A fresh start.

The new year is beginning to make its way around the globe, from the International Dateline in the Pacific Ocean through Asia and over the Indian Ocean to the shores of Africa in just a few hours.

From there it will travel across this vast continent and on to America, where it is certain to be a momentous and fateful year of political decisions.

The elections in the United States are but one element in a disconcerting mix.

The headlines from everywhere seem to conspire to shake our confidence and undermine our hopes for a happy and peaceful 2008.

And yet the new year always brings with it the promise of a fresh start, a clean slate, resolutions and resolve.

May we all find the path to peace, humility and acceptance in service to others and our planet.

Happy New Year.

Grand Opening.

Last Friday I went to Nyabiheke Camp for the grand opening of the Nyabiheke Business Center, otherwise known as the market. This is quite a place--well constructed, centrally located, with room for 70 table stands, all of which are already assigned to vendors who participated in the construction of the building.

As the sign says, the market was built with the participation of the vendors, organized by a Market Committee. ARC provided the materials and labor to erect the basic structure of the building and the participating groups built the mud walls. This type of construction creates a comfortable and pleasant space in which to do business.

The Nyabiheke Camp market is becoming so large and popular that people from the local community are now coming up the long hill to the camp to buy and sell fruits, vegetables, oil, flour and other goods. This is a good thing for both the local population and the refugees as it expands commerce in all directions and helps everyone to become more prosperous.

We did it!

Last week we held our first Training of Trainers workshop for the new Voluntary Savings and Lending Group program.

We were joined by Terry Isert, ARC Microenterprise Development Senior Technical Advisor from Minneapolis, our three IGP Coordinators, and fifteen refugees who have been recruited as community animators and trainers for this program.

The training lasted five days and was a big success.

Implementation will take a little bit longer--about three months of intensive work and a year or so of follow up--and we are eager to get started.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who made this training possible.

Locally grown.

The agriculture terraces in Gihembe Camp—more than seven acres of them—have been a valuable resource for our Income Generation Program groups and for the people in the camp who benefit from a convenient supply of fresh vegetables.

This year we have been fortunate to have in our program a young refugee, Fidele, trained in agronomy, who along with our IGP Coordinator, Raymond, has done a terrific job of mobilizing the agriculture groups to rehabilitate the terraces and take steps to increase their productivity.

The groups have gotten the camp population involved in composting; set up a regular schedule of community work to keep the terraces weed free; and planted acres and acres of beautiful Irish potato plants that will be harvested in December.

After the harvest we will install a water catching system to stem erosion on the hillside and provide water for our vegetable gardens during the dry season.

Next on the menu, crop rotation.

Room for more.

Yesterday we welcomed an additional 350 refugees to Nyabiheke Camp where they will settle in to the new shelters that are being completed just ahead of their arrival.

They came in a convoy of buses, faces pressed against the windows, looking for friends and relatives among the crowd that ran down from the camp to greet them.

Their luggage followed in a big truck and was carefully arranged on the ground for them to retrieve. Mattresses, bags of potatoes, tables, beds, basins, jerry cans, and even an improvised wheelchair--the stuff of lives on the move.

When they went to bed last night they were safe, probably for the first time in many months, and they could sleep, knowing that they would not have to awaken in the middle of the night to move again.

Kiziba Celebration.

When I arrived at Kiziba Camp last Monday morning I noticed a lot of activity around the basketball court--but had no idea that it was a celebration in honor of the Income Generation Program, planned to coincide with my arrival in the camp.

There were speeches, skits, poems, and of course, music and dancing.

What a wonderful way to begin the week.

Paradise.

This may not look like paradise to you, but to the refugees arriving from the transit centers near the DRC border, Nyabiheke Camp may seem like such a place.

Here, they find shelter, water, health care and dignity. They can keep their children safe and their clothing clean. And some have already started activities that could be incorporated into our Income Generation Program.

