My computer broke and I am not happy about it! I love it. Love.
Aside from that, I am doing a lot of self-reflecting and realizing what a psycho I am. Or, I should say, how warped my mentality is. I am a crazy worker, like non-stop (and I don't think I even accomplish that much). I am here in Rwanda, stressed out and I cannot figure out why I allow things, like work, to get to me. It's truly amazing how worked up I can get. You'd think that I was responsible for everything and anything in the world. I must just have a major ego problem. Everyone around me is so capable but so very few actually take the initiative which is really frustrating. But, starting next week a couple more of the PLP guys will be back so they will help a ton. I just have to focus on r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g or at least managing my time better. There is enough work between W2R, AWF and the bball camp to stay busy for 24hrs a day and so far, I am letting it take over. I have actually made myself sick! I've got a headache, borderline swollen glands and no voice (but I have been told I talk too much so that could be the reason as well). It shows me that I have to prioritize. In my head, I think a hard worker is someone who is constantly working and usually stressed...I don't think that is the only way to be. I think I can still be a hard worker...in moderation (haha, story of my life, moderation and I are not friends). So, basically, Rwanda has been a mirror and I'm not loving what I see. Thankfully I know I'll never be prefect but I sure hope someday soon I will be relaxed. I'm learning so much here!! I'm so thankful.
For bball camp, I am a slacker and am behind on my newsletters but like I said earlier, I am working like crazy and there just aren't enough hours. So, it will get done and I'm sorry for the delay.
Basketball yesterday was the best one yet. The older boys have really started to step up. They were directing people to the right positions, being vocal, enthusiastic, and so helpful! We had a dance/rap session and played games. I am so proud of all of them. As for the younger ones, 4-9, it was not as positive of an experience. Yesterday it was a sob-fest. According to Rachel, they cried the entire time. We had a counselor working with us and she was saying one of the reasons they may have acted like that is because now they know they will get the attention. They are so used to being ignored or turned away that now that they know we are here and we care, they can let it out and cry. They know their crying will get them some loving so they do it. Knowing that breaks my heart that next week is the last week! We’ve just started our relationship. I can't believe it...
I miss you all and LOVE you.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
But she's pink!
So, I finally met Rica, the woman that is the reason I came here. We met at Bourbon Coffee (the hot spot in Kigali) randomly last Saturday. I was with Marc and Dadi because we were supposed to meet with the Mkting Manager and a young girl came up to our table and started rubbing my hair (which was down) and said "are you called Kate?" As she continued to run her fingers through my hair, I looked at her and was trying to figure out who she was. I had no idea so just answered, "yes" and as I looked up I saw her mom, Rica. It was so great to see her. She is such a wonderful lady and we plan to meet up soon for lunch.
Anyway, the girl (6), I forget her name, and her brother (7) came back over to our table and started playing with Dadi and Marc. The son went through his homework with Dadi and the girl was busy basically beating up Marc. After about 10 mins, the girl looks at me, then looks at Marc and says to Marc, "is she your sister?" He said "yes" and then without a pause she asked if I was older or younger and then she got a very puzzled look on her face...she looked at Marc, she looked at me, and then said, "but, she's pink."
It was great! We all started laughing because she was so serious and so confused. I completely forgot that story until I saw Marc today and he reminded me, I knew you guys would like it so I thought I'd share!
I am so happy here. I feel like I have been given the gift of brothers. GLeo is my numero uno brother but now I have a couple. It's so great and I am so blessed.
LOVE YOU.
Anyway, the girl (6), I forget her name, and her brother (7) came back over to our table and started playing with Dadi and Marc. The son went through his homework with Dadi and the girl was busy basically beating up Marc. After about 10 mins, the girl looks at me, then looks at Marc and says to Marc, "is she your sister?" He said "yes" and then without a pause she asked if I was older or younger and then she got a very puzzled look on her face...she looked at Marc, she looked at me, and then said, "but, she's pink."
