(Note: this post is about the first day of Bukonya...the next post will be about the 2nd day when we gave wheelchairs, goats, etc.)
Bukonya. Over and over again we have heard about this region from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee. Much of our coffee served at The Well comes from this region, and the extra "doing good" projects that The Well does is for the benefit of Bukonya. Coffee bikes, goats, homes, wheelchairs...all for Bukonya. Visiting this place was the culmination of our trip, and Kris and I could not have been more excited about setting eyes on people with whom we already felt that we had a relationship. But whatever we were expecting, we could not have imagined what the Holy Spirit had in store for us.
We visited Bukonya over a period of two days. The first day was our day to visit the coffee washing station. A group of young adults greeted us dressed in native tribal garb, dancing traditional Rwandan dances as we hiked up the hill to the washing station. We heard them chanting from a long way off, and after we got up the hill, Kris noticed that o
ne of the lead singers had a microphone hooked up to a car battery! We were given a tour of this washing station, and we were able to see how the cherries became coffee beans, from the washing of the cherries through the depulping, sorting of the grades (1 is perfect, 4 is bad), drying, and packing. It was surreal to know that in a short time, these actual beans would be ground and processed in someone's hand-crafted drink by a Well barista in Shreveport, Louisiana!
So here's one thing I don't think I would ever get used to about Rwanda, and this is also one of the things I miss the most already. If we had shown up empty-handed, hiking up the mountain to a village with nothing but our smiling faces, the children would have been just as happy, the adults just as welcoming. Our presence, and our presence alone, was more of a gift to them than I had ever estimated. Just to touch our hands, hear our voices, look into our eyes, was a treat for them. Their joy at existing was contagious, and I don't think any of us ever stopped smiling while we were among the throng of children who constantly clung to us.
But going empty-handed was not in our plans! One of our group members, Kadie, brought soccer balls for the kids, and the already ecstatic mood escalated even higher when they realized what was in store for them. Last year, LOTH helped them complete a soccer field for the kids (it took 3 months for them to hand-dig this even playing field in the side of the mountain), and to the field we headed with the soccer balls. Kadie and some of the others from our team were able to show them real soccer drills and organize them into teams. They had a blast, and it was so great to sit and watch as their laughter drifted across the field to those of us sitting on the mountainside watching!
Afterwards, the headmaster of the school hosted us in the school office and introduced us to each of the teachers. The schools embedded in the communities are the Primary Schools. P1 is 1st grade, etc., and goes through P6 (6th grade). Although primary and secondary schools are technically "free," fees and supply costs can be expensive.
Bukonya. Over and over again we have heard about this region from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee. Much of our coffee served at The Well comes from this region, and the extra "doing good" projects that The Well does is for the benefit of Bukonya. Coffee bikes, goats, homes, wheelchairs...all for Bukonya. Visiting this place was the culmination of our trip, and Kris and I could not have been more excited about setting eyes on people with whom we already felt that we had a relationship. But whatever we were expecting, we could not have imagined what the Holy Spirit had in store for us.
We visited Bukonya over a period of two days. The first day was our day to visit the coffee washing station. A group of young adults greeted us dressed in native tribal garb, dancing traditional Rwandan dances as we hiked up the hill to the washing station. We heard them chanting from a long way off, and after we got up the hill, Kris noticed that o
ne of the lead singers had a microphone hooked up to a car battery! We were given a tour of this washing station, and we were able to see how the cherries became coffee beans, from the washing of the cherries through the depulping, sorting of the grades (1 is perfect, 4 is bad), drying, and packing. It was surreal to know that in a short time, these actual beans would be ground and processed in someone's hand-crafted drink by a Well barista in Shreveport, Louisiana!So here's one thing I don't think I would ever get used to about Rwanda, and this is also one of the things I miss the most already. If we had shown up empty-handed, hiking up the mountain to a village with nothing but our smiling faces, the children would have been just as happy, the adults just as welcoming. Our presence, and our presence alone, was more of a gift to them than I had ever estimated. Just to touch our hands, hear our voices, look into our eyes, was a treat for them. Their joy at existing was contagious, and I don't think any of us ever stopped smiling while we were among the throng of children who constantly clung to us.
But going empty-handed was not in our plans! One of our group members, Kadie, brought soccer balls for the kids, and the already ecstatic mood escalated even higher when they realized what was in store for them. Last year, LOTH helped them complete a soccer field for the kids (it took 3 months for them to hand-dig this even playing field in the side of the mountain), and to the field we headed with the soccer balls. Kadie and some of the others from our team were able to show them real soccer drills and organize them into teams. They had a blast, and it was so great to sit and watch as their laughter drifted across the field to those of us sitting on the mountainside watching!
Afterwards, the headmaster of the school hosted us in the school office and introduced us to each of the teachers. The schools embedded in the communities are the Primary Schools. P1 is 1st grade, etc., and goes through P6 (6th grade). Although primary and secondary schools are technically "free," fees and supply costs can be expensive.
