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.

 

<3>

 

 

 

Haruguru (Above)

HARUGURU (above) from Ricky Norris on Vimeo.

This is a video of the Kigali sky from our house. Breathtaking beauty.... We sat on our porch and watched the lightening as it lit up the night sky. Only 2nd time i have seen rain since I have been in Africa. We are now entering the dry season....

Gorillas in the Mist

On Sunday I boarded a full bus in Kigali to head up the winding mountains for about 2 hours to Rungheri. From there we spent the day walking around the market and local villages playing with the kids. Finally the sun was beginning to go down and we wanted to get to the base of the volcanos before sunset. We grabbed some motos and took the most breathtaking moto ride I have ever taken. It was like something out of a movie. We got to our Kinigi Guesthouse...which was like a bungalo/dorm style and decided to take a walk at sunset. When we were coming out of the guest house we saw four boys standing on the edge of the road...three of them with sacks of food on top of their heads, and one with a smile that stretched ear to ear. We said hello and asked them where we could walk...they said that they would show us. They ended up taking us on a walk straight for the base of the volcano. On the way we passed some RDF (Rwanda Defense Force) military camps, most likely because we were so close to the border of DR Congo. The walked us all the way through their village. The main boy who showed us around name was Jorge. He told us about their soccer team there and introduced us to his best friends. They took us to their school and through their potato fields...even let us pet their cows. Everyone was so welcoming and loving that I knew this would not be my last time here. One 74 year old women walking on the road came up and gave me the biggest hugs. All of the children would stand there and say "Hello, hello, hello hello hello hello hello!" until we were out of sight. This village was truly how I imagined Africa to be. Full of people that were smiling we joy when they see you and welcoming with open arms. Kigali has given me quite a shock of an african experience, and difficult at times... but going to Sabyinyo village and meeting the futbol team lifted my spirits.

 The sun went down ove

r the cloudy volcano and we headed home to have some African tea and 

get some rest. It was to be a big day hiking to the gorillas the next day. In the morning we woke up at 5 am when the sun had not even rise

n yet. We ate a hearty breakfast and walked to the Gorilla headquarters. W

e got lucky and had become friends with an english girl who had a brother that had lived with the gorillas for 5 months filming them so she had connections when it came to group picking. There are about 5 groups th

at were go

ing up the gorillas that day with only 8 people per group. The biggest hike/family that I wanted to see ended up not bein

g a possiblity becu

ase the day bef

ore the group didnt get back til 9 at n

ight and it was too dangerous; the family of gorillas had moved too far up the mountain. We got asinged the Hir

wa family instead which was supposedly the next best. In this family there was one

 male silverback gorilla, 6 women, and 6 babies. We started our hike through the sa

me vill

age I was in the night befo

re until we got to the ed

ge of the national park. We began the hike through the bamboo forest with two RDF guards with guns for the wild buffaloe and elephants that can char

ge, a guide, and someone to carry bags. The hike was about 2 hours of seroius trekking...like nothing I have ever do

ne before. The jour

ney was wo

rth it for the hike alone. Most of the time we were walking on a ridge surro

unded by cascading jungle the ent

ire time and chopping our way through branches. At some points you have to almost rock climb on plain soil that broke away as you made the vertical climb. I thought I was 

going to not make it at one point cause the air was so thin you felt lik

e you were doing all that you could to breathe and nothing was getting through. After two hours...the guard whispered to stop and put down our bags. The gorillas were 

about 10 min away and

 could s

mell us coming. We would leave the bags behind. He told us that when we got close enough he would make a noise to communicate with the king silverback to ask permission to join

 the family. He did...and it sounded kinda like a grunt. In the distance we could here the king respond and allow us to come. we slowly approached clim

bing straight on top of layers of vines like monkey bars in this ste

ep valley. There were tons of st

inging nettles that caught your skin and hurt like bee stings. We saw our first mama gorilla with her baby appear 