It was great! We all started laughing because she was so serious and so confused. I completely forgot that story until I saw Marc today and he reminded me, I knew you guys would like it so I thought I'd share!
I am so happy here. I feel like I have been given the gift of brothers. GLeo is my numero uno brother but now I have a couple. It's so great and I am so blessed.
LOVE YOU.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Have I told you lately how much I LOVE the kids at the basketball camp? If not, I do. Every Saturday I leave thinking I cannot wait to have my chubba lubba babies! Also, I am officially adopting. I think I'll have one, adopt one, have one, adopt one. I will obviously have to clear that with the future hubby (wherever he is) but I think we'll be on the same page and if he needs convincing we can just take a quick trip back here. I'm thinking I'll adopt from the US and from Rwanda but, only time will tell. Per usual, I've got big plans! But, I will admit, that the best times in my life so far were not part of my plans so I’m going to just go with the flow.
Also, everyone has said that Rwanda is lucky for love...meaning that there are a bunch of stories of women coming here and then going home and BAM they meet their man sooooo, yeah, watch out now. I obviously have no expectation but I am quickly approaching 26 so it's time to get focused! I will say that it will be weird to see all those umuzungu men around but I will adjust.
Other than that, we had a training session today in preparation for Walk to Remember. We had the Rwandan Representatives come to the Kigali Memorial Center to do a tour and participate in various discussion groups – one on counseling trauma cases , another on their feelings/concerns, and one on the history. It was so interesting to hear their thoughts. Many of the participants are survivors who lost their parents in the genocide and everyone in the room had lost a family member or friend. It was fascinating to hear them speak. A couple had mentioned their fear of traveling to the other countries unprotected. As survivors, they fear the perpetrators who fled to those countries will attack them. Unfortunately, it is a real fear and it never crossed my mind. It shows me how limited my understanding is of the real issues here. Even here it is so easy to get lost in the day to day activities and ignore the fact that only 15 years ago over one million people were murdered here. I read a quote today at the memorial today that really struck me, “But the genocidaires did not kill a million people. They killed one, then another, then another… day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute. Every minute of the day, someone, somewhere was being murdered, screaming for mercy. Receiving none. And the killing went on and on and on…10,000 each day, 400 each hour, 7 each minute, That’s approximately 100 murders since you started this exhibition…another 200 murders before you leave the building…24 hours a day, non-stop for 100 days.” It’s just so unbelievable to me. I cannot believe that it was possible and the experiences of these people my age and younger. A third of them witnessed this kind of violence; some of them potentially saw their parents and siblings murdered at seven. At seven, you have your memory, they carry those images with them…it’s too much to think about and I will never understand. I will say though, from the group that I have met so far, they smile, they laugh, and they are just wonderful.
So, this blog went from light to heavy but that was my day.
I heart you all BIGTIME.
Also, everyone has said that Rwanda is lucky for love...meaning that there are a bunch of stories of women coming here and then going home and BAM they meet their man sooooo, yeah, watch out now. I obviously have no expectation but I am quickly approaching 26 so it's time to get focused! I will say that it will be weird to see all those umuzungu men around but I will adjust.
Other than that, we had a training session today in preparation for Walk to Remember. We had the Rwandan Representatives come to the Kigali Memorial Center to do a tour and participate in various discussion groups – one on counseling trauma cases , another on their feelings/concerns, and one on the history. It was so interesting to hear their thoughts. Many of the participants are survivors who lost their parents in the genocide and everyone in the room had lost a family member or friend. It was fascinating to hear them speak. A couple had mentioned their fear of traveling to the other countries unprotected. As survivors, they fear the perpetrators who fled to those countries will attack them. Unfortunately, it is a real fear and it never crossed my mind. It shows me how limited my understanding is of the real issues here. Even here it is so easy to get lost in the day to day activities and ignore the fact that only 15 years ago over one million people were murdered here. I read a quote today at the memorial today that really struck me, “But the genocidaires did not kill a million people. They killed one, then another, then another… day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute. Every minute of the day, someone, somewhere was being murdered, screaming for mercy. Receiving none. And the killing went on and on and on…10,000 each day, 400 each hour, 7 each minute, That’s approximately 100 murders since you started this exhibition…another 200 murders before you leave the building…24 hours a day, non-stop for 100 days.” It’s just so unbelievable to me. I cannot believe that it was possible and the experiences of these people my age and younger. A third of them witnessed this kind of violence; some of them potentially saw their parents and siblings murdered at seven. At seven, you have your memory, they carry those images with them…it’s too much to think about and I will never understand. I will say though, from the group that I have met so far, they smile, they laugh, and they are just wonderful.
