Crockett Family... Fabulous....

When I told my brother about my wackadoodle idea to go to Africa he says "I have a friend who lives there." Of course he does. The funnier part is he will be going to Rwanda and a few other countries this summer. Jody, his step-mother-in-law says “What’s with the Willbanks kids and Africa this year?” Haha - divine intervention.
I had a fantastic meal with the Crockett Family. What a beautiful family. They are so fun. I had a blast.
Should you want to know more about the AMAZING work Carter (my brother's friend) is doing in Rwanda… Here’s a little peak from their website…..
“Karisimbi Business Partners seeks to alleviate poverty by developing ambitious and strategically-placed Rwandan entrepreneurs. We pick up where micro-finance, business incubation and small business development models leave off. Karisimbi Business Partners builds businesses by developing the management capacity of promising mid-sized ventures with untapped potential. We aim to ensure enterprises can employ many, export often, pay taxes, build industry sectors, and establish role models for a new generation of Rwandan business leaders. This intensive work cannot be done quickly or from a distance, but requires a partnership which entails working alongside ambitious entrepreneurs for years at a time”. www.karisimbipartners.com

Interview with the micro-finance candidates…

Interview with the micro-finance candidates…
Because of confidentiality I can’t say much about this part except I had a few interviews with our micro-finance candidates to follow up with them to see how they are doing. For me this was incredibly emotional…

22 women….. Genocide survivors…. Truly moving…

Julie took me to an association to run a TeachAIDS session. I met with 22 women that survived the genocide and lost family members. The women were very interested in the information. We talked for a while and I got to know each one of them a little. These women have had children, lost children, husbands and other family members and the thing that amazes me is that they show no bitterness. They shared with me how they make a living. One woman makes jewelry out of paper and rolls it up so the end results looks like colorful beads! Each one of them hugged and kissed me when we were leaving (Rwandan tradition is a kiss on the alternating cheek three times).

Rwanda….. Land of the 1,000 hills and warm people….

I spent 7 days in Kigali, Rwanda at the home of Marie’s mother and sisters home. (My “Seeds Of Empowerment” teammate) Such warm loving women. Julie is Marie’s sister and was my personal translator and new sister during my stay. Marie’s mother was full of love and kisses….. we were lost in translation…. She doesn’t speak English and I fail to speak Kiryanrwandan… But the love was felt.

Julie runs her own restaurant at the Kigali institute of technology. Everywhere in town we go she knows someone, whether they are from her 7^th day Adventist Church, family friends, cousins... etc…

I was able to meet a few of Marie’s other sisters and they were just darling… warm and full of love too. Before the genocide they family was 10… now it’s 6. One of the sisters stayed at the actual “hotel Rwanda” during the 100 days….

Something that has continued to surprise me is all over Africa… no matter where I am the people want to share something with me… it could be a hug, something to drink, a meal…. Some of them have so little but is custom to share what they have.

I made a few changes

Hey Peeps...
Just wanted to let you know that I wrote most of the blog entries offline because I don't have very much internet access in Kigali. I changed the dates around so they would be in semi chronological order :)
xoxo
b
will write about Kigali on the plane tomorrow night.

Nairobi…. Encouraging but heartbreaking at the same time….

I just wrapped up 3 days in Nairobi, Kenya. Actually it was 2 full days and travel days. Nairobi is a busy city with over 5 million people. I stayed in the city center and the smell of exhaust fumes was everywhere. Traffic could trump the 405, 101, or H1 at any time of day. As my driver pulled up to the hotel, the guards checked the trunk and under the car for anything suspicious. I entered the Nairobi Hilton where every person entering the hotel has to go through a metal detector. Security in the city is very tight no matter where you go.

On my way to my first meeting in the slum area of Mathare I see short busses, brightly painted with slogans or portraits and people packed into them like sardines. At one point I see a short bus with TuPac on the side…. Really???? That is so not right…. I see many with Bob Marley… That’s much better. Some of then scream “I love Jesus”, some of them say “player”….. I can’t help but giggle.

I meet with Steve from Dignitas Project at his church, and a little children’s choir is singing in Swahili. A little boy goes next and could have rivaled James Brown. I am taken to the roof and given a high level overview of the area. Each of the “blocks” are named after different things or places. The one to the left of the church down the dirt path is called “Vietnam”. The houses are made of metal sheets and are the no bigger than 15 feet by 15 feet, no electricity, no running water, and no facilities. I saw one government-run bathroom facility catering to blocks and blocks of these metal houses. The people have different sites that have hoses to fill water containers for all of their needs. The smell of raw sewage is almost overwhelming.

I am introduced to a beautiful woman named Emma who is HIV positive and takes care of patients who are bed ridden. She takes me to a few clients of hers who have been doing very well. A few things I keep hearing is that there is a stigma if people find out you're HIV positive, and many are abandoned by their family. The other thing is that even if a patient is blessed enough to obtain the antiviral medicines, they don’t always have food to take them with so they don’t take them. This also happens with TB meds. The problem with this is if you stop taking the TB meds you build up a tolerance and have to start a whole new regimen.

My driver Gibrani took me on a tour of the city. He took me to the site where the US Embassy used to be until the al-Qaida bombing in 1998. I saw a sculpture of twisted metal that was pieces from the building that collapsed. It was starting to make sense why the security was so tight all around the city. Next we went to the Kenya National Archives. This housed really beautiful art from all over Africa. Our final stop was Freedom Park. This is where the people celebrated their freedom. It kind of reminds me of Golden Gate Park or the Park in the middle of Buenos Aries. Big lake in the middle, lots of grass and an open amphitheater. They had a very excited crusade of some kind going on. I was dropped off at my hotel and was so tired I fell asleep by 8.

BBQ Durban Style (BraaiVleis)

As my big send off Pastor Bobby’s family got together and held a BBQ for me at their house. It’s kind of strange to feel so at home with people you have only known a week but this family is amazing…. I am blessed to know them and love them for loving me.

The next day Pastor Bobby and Ashley took me to the airport and it was a sad good by for now. Pastor Bobby refers to himself as my South African Durban Father… go figure I have a beautiful Caucasian family and fantastic beautiful friends that I consider family in the US and an Indian family in South Africa.

Again I must stress the importance of what Pastor Bobby and his family have sacrificed for the betterment of people that are underserved. He is so well respected as a leader in the community. He is truly a champion and a beautiful person that embodies the love of Christ. The love that the family showed a stranger is so humbling (I know you’re tired of this word but I have no other way to express how I’m am feeling)