While you are busy doing whatever you are doing in the next week, think about the 400 people who will arrive in Nyabiheke during that time, and about the ARC staff that even as I am writing this are busy building shelters and water points to receive them.

Here in Rwanda, the crisis in DRC is far from over.

Technical problems.

This is Africa and so technical problems are routine. But not when it comes to my blog! I've been trying to post photos of my trip yesterday to Nyabiheke Camp, but so far have been unsuccessful.

I will keep trying, so check back soon.

Wake up call.

“Wake up. Congo is already at war.”—The EastAfrican, 9 October 2007.
“Nkunda vows to wage full-scale war.”—Rwanda New Times, 9 October 2007.
“DRC: Thousands of youth risk forced recruitment into militia.”—IRIN Africa Report, 8 October 2007.
“DRC: Violence cuts off 150,000 people from aid.”—IRIN Africa Report, 8 October 2007.
“Rape Epidemic Raises Trauma of Congo at War.”—New York Times, 7 October 2007.

Such is the news in this part of Africa this week. It is similar to the news last week, and the week before.

Sadly, the attention of the world is elsewhere.

Fortunately, the attention of ARC Rwanda is here, attending to the needs of people fleeing the violence in Congo and arriving in Nyabiheke Camp by way of two transit centers. In the past month we have received 1462 new arrivals and there are more on the horizon.

What can you do to help?

Stay informed. Click on some of the links under “Resources” to read these and other articles about the situation.

Send money. Go to the ARC website (arcrelief.org) and make a contribution to the ARC Rwanda program.

Take action. The ENOUGH project (see link) suggests that you call your member of Congress at 1-202-224-3121 (9:00am - 6:00pm EST, Monday through Friday), and urge them to bring peace to eastern Congo by pressing for high level diplomacy, in coordination with our allies, to resolve the crisis in eastern Congo, supporting the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), increasing humanitarian assistance and providing more funding and technical assistance for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of combatants.

Don't look back on the humanitarian crisis in the DRC in 2007 as so many do on the Rwanda genocide of 1994 and say, "Where was I? Why didn't I know?"

Because now, you do.

Vast.

En route to the green hills of Rwanda I had for the first time the experience of flying over the Sahara Desert in the daytime. Nearly two hours after taking off from Amsterdam, traveling the length of Europe and crossing the Mediterranean Sea, we crossed into the African continent over Benghazi, in Libya.

And for the next four hours, until reaching the mountains of Ethiopia and then beginning our descent into Nairobi, we had a spectacular view of this seemingly endless desert sand stretching to the horizon and beyond.

The vastness of Africa is difficult to appreciate from my little home here in Rwanda, and it was wonderful to be able to see it from the air and to get more of a sense of the journey and how far we travel to arrive here.

Antoine St. Exupery wrote that "There is no buying the night flight with its hundred thousand stars, its serenity, its few hours of sovereignty."

That may be true, but the journey by day over all of this vastness is likewise priceless.

Going Back.

Next Friday at this time I will be landing in Kigali, returning to Rwanda and these green hills for my longest stay yet.

I will be there for six months, working with the IGP groups and other refugees in the camps to provide training and support for them to start and manage Voluntary Savings and Lending Associations. This is an important initiative that will build capacity and extend the reach and impact of the Income Generation Program in the camps.

Things are quite unsettled in the DRC at the moment, especially in the eastern areas that are home to the refugees that we serve. I've added a link to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs so that you can stay up to date on the situation there.

I'll do my best as always to keep my blog current.

Saying It With Flowers.

When ARC Country Director Barry Wheeler departed for home leave in the United States last week his wonderful housekeeper and cook, Odette, created this lovely table decoration out of petals from flowers in the yard.

The letters “BV” of course stand for “Bon Voyage.”

And now it is my turn as well, to say goodbye again to my friends here in Rwanda, to the green hills and the camps and the afternoon rainstorms and the birds that sing outside my window at exactly the same time each morning.