only a couple feet away. they just went past us like we were apart of their clan...eating the stinging nettles on their way! Then we came around to papa gorilla who was hunched over. He must have been the size of an arm sofa! He grunted the angry grunt at us cause 

he just wanted to nap and we were being to loud and our guide grunted the "Its Okay" grunt back to calm him down again. At one point I crawled almost 2 feet away from him and he got angry and swang at me  a little bit. We spent the next hour just observing and taking in all of God's wonder. Gorillas have become probably my favorite animal...especially after this. They are so human like and give you chills when they look at you in the eye. On the way down I got my right foot tangled and fell forward...flipping myself upside down and hanging there by my foot. It was pretty hilarious. The hike down was much faster and I was sad to leave but overall it was the most amazing adventure of my life and I will never forget it!! 

Off into the Jungle!

I am about to catch a bus to the base of the volcanoes 2 hours away. Tomorrow morning I will wake up at the break of dawn to start my trek deep into the jungle for 6 hours to the largest family of silver back gorillas. Our guards will be tracking them will infrared and cutting our way through the jungle with machetes. I will spend about an hour amongst the family of 40 gorillas and their babies. Pray for my safety! This is an adventure of a lifetime.... I love you all. Next blog will be full of footage!

love,

erin

The Remba House

This is my new house in Kigali!...photo montage courtesy of my roommate Seth Johnson. See that grasshopper.

... i shortly hereafter removed it by grabbing its leg... a

nd the journal and bible on the table outside thats mine too! only pieces youll see of me in the house, i was most lik

ely napping in the room he didnt go in.

Here is our family!

Amanda Flores (top right) blog: www.amandainrwanda.blogspot.com

Natalie Warne (top left) blog: www.nataliewarne.blogspot.com

Me (middle left)

Rachel Burney (middle right) blog: http://www.rachelinrwanda.blogspot.com

Seth Johnson (bottom left) blog: http://sethmjohnson.blogspot.com/

Ricky Norris (bottom right) blog: www.africa.rickynorris.com

Uganda to Rwanda

Rwanda to Uganda from Ricky Norris on Vimeo.

My amazing videographer roomate Ricky and Seth on their way to Kigali!

Father's Day

I said goodbye to Amanda yesterday morning and I am really sad because she was my first friend and ended up being my closest here in Rwanda. I know its cliché to say that I really hate goodbyes but in the past 6 months of my life I have had way to many with people I really care about. Its going to be good to go back to the states for a while and then hopefully move to Ireland for a long time after that. I have been doing a lot of searching for jobs in Ireland for after I graduate in May, so say some prayers for me cause the job market is impossible there especially for an American. I ended up not going to the Gorilla naming ceremony yesterday because I’ll be making that trip out there next weekend. Supposedly this week Akon will be coming to perform in the Stadium by my house as well as professional soccer players including Renaldo. We had a good week this past week with…the boys started filming interviews with the women and getting some good footage. We don’t have much to do at night during the week so I have been designated storyteller every night. I have started on display designs for our retailers... one of them being a large branch that I found in a trash pile. My plan was to hang the necklaces on the branch after varnishing it but I came in and the women had used my branch as firewood. They thought it was so funny…now I have to find a new branch.

Today we all went to church in our community, only about 5 houses down. It is something that we always wanted to do because we can hear the choir practicing everyday from out house down the street. When we came in they made us to come the front of the church so that they could welcome us. They even put two translators in between us all so that we could understand. During the sermon, there was a woman who came up who was from the Congo and talked about her family there. They continued on to talk about how in 94 the genocides often took place in churches like this one and how we can never forget. After church I took a moto to the genocide memorial by myself. It told the history of the genocide and was actual the site of many killings. It was not to far from my house that I live in now so it brought me back to reality. In one of the main testimonial videos a woman spoke of her father that was killed and how he was a quite man with many many friends. It made me think of my dad today on Father’s Day and how much I miss him and am so lucky to have him in my life. I will try to get a hold of him later today. If you are reading this Dad,… I love you!