Uniforms for all students in all grades are mandatory, as are shoes, notebooks, etc. The quality of the school tells a lot about the economic condition of the surrounding village/community.
We were able to go into the classrooms at the school. The school itself was an L-shaped row of classrooms. You only went into the classroom from outside, they didn't have doors leading into each other. This row of buildings was in a cleared space near the village, with red dirt all around on the ground. This meant that when it rained, school was cancelled. As we went into the classrooms to teach English, we were mostly surprised with how much English they knew already. We found out that President Kagame changed the school system last year; where students in Primary School had always learned their lessons in French (Rwanda's second language), beginning last year they were required to switch to English (Rwandan's third language). This was all right for the younger ones who were just starting, but for a third- or fourth-grader, this presented some difficulties. And for the adult teachers, this presented MANY difficulties. But in true Rwandan style, they adjusted, regrouped, and moved forward.
After we spent around half an hour in the classrooms, teaching English words, singing English songs, and playing with the kids, we went back out to the courtyard where the children had prepared some games to share with us. They stood in a wide circle, and two children stood in the center. Both children were blindfolded, and they proceeded to play a version of "Marco Polo." With both blindfolded, one of them would say "where are you?" and the other would then have to say "I am here!" But they had to stay within the circle formed by the rest of the children who stood around them. The result was hilarious...as the seeker walked around with her arms outstretched and the other one tried to listen for her and escape, they came within a hair's length of each several times, and the crowd around them roared with laughter...all of us laughed until we cried.
We were able to go into the classrooms at the school. The school itself was an L-shaped row of classrooms. You only went into the classroom from outside, they didn't have doors leading into each other. This row of buildings was in a cleared space near the village, with red dirt all around on the ground. This meant that when it rained, school was cancelled. As we went into the classrooms to teach English, we were mostly surprised with how much English they knew already. We found out that President Kagame changed the school system last year; where students in Primary School had always learned their lessons in French (Rwanda's second language), beginning last year they were required to switch to English (Rwandan's third language). This was all right for the younger ones who were just starting, but for a third- or fourth-grader, this presented some difficulties. And for the adult teachers, this presented MANY difficulties. But in true Rwandan style, they adjusted, regrouped, and moved forward.
After we spent around half an hour in the classrooms, teaching English words, singing English songs, and playing with the kids, we went back out to the courtyard where the children had prepared some games to share with us. They stood in a wide circle, and two children stood in the center. Both children were blindfolded, and they proceeded to play a version of "Marco Polo." With both blindfolded, one of them would say "where are you?" and the other would then have to say "I am here!" But they had to stay within the circle formed by the rest of the children who stood around them. The result was hilarious...as the seeker walked around with her arms outstretched and the other one tried to listen for her and escape, they came within a hair's length of each several times, and the crowd around them roared with laughter...all of us laughed until we cried.
They then asked us to teach them a game, and after we huddled for a minute, we decided on "Duck Duck Goose." So they circled around us, and we sat in the red dirt courtyard and played it, showing them how to play it as we went. Side-note here: Kris lost the game, and you would've thought a Super Bowl touchdown had just been scored by the screams and yells coming from the circle around us as Kris chased one of our teammates around our circle and failed to catch her!As we caught the first hint of twilight, we knew it was finally time to leave from our first visit to Bukonya. Night descends lightning-fast in Rwanda, and we had one more stop to make. As always, our journey down the steep mountain trail to our vehicles was attended by the entire community, each of us holding hands with as many children as could cluster around us. It was, and still is, surreal to me that these innocents could offer and expect love so readily and freely. I already miss that so much, that feeling of being so needed and being so loved!
But like I said, we had one last stop to make. Six of our team members were from Ashley Ridge Church in South Carolina, a church that has had a heart for this region like we have. One of their main adopted projects has been the Sustenance Farm that grows the food for the orphans. It is the largest the region has seen, even prompting government officials to come examine what's being done. Ashley Ridge pays the fees to lease the land and to do other things to support this farm. As the sun was setting, we arrived at the Sustenance Farm.
This was one of the most powerful experiences of our whole trip for me. To see Jenn, Clark, Kadie, Mandy, Katherine, and John be able to set eyes on what they have so long supported, so long encouraged their members to support, and so long investested in...it was an intense moment. We walked along the narrow trail, the corn crop on one side of us and the huge expanse of different crops growing on the field below us on the other side. Because of these crops, the orphans will not starve to death. Because of these crops, many people have jobs when they desperately need it. The trail ended on a point overlooking the twin rivers that serv
e as the source of the Nile River. We took some photos, Jenn recorded a video for her church, and we stood in silent reflection as we looked over the product of what can happen when God calls His people to help from a world away and the people respond. I felt truly blessed to be a witness to that...what joy to be part of a team doing God's work!!! The Rwandan sun set, and the Holy Spirit was there, all around us...it was not the first time (nor would it be the last) that I got the intense feeling we were standing on Holy Ground.
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