So, this blog went from light to heavy but that was my day.
I heart you all BIGTIME.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
$100 Can Change a Life!
BASKETBALL CAMP IS AWESOME, more to come in the newsletter.
All I have to say is…I do not know how I am going to end it in four weeks. I am getting very attached to the kids and the coaches are so great. I have so many wonderful pictures that I cannot wait to share!
Aside from camp, but still related, we have a five year old boy who came to camp the first week with a terrible burn on his forearm. He was pushed in a fire and the skin was basically gone. Someone put bad medicine on it and left it open so it was infected and very dirty. Rachel, my roommate, noticed it when one of the other kids was annoyed with him and grabbed it, which lead to screaming and a lot of tears. Anyway, we have been taking him to the hospital every four days since 13 Feb and it is healing nicely. My roommate and I were talking about how if this went untreated, he probably would have lost his arm and/ died from an infection. It’s amazing what proper medical attention can do. To “fix” him, all he needs is the wound to be cleaned with saline and the bandage changed every four days or so. In order to get this kind of treatment, it costs only $10 a visit, something his family cannot afford. He could have lost a limb or died for less than $100 worth of treatment. This attention is something that we take for granted and I makes me realize how important access to medical care is for developing countries (or anywhere really). It’s just sad to think that a mother would have lost her child for less than $100.
I would like to thank everyone who donated to the camp. Part of your contribution is paying for his hospital visits…you saved a kids limb and, most likely, saved him from a future of begging on the streets.
All I have to say is…I do not know how I am going to end it in four weeks. I am getting very attached to the kids and the coaches are so great. I have so many wonderful pictures that I cannot wait to share!
Aside from camp, but still related, we have a five year old boy who came to camp the first week with a terrible burn on his forearm. He was pushed in a fire and the skin was basically gone. Someone put bad medicine on it and left it open so it was infected and very dirty. Rachel, my roommate, noticed it when one of the other kids was annoyed with him and grabbed it, which lead to screaming and a lot of tears. Anyway, we have been taking him to the hospital every four days since 13 Feb and it is healing nicely. My roommate and I were talking about how if this went untreated, he probably would have lost his arm and/ died from an infection. It’s amazing what proper medical attention can do. To “fix” him, all he needs is the wound to be cleaned with saline and the bandage changed every four days or so. In order to get this kind of treatment, it costs only $10 a visit, something his family cannot afford. He could have lost a limb or died for less than $100 worth of treatment. This attention is something that we take for granted and I makes me realize how important access to medical care is for developing countries (or anywhere really). It’s just sad to think that a mother would have lost her child for less than $100.
I would like to thank everyone who donated to the camp. Part of your contribution is paying for his hospital visits…you saved a kids limb and, most likely, saved him from a future of begging on the streets.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
There's a leak....
So, we're approaching rainy season (which I thought just passed) and there have been a string of rain storms over the past three days (like, legit rain) which has been beating down on our roof, which apparently has a leak, which happens to be directly over my bed and since I tend to sprawl out in the middle, it dripped right next to my head until I woke up in a puddle of water (that's an exaggeration but you get the picture). So, not cool.
