I, Kate Kelley, am now the International Coordinator of A Walk to Remember. I have meetings with individuals from Asia, India, and the UK next week to discuss this year’s event as I am now responsible for all of our international efforts. I am incredibly honored that PLP has chosen me but I would love to see my Mom's face right now as she reads this. If I were not so concerned about google and this blog coming up when you search for A Walk to Remember I would elaborate. How and why do these wonderful things keep happening to me? If I knew I would be put in all these positions, I would have studied A LOT harder in school!!! (You'll have to wait for more information on the event. I am in the process of reworking our mission statement and strategic goals but will share once they have been approved).
In other news, today was The Watchman. The Watchman is another event hosted by PLP at the Niboye Peace Village. This village is a collection of 22 houses with an average of five people living in each house (three small rooms, kitchen, and living room). The individuals living in the houses are all victims of the genocide and part of children run households. The oldest person at the village is approximately 25 and all of its inhabitants are orphans. They live on roughly $124 frw or $0.22 USD per month. Since the oldest child in each house (now around my age) was responsible for taking care of the others, they did not have the opportunity to go to school or have access to programs that would teach them income generating skills. As a result, very few households earn any additional income. Many of the children, who are now in their teens, have been displaced so often that most are still in primary school. For example, the family I met included a boy (15), Goodness, who was one at the time of the genocide and his brother (21) who was six and sister (22) who was seven. Their parents, older sister, aunts, uncles and grandparents were killed during the genocide. They had one grandmother left who they lived with until she passed in 2004 and moved to the village in 2007. Goodness is 15 and in the sixth grade, his brother is currently unemployed and his sister is a secretary. They have no electricity and minimal plumbing.
The primary purpose of the event is to show the people of the village that they are not forgotten and bring them two months worth of food and supplies. Now that I am more involved with PLP, my goal is to have workshops next year that will teach them the skills necessary to generate some sort of income for their families. The workshops could include basket weaving, farming, etc. There have to be a couple people in the farming community that could use some help and the kids stories are so moving that you could set up some sort of foundation or online store to sell their goods. I have to think about it more but I know there is a solution. Right now we are just giving them the food/supplies which is only a temporary fix. I would much rather help them to become self-sufficient. The whole give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish thing...
Overall, great day, I feel so blessed to be here and have the opportunity to meet all of these wonderful people. They are always falling all over themselves trying to thank me for being here and I wish somehow I could communicate to them just how grateful I am to them for being a part of my life. It's hard to explain but they are giving me more than I could ever give them.
I can't believe it is December 5th...so crazy. I hope everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit...PLEASE BUY A BRICK! www.livingbrickscampaign.org
Love you more than you know.
P.S. The first member of my A Walk to Remember US based team will be Ms. Brittany Kelley, followed by Ms. Windy Kelley, Mrs. Paula Reele, and Ms. Rebecca Shaw. Our first meeting will be two weeks after I get back, more details to come.
im in kate kelley!
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