What we are doing...

Haven’t written in a few days so I will try to just jot down some quick stories, funny things that happened etc.

We had our first day of work at Never Again on Wednesday. The walk there was pretty hot, it was one of the hottest days we’ve had since we have been here. That coupled with our backpacks filled with our laptops, books, converter, water etc. and on top of that wearing pants because we were not yet sure what was appropriate at work, made for a very sweaty hike.

We got to the office and in no time at all we were being bombarded with paperwork. It seems as though paperwork here is crucial. We had our contracts and there were a couple of things wrong in the contract, things that could have been easily rectified by crossing it out and writing it correctly on top, such as the wrong date, or the paper saying “consultant” instead of “intern” but that warranted a reprint. Due to the language barrier (even though the guy in charge speaks English, it is just difficult to understand one another) Steph and I had trouble explaining that it was ok and we didn’t want them to waste any more paper trying to correct the little insignificant mistakes.

Our second day of work was Thursday.

We finalized what we would be working on during our time here in Rwanda. Steph and I together are going to develop a Human Rights Curriculum for the Youth Clubs. The plan is to create two separate documents: a human rights curriculum teaching guide for a teacher or leader of the club and a human rights workbook/manual for the individuals to read on their own and learn from.

We are also going to work separately on different projects. Steph is going to work with the girls and try and get a sense of their involvement in the clubs and more generally in Rwanda. Her goal is to empower them to attain more leadership roles, be more involved and possibly help with income generating ideas.

I am supposed to work with another intern who just arrived today, (Friday) from Rochester, on a project with the youths who are the heads of their families. It is an endemic problem in Rwanda where young people are thrust into the role of parent. We are going to try and access their needs together. The other intern is supposedly going to work with these kids on a regular basis. I am going to aid her in creating some advocacy projects these individuals can engage in to try and help them attain resources and aid from the government.

Correction (possibly). The piece above about me working with the other intern with the youth who are the heads of their family, may not happen since we just learned today that she is planning on working in an orphanage and using NAR as a hub instead of being an actual intern here. Who knows what will end up happening…

On another note, it has rained every day since we have arrived. Sometimes it rains at night when we are already back at our house and not planning on leaving. Other days it has rained midday, and made us grab a mini-bus instead of walk. The rain here is crazy. When it does rain, its the kind of rain at home that makes you go HOLY CRAP!!! but that is how it rains here normally apparently. It is supposed to be the dry season now (or at least not the rainy season). I wonder what it is like to be here during the rainy months.

Another quick story:
Yesterday (Thursday), Solomon, the "house boy" (he cooks for us and cleans up at NAR), came running in saying "Do you like Rwandan music?". So we followed him outside and he opened the gate and in came a man carrying a guitar and his assistant carrying a car battery, amp, and a speaker that was modified out of a plastic jerry can (very cool design). They were followed by a huge crowd of people who you would think were there to hear the music too but they were just there to look at the Muzungus. And the whole time they were there, that's exactly what they did.
As the guitarist was setting up his stuff Solomon says in broken English that the guitarist's eyes don't work, aka that he is blind. Nonetheless, he was amazing. He was able to set up his amp, tune his guitar & mic, and play with ease. His fingers moved so fast and he sang beautifully. He sang two songs and Steph got some pics of him and a lil video, so we will be sure to post them (pending the internet allows it).