encompasses the beauty of the women I have devoted my heart to here! 

KEZA: People Inspired Fashion from Ricky Norris on Vimeo.

Independence Day for All

July 4, 2009.... The day America declared their Independence, and the day the Hutu Militias were overthrown in Kigali in 1994.

2 weeks have gone by faster than ever and so much has happen. The third of July was one year since one of my best friends mom’s had died. I still can’t believe that she is gone, let alone that it has been a year since she passed away. When I travel I feel closer to those that I have lost than those that are still at home. I am never alone no matter what country I am in because I know that they are all here with me along the way. A year ago, three people that I love were once in my life. Mrs. Smo was asking me all about study abroad breaking the news to her that I actually wasn’t going to Spain but Ireland instead (I wish I could have told her in person that it was the best decision of my life), I was s

howing Mr. Rafferty all of my pictures from the Dominican Republic, and Kaydee Campbell was bringing smiles to everyone’s faces sh

e met. They are the reason I have strength to travel to all of these places, discoverying so much about myself and trying to change other lives on the way. As I woke up on the 4rth of July, I kept m

y eyes closed and imagined being at the Smos beachhouse at the pier in San Clemente, drinking margaritas, having some of Mr. Smos bbq meat and watching the fireworks with mostly adults. It was one of my favorite things is life and I wished so badly to be there! I wa

s dreading getting up on the 4^th…. on a day when I wanted so badly to be in my own country. It ended up being one of the best 4th of Julys of my life….

 

We began the day stopping by the A

merican Embassy up the street where they were having a bbq on the lawn. Being there you would have never known you were on the top of a hill surrounded by the country of Rwanda. There must have been 100 Americans lounging on the lawn of the embassy listening to classic tunes, and deep down feeling homesick even though everyday they put on tou

gh faces to say that they are LIVING in Rwanda. The Ambassador 

gave a speech from the words of Obama acknowledging the fact that although we are living here we are all united on this day to recognize the strength and hon

or of our country. I have never been more proud to call myself American- aside from the humor of listening to a man with a politician voice, neat suit, and slick combover that could be mistaken for a topei. (typical.)

 

We left the embassy to make it for our fellow expats who were conducting a game of Moto Polo. Moto Polo goes down by renting out motorcycle taxis to be t

he drivers for the day on a dirt soccer field, while Mzungu

s hop on the back with ho

memade mallets to play what we call moto polo. I really wanted to pla

y but only guys were playing at the moment and thought it was a good idea to not put my life 

on the line t

hat day. After the game we went 

over to a bbq of our friends where they had made a bonfire and set up a screen to watch The Sandlot. We made popcorn and as the sun set over the Rwandan hills we started the best version of t

he movie I had ever seen. A version in which I had to translate the American childhood that was being displayed on the screen to the few Rwandan friends that joined us. They asked me questions like “Is this what your childhood is really like?” “What is a s’more?” “Who is the great Bambino?” Questions that I never thought I would be answering…. That day was the best 4^th of July as we ended it to the only fireworks I could see on a TV, a pillar of a bonfire burning off behind us, and hearing 

Rwandese keep quoting “Your killing me Smalls!” in the distance… amazing day.

 

The next day… our Remba house family boarded a bus in the morning towards the volcanoes because I wanted to bring them back to the village that I fell in love with. I bought the boys there a soccer ball that I was going to surprise them with. The guys took unbelievable footage of the countryside. I introduced them to Jorge who had become my friend back when I had gone to see the gorillas. Jorge took us all around the village again a

nd o

n a hike through Eucalyptus trees. At one point I was so focused on my feet not to trip on the mossy covered rocks when my friend Rachel grabbed me and told me to

 look up…There were hundreds of white butterflies. As the light came th

rough the trees I once again was reminded that Kaydee was always with me with her little white butterfly tattoo on her wrist. I love you Kaydee and even in Rwanda I can hear you yelling grryyiiffinndor.

 

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