Paradiso

 June 12, 2009 (dates are off because I am behind)

I havn’t found much time to write within the past week, mostly because work has been busy and internet has been down the whole time. I have also been doing a lot of traveling which tends to be exhau

sting especially on winding roads with po

t holes every ten feet for 3 hours. Despite the pot holes on the way, Gyseni was well worth it. Gyseni is a Rwandan town on Lake Kivu that is shared with the Democratic Republic of Congo. We traveled there in my ro

omates car which we call “The Beast” because it can handle everything. We packed up the old white la

ndrover with my two close

st friends both named

 Amanda, 5 law students from Pepperdine, myself, and Gad who is becoming a 

close friend of mine and is one of the most 

genuine humble Rwandans I have met. He takes very good care of us and knows almost everyone in Rwanda, and I mean everyone. We all piled in on th

e bench seats in the back and traveled thr

ough lush green mountains, villages, volcanoes, and gorilla territory to Lake Kivu. The origina

l plan was to try and make it into Goma, DRC on Sunday, but unfortunate

ly that did not happen

. The goal for the weekend was to just get away and relax and enjoy the beautiful country that Rwanda is with a thousand rolling hills. When we got to the Lake it literally looked like Hawaii. Just as we were about to pull into the hotel there was a dust 

cloud up ahead and was moving mysteriously fast toward us. Someone shouted to roll up the windows but we couldn’t because we were in the beast. Next

 thing we kn

ow we come to a complete stop and let the cloud of re

d dust consume us. We took a deep breath ad the dust came in and filled the windows. Not only we

re we in the cloud…we were the cloud. Next thing we know we hear honking and a tractor becomes visible as it is about to scoop us up. We swerved out of the 

way and couldn’t stop laughing at how not one person 

could see it before this all happened. It was a nice relaxing weekend and the Amandas and I found a canoe which we thought we could conquer. This canoe was most defiantly made from one tree and we begged the fisherman to take it out. Within two seconds the canoe took on water and we  

were going under. We sunk the boat and as the captain

 I went down wi

th it. I couldn’t leave this poor man’s boat at the bottom of the lake so I flipped it over under water and somehow got it to shore. Then if that wasn’t enough I found a one man pod like size canoe and paddled my way out into the lake w

ith the end of a shovel that I found. I almost sunk myself and didn’t 

make much progress. With only one paddle and a pod I ended up just going in circles. The drive home on Sunday night felt even longer than the way there. It was like a movie though as we drove back to Kigali under a

 full orange moon above the volcano and clouds lightly covering it.

The rest of the week was eventful as the new interns arrived on bus from Uganda. They are the film crew and my friend Rachel who is head of the REMBA team which will be starting a beauty school intiative. I also ended up moving into their house with them because rent was much cheaper and in a better location right behind the US Embassy. Everyone in my new house is mostly from southern California and one is from Hawaii. I finally booked my gorilla trek this week and will be hiking 5 hours into the jungle to be with them on the 27^th. It is going to be so surreal and I have to start training cause apparently the hike is at a very high altitude. I am so excited.

I have spent most of my time this week going over some business checklists with the women. One day I walked up to the market with them after work and we all laughed and linked arms. We ended up having a photo shoot on the walk up to and all the women couldn’t stop laughing. Their spirits are much higher as we bought bundles of food out in the countryside on our way home from Gyseni and gave it to them. I love them so much and I already can’t imagine leaving them. Aside from the great week I had…I also had my first Malaria scare. I woke up on Friday and could tell that something was wrong. My body was aching and I had hot sweats and chills. I came into BURANGA and the women immediately noticed that I looked weak. My boss told me that I had to immediately go get malaria testing cause apparently even though I am on preventative medicine I can still get it. I grabbed a moto to the hospital and waited for a while to get the test. My Rwandan friend and Amanda showed up at the hospital and it meant so much even though they really didn’t need to. Turns out there was no need to worry and the test was negative. Still scary but I knew I didn’t have it. This weekend my friend also hooked me up with tickets to the annual Gorilla naming ceremony, which is a festival that they name all the new baby gorillas that were born that year. Last year Natalie Portman came and this year Akon is coming haha should be a good time. As of now my health is back to normal, the women are finishing up a big order, spirits are high, I will hopefully learn how to drive stick this week, and I can’t wait for the gorillas!

