The bus ride to the village is an hour-long trip from Kigali. I'm reading "A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers" (which wasn't very good). Anne, Seth and Sifa, a Rwandan woman who lived for a while in Boston and who has been working closely with Anne since the village was just an idea, discuss the semantics of a press release about Liquidnet's official statement of the ASYV. Rwanda's first lady, Janette Kagame (wife of President Paul Kagame), will be the keynote speaker at the opening tomorrow (which everyone is excited for!!!).
Anne, being the founder, will of course be speaking as well. There are so many politics involved in the wording of press releases and inclusion of donors in speeches in recognition. I guess it's a good problem to have - having so many people pitching in on this wonderful project that one has to really think to remember them all.
Unfortunately, everyone's taking credit for the project when oftentimes they didn't really pitch in. Anne doesn't worry, though. In fact, she didn't want any credit. There's a mango tree on the ASYV property under which she bought the land for the village from its 96 previous owners. They put up a plaque under the tree. Anne didn't even want that. As she said in passing on our ride to the village, " you can't do things for the credit - everyone else will take it anyway." Do it because it's right, do it because it makes you feel good.
The tree.
Rwanda is beautiful. The hills are lush, full of greenery and fertile red soil. The hills further away are a deep green, but the smoke from the fires that give Rwanda and Uganda their distinct smell (which I love) make them appear blue.
The saying is something along the lines of "god is everywhere during the day, but he goes to sleep in Rwanda." The village is more amazing than I could have ever imagined - the gate has a bright, beautiful sign that says "Agahozo Shalom" across it, there are two incredible murals, and the 32 buildings are painted bright and beautiful colors. The weather is perfect. In the distance one can see those green and blue hills, and two big, sparkling lakes.
Rwandans greet by hugging and long handshakes, and I was greeted by the smiling faces and welcoming arms of the teenagers and housemothers who call this place home and make their new family of Agahozo Shalom Youth Village. I can hardly put into words just how much I have already been affected by this wonderful, loving place built by - as the Rwandan students here call her - "Mama Anne" Heyman.
After we met up again with Jason, I touched up the colorful garbage bins with bright green and bright blue paint. While painting, I met a student named Emmanuel. He told me that he loves math and physics. I was told by one of the Liquidnet guys that Emmanuel's father was training to be a pilot when he was murdered during the Rwandan genocide. He wants to carry on his father's dream and become a pilot.
We had a lovely dinner together of rice and cassava, a white potato-like root (only yummier). cooked and mashed. Our first of about 20 starch and bean meals. I loved it, actually.
The plaque underneath the mango tree (which has yet to bear fruit).
We then watched a rehearsal for tomorrow's big opening ceremony. Officials from Rwanda, Israel, the U.S. and Ethiopia will be there and speaking. After the rehearsal I, Jenna, and Yoni, along with an exhausted Jason (he's been filming nonstop with the videographer, Asaf) joined the Liquidnet family for a "thorns-and-roses" of the day. Some thorns included these:
-we wished there was even more for us to do to help.
-it was hard talking to the kids and hearing their tragic accounts of the genocide.
- and mine: I wish I could have gotten here sooner and could stay for longer.
Some roses included:
-the kids are so inspiring. They know what they want for the future and they are going to work hard to get it.
-watching the village and the ceremony preparations come together.
So now, it's nighttime. I'm sitting across from Anne in the living room of our visitors' house while she types furiously on her tiny laptop. It's about 11pm here (5pm EST), and she's still working on her speeches for tomorrow.
I guess she IS human.
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