I will miss all of this, but mostly I will miss the rewards of doing so much good work with so many wonderful people.

Grand merci to Barry, Top, Cares, Eugene, Kebe, Yaya, Jennifer, Leah, Anitha, Theophile, Louise, Letitia, Jean Luc, Aron, Madina, Aimee, Bernard, Devotte, Odette, Bosco, Ismail, Jean Baptiste, Emmanuel, Jean Louis, Marie Claire, Susanne, Christine, Francoise, Alexis, Night, Ali, Hassan, Gaston, Daniel, and the whole ARC Rwanda staff for your incredible and amazing support.

A la prochaine.

The Key to Happiness.

One of the things that I learn--over and over again--from the refugees with whom I am fortunate enough to work in Rwanda is how much happiness can be found in the smallest things.

The man with the huge smile in this photo is the guard at the Health Center in Gihembe Camp, and he has been in that job for the three years that I have been working in that camp. He always greets me with a big smile and a thumbs up, his only ways of communicating as he is unable to speak.

Last year I gave the IGP team key rings from The Grand Hand Gallery, with red leather fobs embossed with the gallery's logo, a drawing of a hand. This seemed especially appropriate for a program that encourages people to do what they can to help themselves.

When I arrived back in Gihembe a couple of weeks ago I learned that the guard has wanted one of these key rings ever since he saw them last year, and who better to have one than the man with all of the keys?

So here we are, moments after I gave him not one but two key rings, one that clips to his belt and the other for his pocket. I don't know which of us is happier.

Teachable Moments.

We have many such moments here in our IGP trainings, but one in particular stood out to me today during our accounting training in Gihembe Camp.

This is a complex training, and one for which we try to invite only those refugees who know how to read and write. However, from time to time there will be someone without literacy skills who is so eager to learn that we will accept them into the class. In that case one of the Refugee Assistants will sit with that person, to make sure they understand the material to help them to take notes.

The woman that you see on the right in this photo is one such eager student and standing next to her is Aimee, one of our Assistants. Aimee did such a wonderful job of bolstering this woman’s confidence that she was willing to come to the front of the room and write her answers to the problem of “where are Joseph’s goats?” on the flip chart in front of the whole class.

And her answer was correct.

Working here is not easy, but moments like these make it all worthwhile.

Bag Ladies.

You really can’t imagine how rewarding it is to get these photos in which nearly everyone is smiling—or perhaps hiding shyly behind one of the bags that she has made.

This week we finished up our work in Nyabiheke Camp by meeting with the groups that are making these colorful nylon bags. We looked at all of the bags that they had made and talked about the quality, color selection and designs, all part of assisting the groups with improving the market for their work.

The bag that I am holding is a gift to me from these women. You’ll see me carrying it proudly this summer and if you want one of these beauties you know whom to call!

Yesterday I submitted our work plan for the final three weeks of my stay. It is hard for me to believe that three weeks from right now I will be in the air en route from Amsterdam to lovely summery Minnesota.

For the next two weeks, though, I’ll be in cold and rainy Gihembe Camp and will keep you posted from there.

What's New at Nyabiheke?

Here are just a few examples of what is new with the Income Generation Program in Nyabiheke Camp...


A public phone...to call friends and family.


A small boutique where Chantal sells everything from bar soap to beignets.


A fun and friendly hair salon.


And last but not least, our wonderful new IGP center. Thank you, ARC!

Off of the grid.

This week we will be heading out to Nyabiheke Camp, ARC’s newest—and smallest—camp, and also the most remote. Last year when I was there I had difficulty checking e-mail or getting a signal for my mobile phone and much of the time we were without electricity even in the house.

Now, thanks to a great deal of effort on the part of ARC Rwanda, things have improved. There is even wireless internet access available in a small building in the camp, but it requires a special type of modem that is not Mac compatible. So, I am planning to leave my little PowerBook behind in Kigali. I may have a chance to check e-mail using an ARC computer but won't be posting to my blog again until next weekend when I return to the big city to greet Carol Pavlish on her arrival from the United States.