Aside from the leak, life is good. I am obsessed with the basketball camp, obsessed! I am so excited for Saturday and I really like the people I am working with. It's a great group and I always find it amazing how quickly I like people....haha it's a problem! They are just a good group which makes it easy for us to work together. Usually we meet once a week, before camp, and write up the schedule. They decide what drills we should do and how much time each should take. We then do a walk-thru. This week we went over defensive positioning. They had NO IDEA. They did not know what on-the-ball, help or denial defense was and most of them played basketball in school. I have no idea what they are teaching them in terms of the principles of defense if they do not hit on those three positions. The problem here is that no one learns the fundamentals because their is no one here who can really teach it. There is a huge gap that needs to be filled...
Now, on to filling that gap...I met a guy at the grocery store the other night when I was in my Bentley sweatshirt and he asked if I played. I said yes (obvi) so he gave me his card (He is one of the assistant coaches for the national team as well as a manager). I called him and set-up a time to meet because I was curious how we could work together to improve basketball on a national level and see if he wanted to be a speaker at the camp. Well, we met at Bourbon (the hot spot in Kigali and the place where I had my first full cup of coffee...monumentus occasion for me) and we had a great conversation. He is from Kenya and it was really interesting to get his perspective on the Rwandan culture in general and the current sporting environment. We had a lot of similar views and we are going to work together to start-up a few camps in Kigali with the Federation (maybe). My goal is to have a open session where everyone in Kigali interested in learning how to play comes to the National Stadium for a coaching session. It would be an all day event and the first 50 participants would be on the floor as the players and the remaining participants could just fill the stadium and watch. I’m going to work closely with him to figure out the best approach and if that is even possible. Either way, I’m excited. After talking to a couple local officials directly involved with Rwandan sports, I have decided (with no research or experience to back it up) that the problem lies in the lack of exposure. If you don't have access to the sport or any knowledge base whatsoever, why would you care? And, if the general population does not care, then they do not attend games, if they do not attend games, teams cannot get sponsorship, if they don't get sponsorship, they have no money to fund activities...it’s a vicious cycle!
WHO KNOWS?!?! So much to do, so little time AND, I have to start to relax, per usual. I’m working like crazy and one of my colleagues gave me some good advice…she said you should never care more than they do….food for thought! And she also said that sometimes we spend too much time on the urgent things but not enough time on the important things….all true statements.
Sending huge hugs (I can’t say massive anymore because I over use it)
I love you.
Aside from the leak, life is good. I am obsessed with the basketball camp, obsessed! I am so excited for Saturday and I really like the people I am working with. It's a great group and I always find it amazing how quickly I like people....haha it's a problem! They are just a good group which makes it easy for us to work together. Usually we meet once a week, before camp, and write up the schedule. They decide what drills we should do and how much time each should take. We then do a walk-thru. This week we went over defensive positioning. They had NO IDEA. They did not know what on-the-ball, help or denial defense was and most of them played basketball in school. I have no idea what they are teaching them in terms of the principles of defense if they do not hit on those three positions. The problem here is that no one learns the fundamentals because their is no one here who can really teach it. There is a huge gap that needs to be filled...
Now, on to filling that gap...I met a guy at the grocery store the other night when I was in my Bentley sweatshirt and he asked if I played. I said yes (obvi) so he gave me his card (He is one of the assistant coaches for the national team as well as a manager). I called him and set-up a time to meet because I was curious how we could work together to improve basketball on a national level and see if he wanted to be a speaker at the camp. Well, we met at Bourbon (the hot spot in Kigali and the place where I had my first full cup of coffee...monumentus occasion for me) and we had a great conversation. He is from Kenya and it was really interesting to get his perspective on the Rwandan culture in general and the current sporting environment. We had a lot of similar views and we are going to work together to start-up a few camps in Kigali with the Federation (maybe). My goal is to have a open session where everyone in Kigali interested in learning how to play comes to the National Stadium for a coaching session. It would be an all day event and the first 50 participants would be on the floor as the players and the remaining participants could just fill the stadium and watch. I’m going to work closely with him to figure out the best approach and if that is even possible. Either way, I’m excited. After talking to a couple local officials directly involved with Rwandan sports, I have decided (with no research or experience to back it up) that the problem lies in the lack of exposure. If you don't have access to the sport or any knowledge base whatsoever, why would you care? And, if the general population does not care, then they do not attend games, if they do not attend games, teams cannot get sponsorship, if they don't get sponsorship, they have no money to fund activities...it’s a vicious cycle!