Obstacles and Miracles

Yesterday was a very intense day…both a stressful and good day at the same time… It started off at the internet café where I was to meet Ilea. She told me that we needed to discuss a couple of things and if I could show the new intern

around. What I thought would be a quick meeting turned into a day affair. We had to have a meeting with the women because of the stress that hunger and rent was bringing on them. When times get rough the mind set here is to quit…especially with the lack of confidence of being women in this society. Technically as KEZA we have established BURANGA as a business for the women that they can run themselves. We are not their bosses but are here to empower them and teach them how to create their own business. To them we are currently their only “buyer” of the goods they create…and at times its is difficult even for us to have enough to keep their mouths full and bring in an income large enough to pay their rent. Times are not always easy and as of right now with economy back home, the demand in the US is very slow and we currently do not have sufficient donors. It pains our hearts not to have enough in the past week to support them. To say the least there are HUGE miracles brewing…but have yet to be settled before we see results. We told the women in our meeting that we love them with all of our hearts and at times it is hard to trust us (which is the case for most Rwandans with expats) BUT we are working here for them for free even though it is hard to be believe and are working hard. At the same time Ilea introduced Alaina and me as being here to help them and teach them side by side how to spread their business throughout Kigali and teach them the skills necessary to do so. They got huge smiles across their faces and clapped saying I was their sister. It made me get choked up because here are these women who I have already bonded with, who have trusted me with their babies on my back, and are depending on me to help them feed their children. It is a huge responsibility but I am more then excited to change their lives and give them the foundation for their futures… in truth they are empowering me. The stress levels are very high here right now for all of us and I have decided to start fasting with the women. Like I said there has been such AMAZING things happening with potential opportunity for us in the past two weeks but have yet to show results. We told the women that they must stick together with us on this because the beautiful jewelry that they make will be worn by people all over soon enough and each will know their story. At the end of this intense meeting there was still tension, anger, hope and love. We all held hands and said a prayer…Ilea first and then one of the women stepped up. When she was praying you could feel everything coming from deep within her soul…and this time I really did cry. There are so many emotions right now among all of us and are trying to hold strong. I know some of you that may be following this Blog are

 feeling that your heart is being in pulled in one way or another, and I hate to do this but WE need your help in any way you can! First of all if you get a chance please check out www.keza.com (link on the right) and look at the wonderful jewelry. Not only would I rock this stuff everyday but just WAIT til you see the new lines! These products are unreal and I watch them being made by these wonderful women everyday. We have a warehouse in the states that is full of them but we just need someone who would be willing to sell them back at home. What I am proposing is that you throw a party… a KEZA Party haha. We will send you tons of necklaces on consignment (meaning you don’t need to buy them upfront, but sell what you can and send them b

ack!). All checks for donations and necklace purchases can be written out to KEZA and sent to:

P.O. BOx 681381 

Franklin, TN

37068-1381 USA

KEZA is a registered 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation

Tax ID #: 261341516

Alive

Living in Rwanda has made me feel more alive than I have ever felt. 

Even though I am living in Kigali, full of people, cars, shops, motos and traffic lights…just when I think I am cruising along worry free, the pavement ends and I am off roading once again hoping the SUV doesn’t get stuck in a ditch or tumble into the embankment on the right. The thing about life here is that its not simple like cruising down PCH along the coast at home. The littlest tasks take effort… having nothing to eat and having to climb up the hill to a crowded market where you are getting bombarded left and right.