Have a good week!

La famille de Charlotte.

This seems to be the year for family photos.

I took this one yesterday, on my last day in Kiziba Camp.

This is the family of Charlotte—the well-dressed woman on the right—who is one of leaders of our IGP Committee and who has volunteered a lot of her time to assist her fellow refugees with starting their businesses.

Charlotte also runs a sewing business in the camp as part of an association of about 20 tailors. They make clothing to order for the other refugees, and the impact of their work is visible throughout the camp. Instead of wearing cast-offs from America (which, by the way, are not donated, but sold for a profit here in Africa), many of the refugees in Kiziba Camp are now wearing outfits like the ones Charlotte is wearing in this photo. The clothes are made from local fabrics, using local labor, which makes them both less expensive and more appropriate for the people who wear them.

When Charlotte asked me to take this photo of her family she explained that it was their gift to me, to thank me for all that ARC has done for the refugees in Kiziba Camp and for the IGP associations.

Merci, Charlotte, c’est un cadeau extraordinaire.

The Road to Kiziba Camp.

Those of you who have been here remember the road to Kiziba Camp. Twelve kilometers of rocks, dust and bone jarring ruts that take their toll on vehicles and passengers alike.

I am happy to report that this road is no more. Thanks to a large-scale infrastructure project that will eventually facilitate the transport of natural gas by truck from Lake Kivu to an electrical power generating station high in the mountains, the road has been completely rebuilt by a Chinese construction team. It is now a smooth ribbon of graded gravel surface cut through the rock of the green hills that rise above Kibuye town and lovely Lake Kivu, wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Of course there is no guard rail and with a better road comes faster driving but still, this is an amazing improvement that shortens the trip to the camp significantly and makes it possible for us to reach the camp even on the rainiest of days.

Tomorrow I will be traveling the road to Kiziba Camp for the last time on this journey to Rwanda. I will be sad to say goodbye to my friends in the camp, and as always, I will share with them my wishes for peace in their country and a safe return to their homes and villages. I hope with all my heart that this will be the last time that I will see them here, and that the next time I come to Rwanda this will no longer be the road to Kiziba Camp.

Meet the ARC Rwanda IGP Team!

Yesterday in Kigali the ARC Rwanda IGP team made a presentation about our work to the ARC Camp Managers, the Country Director and the Director of Finance and Administration. We had a wonderful time and of course concluded with a group photo.



In the front row you see Jean-Luc, Letitia, Madina, Devotte and Anon.

With me in the back row are Leah, Yaya, Bernard, Top, Anita, Kebe, Louise and Jennifer.

Thanks to all for your hard work and dedication. You are the best.

Family Photos.

Here are some family photos from Kiziba Refugee Camp, Rwanda. Thousands of families like this one live in the camp—and have lived here for years--unable to return to their homes in Congo because it is not safe to do so.

Thanks to the work of the American Refugee Committee, the United Nations and other organizations these families live in relative safety in the camp, with access to health care, clean water, sanitary facilities, schools and income generating activities. But what they really want is to return home—to their country, their villages, their land—and to raise their families in peace.

Take a look at the pictures and see what is familiar. A dad with his children, a mother with her baby, the whole family together in what for them is the front yard.





Now take another look and see what may not be so familiar. The way in which the family is dressed, the color of their skin, the green Rwandan hills, the laundry hung out to dry, the roofs of the refugee houses in the background.

Put these family photos next to some of your own and ask yourself, what is it, really, that makes us the same and what makes us different? Which matters more? Could this be my family? And if it were, what would we do? Where would we go? What is our future? Would anyone help us?

Kiziba Classroom.

To those of you who have seen my photos from previous trips to Rwanda, the classroom in Kiziba Camp may look familiar. In fact, much about it does remain the same--the wooden benches, the colorful clothing, the posters on the walls.

