Day 1 - Genocide Museum, Komera & Umunezero Co-ops

We spent the first half of today at the Genocide Memorial Museum here in Kigali - something everyone should visit when in Rwanda. It was an emotional, important experience for all of us, even those who had been before. The museum is beautifully done, telling in great detail the story of Rwanda. We all left with a humbled perspective, and a greater appreciation and understanding of how far this country has come in the last 24 years. A profound way to start off this trip, to say the least!

After returning to the hotel to freshen up and grab a quick snack, we hopped back on the bus and headed an hour and a half east to our first co-ops: Komera ("Courage") and Umunezero ("Joy"). Both co-ops are women-led and are made up mostly of women with HIV/AIDS. Learn more about them, and our other communities here: http://worlddanceforhumanity.org/communities-we-serve/

After a bumpy ride on a red dirt road, we arrived at a field behind a local school, where we were met with enthusiastic singing and vibrant dancing! The beautifully dressed Rwandan women guided us out of the bus and we joined in the joyous celebration. The cultural separation between us grew weaker and weaker with each embrace, and soon we felt among long, lost family.

The co-ops took turns welcoming us with dance and song, and providing impressive updates on their farming projects and future business plans. The best surprise of all was the 10 students who took the day off from school to come and be with us. We got to deliver their sponsor letters in person! These extraordinary young people are the future of their cooperatives - many of them are already participating in their co-op's leadership! We were priviliged to hear testimonies from not only them, but their mothers as well. So many of the kids thought they'd never return to high school, and now almost half of them are already in college. They shared with us emotional stories of what their lives were like when they couldn't afford school, and how much their lives have now changed because of their WD4H sponsors.

More celebration followed, as well as distributing donations of toothbrushes, Bragg's Bags, solar lights, WD4H t-shirts, and reusable menstrual pad kits.

We ended the day with a visit to Umunezero's new permagarden started in May during our Permagarden Training led by Tom Cole and funded by Starr Siegele and Larry Feinberg. Alphonsine, the Umunezero president, explained the techniques they used to make the garden, and how implementing this new farming practice has already greatly improved their crop yields.

With full hearts and big smiles, we bid farewell to our Rwandan sisters before piling back on the bus and heading home to Kigali. Our little bus stumbled it's way back down the bumpy, red dirt road, as the setting African sun painted the sky behind us.

We couldn't have asked for a better first day in the field, and as we tuck ourselves in for the night, we can't help but beam with excitement for the days to come.

Tomorrow we're traveling north to see Twirererabana and Abishyizehamwe - two more amazing communities!

Thoughts from the travelers:

Olga: Today was filled with emotion. We started with the Genocide Museum which reminded me of the strength of survivorship Rwandan people have to move forward. But the biggest lesson that kept ringing true throughout the exhibit was that of forgiveness. I was once again reminded of forgiveness and being the higher self. We continued to the co-ops where we were greeted with open arms and rhythmical chants. I recognized many faces from my last trip in 2016. We are all family and remained connected over the miles of land and sea. I see how World Dance for Humanity really makes a tremendous difference in these Rwandan families' lives.

Leesbeth: It was heartbreaking to hear the individual stories of the young students that struggled to find a way out of their soul crushing poverty, and heart-reinforcing to find that WD4H has offered them a way out with our sponsorship program. Why wouldn't anyone want to take on one of these hardworking kids as a sponsee and help their sense of worth and hope for the future.

Pamela: Today was so emotional... the heartache of the Genocide Museum and the pure joy of meeting the wonderful folks at the co-ops. The highlight of the day was Jill (my cousin) meeting her student, Emma, and Emma’s mother...our grandma (also named Emma) was surely smiling down on her today!

Marcia: What an eye-opening and emotional experience visiting the first cooperatives on our Rwandan journey. The unconditional love expressed to all of us at WD4H was nothing short of breathtaking. It was particularly inspiring to hear the stories of the students who have been through so much hardship and uncertainty, yet they persevered to become productive young adults who will change their world for the better.

These are just a few of our favorite snapshots to give you a feel for what we're experiencing. Once we're back from Rwanda, we'll process all the trip photos and produce completed photo galleries for you all to see!

www.WorldDanceforHumanity.org