 Some mornings you just don’t feel like bartering. The same goes for then bringing the food home and having to boil water to kill the bacteria. You are more aware of your body and your life…where eating is necessary to stop hunger pains (still not even comparable to those who suffer this everyday). Brings you back to reality when you are starting to get sick and hope its not cholera or that maybe your malaria pills didn’t work for the mosquito bite on your right toe. At this point you are almost praying for the flu. Luckily, I have yet to get sick. The same goes for doing business here. The processes for getting permission for the simplest tasks to build a business take forever. These are just a few things that make me aware of my life and how much is taken for granted back at home. When life is simpler you almost forget what it takes to live…if that makes any sense.Having these feelings is not a bad thing…for those that may take these as negatives…I am enjoying them. I am in my element and LIVING.

On the days that I have gotten a full nights sleep, I really do LOVE my outdoor marketplace, and I know in the three months I am here I will never stop loving my job. These are some pictures of my grocery store or your Ralphs, Dunnes, or Tom Thumb. And these are the beautiful women that I am fortun

ate to 

bond with everyday as they roll our paper beads. I absolutely adore them. On Friday th

ey tied a baby on my back

 African style! I wanted to keep the bab

y back there for hours cause it 

was actually very comfortable and secure… I think we should bring this one back to America. They all couldn’t stop laughing

 at

 me calling me Mzungu Mama Christian. (that’s the baby’s name J)

On Sunday I went to my first Rwandan we

dding…. The longest weddi

ng of my life! First of all… I didn’t’ even know the bride or groom and was invited! In our community there is a little bootleg video shop owned by Frank and his wife JoJ

o. JoJo inv

ited us last week to her sisters wedding and insisted we came, and I am so glad we did! When we got there they dressed us in traditional wear. The day was full of cultural traditions that they made sure we were a part of. It was like we were in the wedding! The day started out at the Mother of the brides house. They fed us lunch and then the groom and his groomsmen came over to the house to meet the bride. They sat on the couch and drank a glass of milk. This was symbolic of bringing yourself back to nature and preparation of the day ahead. From there we all went over to the church and had a traditional Catholic wedding. Not much different except that the bride and groom came in together cause they had already seen eachother…their wedding party followed. After we caravanned to Novahotel to take pictures. From there we caravanned again to the reception 

which was much different from home. Everyone sat in rows of chairs facing the wedding party. We were served bottled soft

 drinks in our chairs while we watched Traditional African dancing….kinda like warrior dancing. They then cut the wedding cake and passed around a slice piece by piece to some 200 guests. After the cake there was more traditional dancing and then a presentation of the gifts. The reception where we just sat there went on for abo

ut 4 hours. Then a small group would go back to the bride and grooms new house for dinner. Rwandan style did not mean dinner right away… it was already 9:45 at night and had not eaten sine 11 when all of these festivities started. Before we could eat there were more speeches in Kinyarwanda and then the 

bride and groom were taken to their room to perform some cultural traditions with the father of the groom and some other close family members. Surprisingly the

y made us come too and watch. In the room the bride and the groom sat on the end of their bed with a boy and a girl sitting at

 their feet. This was symbolic of the children they would bear…hopefully one of each sex. They then had to give the children milk…keep in mind these children were like 8 years old. Then they clipped a piece of the brides hair off saying that now she was a women. Short hair= woman….long hair= girl. After this rite of initiation the

 women carried in baskets of food and house supplies to the new house that would last them for a

 month, then we ate dinner and did some traditional dancing. I got up there and danced for the bride with about 6 others. You 

do this thing where you just kind of put your arms out and move them in flowing motions haha Everyone loved it. The whole day lasted til midnight and although that might sound normal…when the majority of that time is all spent sitting in silence….it is the longest day of you life. Still, nonetheless I am glad I pushed through cause it was a once in a lifetime experience. I conquered my first Rwandan Wedding and might as well been a bridesmaid. Beautiful day…..