But there is also something that has changed, more difficult to see if you are not here yet very evident to me. The IGP groups that are attending our trainings are more confident, more engaged and more enthusiastic than ever. Their eyes are brighter, they look healthier and better groomed, and they are eager to talk about all of the ways in which the Income Generation Program has helped them, their families and their community.

Here are some photos from our workshop today—their first time playing the Marketing Mix Game. Anitha, our IGP Coordinator, led the class, assisted by Titia, one of our Refugee Assistants. Leah and I observed, listened and enjoyed. It was wonderful.

Bittersweet.

The news in the camps is often sad.

Today in Kiziba Camp there was a funeral for one of the members of our Income Generation Program and as we drove out of the camp we passed a nearly endless stream of mourners returning from the cemetery.

How sad to die without being able to return to one’s homeland, and yet, how affirming to see that even in this relatively isolated place where life is so difficult people still take the time to mourn those whom they have lost.

But sometimes the news is good.

Today I learned that my friend Dancille along with her whole family has been resettled to Australia. They left Kiziba Camp in December. Many, many refugees apply for such “reinstallations” as they are called but very few are given the opportunity to go. The lucky ones are often chosen based on their ability to contribute in their new home countries, by virtue of education, skills, leadership and language ability.

Dancille has all of those things. Some of you may remember her from these photos, taken in 2004, when we first met. I told you her story then, the wife of a high school principal in Congo, gracious and intelligent and warm, who fled with her family after the death of her own parents and raised six children in the camp. She also became a leader in the camp community and a great advocate and example for our program.




Dancille, I will miss you, but I am overjoyed to hear of your safe departure for a better life. May you find peace and happiness and some measure of recompense for all that you lost back in Congo.

Bon voyage.

Training of Trainers.

This is a technical term that does not begin to describe what takes place in our workshop when I hand the pen to our IGP Coordinators—Anitha, Theophile and Louise—and have them become the teachers instead of the students.

The room comes to life, chairs are gathered round, there is discussion and intensity and laughter.

Here are some photos of our group, teaching, learning, thinking, collaborating.

I am so proud of all of them and so privileged to be their colleague.

Bonne arrivée!

This is the greeting that I have heard over again today, my first day of work here in the Kigali office of the American Refugee Committee. The greeting is always accompanied by the warm smiles and embraces that I have come to love in this part of the world.

Arriving back in Rwanda feels to me very much like coming home and it is wonderful to be here. Kigali continues to modernize and improve and looks really nothing like what most people might imagine in an African country so recently at war. The streets are well tended, there are many new sidewalks, and the boulevards are filled with green grass and flowering trees. Thanks in part to a new law prohibiting the use of plastic shopping bags there is no litter to speak of, and the monthly community cleanup days have kept the whole population engaged in improving the appearance of their city.

I have started my work with a five-day workshop in Kigali with my wonderful ARC Rwanda IGP team. I also have the great good fortune of having a full-time assistant, a young American woman named Leah Elliott. She has already added a lot of energy to our work and seems excited about being part of the Income Generation Program.

No photos as yet, but will try to post some while I have a relatively speedy internet connection here in Kigali. I’ll be off to Kibuye on the shores of beautiful Lake Kivu next week.

Louise

Why I Do This.

“Sometime during my second visit,” Seamus said, “ I realized I’d mislaid something of myself here during my first visit, and I had to return for it. Instead of retrieving it and leaving immediately, I’ve stayed. It’s possible that some of us cannot help losing ourselves in the sorrow of other people’s stories.” ---Nuruddin Farah, “Links”.

These words from a contemporary Somali novelist leapt from the page when I read them, and to me they explain a great deal about why I keep going back to Rwanda. The faces that you see here tell more compelling stories than I could ever write.

Thanks to Linda Cullen for her incredible photographic work.