End of Week 1

I have been here for a little over a week, but it feels like longer. Not because of anything bad, but only because I have learned so much in so little time. I finally figured out what “Mzungu” means. It means white man, but everyone one is saying to me all the time, so I thought it meant “hello”. That is first week stuff. Now I am a Rwanda veteran going on my eighth day here….ok so I really still know very little about Rwanda, but it does feel like a home away from home!

Yesterday a boy, that was no older than 4 years old, saw Bart, Katherine, and myself walking down the street. He then took off on a dead sprint running from his mother straight towards us. He did not slow down but collided with arms spread open to give the biggest hug I have ever seen to Bart’s leg. He then gave Katherine followed by myself a huge hug. He was smiling and giggling the entire time.
We had never seen this child in our entire lives, but he hugged us like he had known us forever. His mother embarrassingly pulled him away, but we didn’t mind. It was the highlight of my trip here so far!

On a sadder note, I finally did see extreme poverty. It is not seen here in the city of Butare as much as in the rural areas. I went out to a health center out in the Rwandan mountains and saw what poverty can do to people. It is one thing to see some healthy children playing in the street, but quite another to see a five year old in extreme pain and misery. Most of this sickness is probably caused by common colds, flu, stomach virus, or sometimes malaria; there are no cures for these back home, but there are medicines that help the pain. These medicines do not exist in Rural Rwanda.
I saw a mother with three girls (ages were probably 5, 2, and 6 months.) The 5 year old was carrying the 6 month old, and the mother was carrying the 2 year old. They all looked very ill. I also saw a young boy (probably 6) laying face down on the ground waiting for a doctor to see him. He did not have the energy to stand.
Some of the mothers (who looked malnourished) were holding small children (also malnourished) and they asked me for money. I realized that they don’t need money, they need an answer…and I don’t have it.

I have heard Americans say, “They bring it upon themselves. You can’t help the Africans.” I can confidently say that they do not bring it upon themselves. They are very hard working, kind, and moral people here in Rwanda. They are plagued with diseases that run ramped here due to the climate and nature of the disease. America would look much the same if we had similar rainforests, insects, and poor soils that cause poor production that cause poor nutrition. A lack of nutrition really makes the body more vulnerable to these diseases.

Don’t get the impression that they are doomed population. No matter the misery, I do not see faces of sadness, sickness, or depression; I only see faces filled with hope. The hope that tomorrow will be better. They have seen progress. The coffee production increase and price increase that Texas A&M has helped the coffee farmers with has already shown them that a decent quality of life is possible.

I am proud to do what I can to help those in need.