WHO KNOWS?!?! So much to do, so little time AND, I have to start to relax, per usual. I’m working like crazy and one of my colleagues gave me some good advice…she said you should never care more than they do….food for thought! And she also said that sometimes we spend too much time on the urgent things but not enough time on the important things….all true statements.
Sending huge hugs (I can’t say massive anymore because I over use it)
I love you.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Just Call Me the Enabler...
Hello my friends...so, had a minor breakdown last night...well, actually not really, I was just frustrated. We had a huge meeting at CNLG (National Commission for the Fight against Genocide) this morning for Walk to Remember. In order to make this project successful, we need to get sponsorship or endorsements from CNLG and a couple of the gov't ministries. Well, in preparation for the meeting, we had planned to meet up the night before and do a run through of the presentation. Of the four of us, only two people showed up...me being one. Let me take a moment to explain how important this meeting was....as far as we were concerned, the room would be filled with Ministers, other gov't officials, and the CEO's of three major telecommunication companies...granted, since we are in Rwanda, only three people showed up but still, that's not the point.
The point is that I am an enabler! I looked through the documents and I did way too much. I am running this project. As "International Coordinator" I guess that is my job but I am having a battle in my brain as to whether or not this is the right thing for me to do. I want to be a teacher, not the person doing all the work (unfortunately, I love it but still).
So, yeah, that's the problem. PLUS, we are having major issues with time. According to some Rwandans, they run on social time, which means that their time is based on events not the actual clock....lame excuse for ALWAYS being late to me. (Of course it is not all Rwandans but I would say at the very least 83% of them). Nothing ever starts on time and even major events don't start when they are supposed to. Everyone says that you have to say an hour earlier than you mean but if you do that then there is no such thing as real time. If I say it starts at 6 but really starts at 7, everyone knows that it really starts at 7 so show up late for 7...whereas if I say it starts at 6, and it really starts at 6, no one shows up for an hour or so but the ones that do actually show up at 6 have to wait around...so there is no reason to be on time because if you are on time, you have to wait and if you are late, you are on-time. Basically, from now on I am starting all meetings when I say I am and that's that. We set up some rules and are going to start enforcing a time policy. If you are more than 10 mins late it counts as a missed meeting, two missed meetings and peace out! We'll see, wish me luck.
Other than that, loving life. Still have so much to work on personally in my own heart but I am trucking along. I really, really love the people. I have been blessed with some great friendships here. AND, rumor has it that when you come back from Rwanda, you get a man. Last five girls that stayed here for awhile and then came home found their man if they didn't have one or got engaged....watch out now!
O, and the meeting at CNLG…it went really well. I kind of wish we bombed it just for the lesson but they are going to endorse us, we have support from the Ministry of Sports and Culture (not official, official but will be soon) and one of the organizations told us we have to come to them as soon as we are ready to start our sponsorship push. All in all, pretty good….now we have less than 50 days to raise $310K USD…God better be behind this project
I miss you all and love you lots!
The point is that I am an enabler! I looked through the documents and I did way too much. I am running this project. As "International Coordinator" I guess that is my job but I am having a battle in my brain as to whether or not this is the right thing for me to do. I want to be a teacher, not the person doing all the work (unfortunately, I love it but still).
