So much to say, so little time!

I haven’t posted an entry in the past few days because I have either been too busy, too tired, or the internet has not been working. I regret having put this off because so much has happened and it’s hard for me to keep track of it all. Things are starting to prove less overwhelming and I’m starting to feel comfortable and very much at home. As our first week here draws to a close I am already getting sad that I will have to leave in three weeks. In fact, all of us have been joking around about returning next summer…If this were really possible I would jump at the chance.
Since my last post we have visited many more places in Butare. On Tuesday morning we took motorcycle taxis to the health clinic and the orphanage which is about a mile outside of town. We got a tour of the health center and the maternity ward and the make-shift lab. They explained to us that they can get malaria and HIV results within about 5 minutes by testing the ph of thin-smear slides...pretty amazing, huh? The clinic is where sessions for our program will be held and the nurses that work there will be trained to teach these sessions. The orphanage is interesting because the children are only there on Saturday (they are at school all other days), but the mothers, both adoptive and biological, were there yesterday doing work harvesting soy beans in return for food for themselves and the children. We talked to a few of the women with the help of Christophe, another RVCP member, about the work they were doing and about the children. We also met baby Naomi who was carried on her mother's back..she was one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. Yesterday was also the day that the women were given pigs and goats in return for their work. They are expected to raise and breed the animals as an income generation project. The women were so incredibly beautiful and strong and I can’t wait to start working with them for our maternal healthcare education project. They are so determined to provide for their families and it feels good to give back, even in this small way. Tomorrow morning we will return to meet all of the children and kick-start the program.
On Wednesday we didn’t have anything planned so we decided to walk around and explore. We ended up taking a trip to the market, which is filled with every kind of fruit you could ever imagine, a few dry-food goods, second-hand clothes, and the most vibrant fabrics of all patterns. I bought a papaya, a pineapple, and bananas for around $1. I finally get to fulfill my banana obsession with real Rwandan bananas, and best of all I got to exercise my French! We have been to the market everyday since Wednesday because the fruit is too good to resist. This weekend we plan on going to buy fabrics with which to have skirts made.
Yesterday we walked 30 minutes outside the town center to the National Museum. They take a lot of pride in their museums here, which made me feel a little guilty as a student that lives in the heart of D.C. and has only visited the Smithsonians once or twice. Much museum space was spent on displaying artifacts and stories from pre-colonial Rwanda at the time when Kingdoms were the ruling powers and cattle-rearing and subsistence agriculture formed the basis for the economy. Rwanda was the only African country that was not partitioned in the late 19th century, and this might have given it the chance to avoid conflict that has plagued other regions if Belgian colonial rule hadn’t stringently imposed ethnic divisions that mirrored much of Belgian society itself. Interestingly enough, the museum contained nothing at all about the genocide. I’m not sure why this is because the country is covered with genocide memorials and mass graves which people visit often; the students I have spoken to emphasize the fact that it is better to remember the horrors of ’94 than to let it be repeated. The youth here seems much more proactive…maybe I am just seeing a bigger concentration because of the small size of the country, but I don’t notice this as much at home. It seems that in the U.S. complacency is breed by comfort, and I wish more people recognized their potential.
Today we haven’t done much…I’ve just been sitting around reading. Right now I’m reading two books: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families about the genocide and Half the Sky about women’s empowerment as a way to increase economic productivity in developing countries. I think they’re complimenting my time here well. Tonight we will have our first official meeting with the RVCP. Because most members are medical students they have been very busy with exams this week so we have taken the time to settle in and get adjusted, but today we will get down to business and come up with a time-table for the rest of our stay and begin collaboration on our project. I’m excited to be getting to work and to hear the input from the RVCP on something I have put so much time into this past semester. We have nothing to lose in our attempt to implement this program, and as of now our potential is limitless. Everyday here is an adventure, and I can’t wait to see what this next week of work will bring.