Day 10: Never Again Fellowship, Gahini

Thursday, August 8th - Gahini, Rwanda

Written by Janet Reineck, WD4H Founder & Executive Director

Imbereheza, Genda Ugire Utyo, Itorero, & Good Family Cooperatives

By the time we arrived at our traditional meeting place, “the big tree” in Never Again Fellowship, we knew we were in for another downpour. But the skies held back…just long enough for us to gift bicycles, deliver student letters, conduct a water filter training, and witness a beautiful traditional Rwandan dance performance.

The night before we had learned that, for the first time ever, the rock band Queen was inviting fans around the world to submit their interpretations of their songs for the creation of an epic music video. What timing! We’ve doing Queen dances all year, and were ready to share them in Rwanda. As rain clouds gathered overhead, we cleared a spot under the trees and launched into our dances, then invited the throng of community members to join us in a mass procession of stomping and clapping to “We Will Rock You.”

No sooner had we wrapped this one-of-a-kind flashmob, than the storm hit and we all scrambled for shelter. Huddled together in Genda’s sewing workshop, after a mini-feast of hardboiled eggs, bananas, peanuts, and Fanta, we invited in the co-op’s new goats, one by one, to be named by their donor. The day culminated in our first-ever visit to Good Family Bakery (also funded by P&G Alumni Foundation), a sampling of their delicious goods, and the delivery of bakery bikes: “Shirley” (for Michelle’s grandmother) and “Freddie” (for Freddie Mercury, who else?).

Another beautiful, exhilarating day!