Forgiveness

So I am sitting here looking at the clouds on the horizon of the Rwandan sky as they barely catch the changing light of sunset. Once again its hard to find the words of how I am feeling. I was thinking back to my last post and how it was full of experiences that were fun, eventful, and shocking all at the same time. My stories to many of you may not seem like the life that you expected me to be living in Africa and honestly it was not mine either. It is a life though where people are either truly forgivers or just managing. I have been living a life in Rwanda that portrays the exact life that is lived here, one that seems full of life, untainted by the death of the past. A life that is “normal” with some extreme exceptions. When I have time to actually sit here, which is often, I am once again brought back to reality. The reality that I am living in a place that was desolate and conquered by murders. The president that practically ran me off the road with his presence, has helped to transform this country into one of forgiveness or “incomprehensible reconciliation.” I am living among people and becoming friends with people who at many times could be murderers. Except for the times that some have opened up to me about where they were or who they lost at the time of genocide… I have no idea who my friends “are.” But does it really matter? Ultimately in the forgiveness I believe in, no…but for those that were victims and are put under the title of living in a place of “incomprehensible reconciliation”…they are really just managing because their president has asked them to manage…deep down though the hurt will never be gone. I’ll leave you with this…. A poem I found in a Rwandan newspaper I picked up yesterday. If this is possible for people who have watched their family members and friends murdered by the use of a machete … you think that we could practice this everyday. Forgiveness; forgive anyone who has hurt you in one way or another, strangers, friends, and most of all FAMILY. With forgiveness comes empowerment and the ability to move on in your own life and love again…Even if they have never said they were sorry...

 

Forgiveness

 

-Paradis Winslet

 

There was time where everything was meaningless,

Where was no hope at all. It was the rainy season,

When my world was bowed off all my hope was moved out,

It was the end of all, there was no love in,

The world no hope for all, my world was dark,

My world was twisted and my heart was full,

Of sorrow, took my all love left me no life turned,

My world in to hell, It was a land where,

Everything was green where once was called a land of,

Honey and milk where love was a greeting and peace,

Was a song, so I became a stranger in my own home?

I lost my personality turned to someone,

I had never met and it tainted my whole life and

Distorted my world I had no love for myself nor,

For others, People blamed me, for who I was,

And for whom I was not hate and selfishness drove,

Around me til I discovered the truth,

And realized we are all one and we are one, who holds,

The key so I chose peace, forgiveness, love, joy and,

My whole life changed within, brought back hope,

In my heart and took my grief away,

Took my sorrow, took my anger and brought,

Light into my life gave back hope in my life within,

I opened my heart to mend the wounds,

And split the love from above,

Because forgiveness is love and the only way for

Resolution, reunion and I believe one can change if,

Has been given a chance. I believe we can make,

A change from bad to good, I strongly believe,

That without forgoneness there is no love,

Without love life is worthless,

Without hope life becomes shorter and,

Without forgiveness in our hearts, there’s no wisdom,

Because love is kindness and forgiveness,

So stand up for love all as one to make amend,

From bad to good by bringing peace in bitter hearts,

Then choose to be a better person and make a better World,

By loving each other and expect reconciliation can be,

A step to carry us together for love, life, hope,

Within forgiveness we must draw closer all together as one,

And I believe we can make a change, we can make a better place,

Just you and I, all as one, the truth has to be told love is key,

Love is all we need, let’s start by reconciliations, forgiveness,

Exoneration, reunion, let us realize that a change can only come,

When we stand up together, all as one and build a brighter day,

By compromising, bringing together, Reunion, by absolution,

Amnesty, forgiveness is for all, Forgive by bringing

Wisdom in your heart, Forgive so that you can be forgiven,

Forgiveness is not foulness, forgiveness is not forbidden,

Forgiveness is wisdom, perception; forgiveness is love, kindness,

Seek forgiveness the most, Forgive from the heart

So that you heart, is released from anger, pain,

And sorrowfulness, Forgive within you heart,

To convey back light in darkness hearts, forgive

From the heart to spread back hope,

In hopelessness hearts, don’t limit wisdom to yourself,

By hesitating to forgive iniquity hearts, cause no matter what,

Has happened everyone deserves,

Forgiveness, as we seek to the Lord to forgive us,

As we forgive those who against us.

Let us forgive to fetch light in many darkness hearts,

Rejoice and let peace and love flow,

In our hearts cause a new day has come.