So, yeah, that's the problem. PLUS, we are having major issues with time. According to some Rwandans, they run on social time, which means that their time is based on events not the actual clock....lame excuse for ALWAYS being late to me. (Of course it is not all Rwandans but I would say at the very least 83% of them). Nothing ever starts on time and even major events don't start when they are supposed to. Everyone says that you have to say an hour earlier than you mean but if you do that then there is no such thing as real time. If I say it starts at 6 but really starts at 7, everyone knows that it really starts at 7 so show up late for 7...whereas if I say it starts at 6, and it really starts at 6, no one shows up for an hour or so but the ones that do actually show up at 6 have to wait around...so there is no reason to be on time because if you are on time, you have to wait and if you are late, you are on-time. Basically, from now on I am starting all meetings when I say I am and that's that. We set up some rules and are going to start enforcing a time policy. If you are more than 10 mins late it counts as a missed meeting, two missed meetings and peace out! We'll see, wish me luck.
Other than that, loving life. Still have so much to work on personally in my own heart but I am trucking along. I really, really love the people. I have been blessed with some great friendships here. AND, rumor has it that when you come back from Rwanda, you get a man. Last five girls that stayed here for awhile and then came home found their man if they didn't have one or got engaged....watch out now!
O, and the meeting at CNLG…it went really well. I kind of wish we bombed it just for the lesson but they are going to endorse us, we have support from the Ministry of Sports and Culture (not official, official but will be soon) and one of the organizations told us we have to come to them as soon as we are ready to start our sponsorship push. All in all, pretty good….now we have less than 50 days to raise $310K USD…God better be behind this project
I miss you all and love you lots!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
UBUMWE Basketball Camp - Day 1
Day 1 / Weekend 1 is complete! Lots of things went wrong but it was awesome (seriously). Being in Rwanda has really taught me to roll with the punches and just figure it out. Despite my constant follow-up and contact, the woman that was supposed to give us the balls was unavailable, the t-shirt factory burnt down in an electrical fire so we did not get the shirts (and will not until Monday), the restaurant did not have transport, the coaches all showed up 45 mins late, the kids showed up an hour late, we had to take one of the four year olds to the hospital two minutes into camp because he came with no skin on his right forearm (literally), and I only applied sunscreen once so look like a tomato BUT, aside from all that, I think the kids really enjoyed themselves.
I really think we can make an impact on these kids lives. Some of them were pretty good and they are very quick learners. It's really impressive. The girls especially did a great job but there were a few guys that played really well. I am really looking forward to tracking their progress. We had 60 kids, 50 that were old enough to coach, and they all seemed really into it. My roommates were so helpful. I do not know how this would have worked without them. I have a ton to improve on in terms of implementation because it could have run a lot smoother but I feel like I was mobile...a lot of things were out of my control but we bounced back well. I'm really looking forward to next week.
Other than camp, I'm really happy. I have some great friends here (miss you all of course!). The PLP guys are just amazing. I have become so close with a couple of them and I just know they will always be a part of my life going forward. I really feel blessed. This has been difficult at times, because I committed to too many things, per usual, but today was one of those days that makes it all worth it. I am just so lucky. I don't know why I do the things I do but I'm liking God's plan. I have to be more trusting...so far, this has been an awesome life and I feel like I am just getting started.
I really think we can make an impact on these kids lives. Some of them were pretty good and they are very quick learners. It's really impressive. The girls especially did a great job but there were a few guys that played really well. I am really looking forward to tracking their progress. We had 60 kids, 50 that were old enough to coach, and they all seemed really into it. My roommates were so helpful. I do not know how this would have worked without them. I have a ton to improve on in terms of implementation because it could have run a lot smoother but I feel like I was mobile...a lot of things were out of my control but we bounced back well. I'm really looking forward to next week.
Other than camp, I'm really happy. I have some great friends here (miss you all of course!). The PLP guys are just amazing. I have become so close with a couple of them and I just know they will always be a part of my life going forward. I really feel blessed. This has been difficult at times, because I committed to too many things, per usual, but today was one of those days that makes it all worth it. I am just so lucky. I don't know why I do the things I do but I'm liking God's plan. I have to be more trusting...so far, this has been an awesome life and I feel like I am just getting started.
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