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The event was a great time of both celebration for what has already been achieved, and what still needs to be done. If you would like to contribute to the Branded cause or learn more click here.

One of the last things that the group team from Highlands did was, perhaps,  one of the most impactful for many of them, the house visits. Several of the children sponsored by different team members lived close to school. So, after the farewell celebration that was done by the students (see last post), the team members split up into smaller groups and went out into the community with FH staff to visit some of the families.

Of all the things the team was able to do while in Rwanda this was probably one of the most raw and authentic experiences. No longer are you focused on a vision that includes so many, no longer are you talking about them, suddenly it all boils down to one single child who lives in one particular family.  Some of the families visited had both a mom and a dad taking care of the many children, some were single parents, other children were taken care of by only a grandmother or grandfather. All of the families lived in modest homes, their caregivers working their land and livestock to ensure the survival of their kids.

Their seemed to be multiple periods of sweet and unspoken connections during these visits. Though most parents spoke no English, the translators weren’t needed to communicate the heart of what was being said. While the children appreciated meeting their sponsors, and I’m sure loved getting the small gifts, the parents understood what was being provided to their children that they simply couldn’t provide on their own. There was a humbling appreciation that radiated from the eyes of these parents, as if you were seeing their very hearts gleaming through.  With kind embraces and gentle handshakes they would warmly greet their guests, always inviting them in to their homes.

The visits didn’t last long; usually no more than fifteen to twenty minutes each. But in that time everything became clearer. The struggles of the families, obstacles before them, the hope they still carried, the joy they held tightly to. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. In my experience, Christ is always magnified more in the lives of those who face the biggest struggles, the darkest darkness, or the most difficult roads. It is in these places that hope, grace, and joy seem so unattainable, and yet with him, seem like the only thing that truly matters. It saddens me that in our lives of comparative comfort back in the states we are reminded of this truth seldom and far between. We don’t cling to the grace of God because we must actively seek the reality of that truth; we don’t acknowledge the hope we have in Him, because we surround ourselves by artificial hope; and we don’t realize that we stand in darkness, because many times darkness just looks a lot different for us.

It is my hope that this time was as valuable for the Highlands team members as I suspect it was. I also hope it was a time of encouragement for those visited, a time of sweet reunion between souls striving on towards the same end goal. For me it was another reminder on this journey that when it all boils down to it the only thing that is left is relationships.

People and the Triune God.
That’s it.

When we lost sight of this we lose sight both of what holds us together and what gives us life. It is my prayer that this understanding in my life will continue to be built upon. But for now, what a sweet and beautiful reminder.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,  from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Well I am officially way behind on my updates.  I spent the past two days hiking in Nyungwe Park here in Rwanda (will tell you more about that soon:), but now I’m trying to pack, say goodbyes, and update this blog. So, here is the plan. I am only here in Rwanda for one more day. I then fly to Seattle to stay with my good friends David and Tara Malouf and their awesome family for about a week. While there I’ll try to continue to post updates to fill the gap between stories and pictures. And speaking of pictures, I really hope to have more time to work on getting some more pictures edited and put up. Shooting out here is amazing, as if that isn’t enough motivation ot work on my stuff I’ve been keeping an eye on my buddy Phillip’s blog, as he travels through the UK & Europe. Amazing stuff. Long story short, I’m motivated and hope to really dig more into the photos soon!

All of that said here is a bit more on the Highlands team and their trip last week!

A New Resettlement Village Off the Beaten Path

Last Wednesday afternoon was spent with Wilson, the head of the Rwimiyaga Sector, taking our group to a newly resettled area. The people had just relocated in this land, adjacent to the river above and right on the border of Tanzania.

Water is still hard to come by, and outside of the river and pools stemming from it, there is no other source of water. Above, a young boy is filling a jerry can with water to take back. Sometimes this is boiled before drinking, but that happens more seldom than we’d care to believe. This leads to all kinds of issues.

We stopped in the village and spent some time talking with the people, or rather attempting to talk. It seems that we caused quite a rukas as we disrupted the norm of daily routine. Within about 30 seconds we had what seemed to be the whole villiage surrounding us. I tried to sneak away and take a few pictures of people off to the sides.

This building was recently constructed. I don’t know whether it is a house or business (maybe restaurant) but I love the texture of the mud with the bright blue doors!

Below you can see a woman looking on with excitement as Dr. Jackson puts his Kinyirwandan to good use and carries out a fun debate with a local man on who should be hosting who.

Above, Nate is hanging out the back of the van getting shots of the scenery. Below, you can see the beautiful Rwandan sunset as we made our way back to Nygatare.

A Farewell at Gacundezi Primary School

On Thursday the team made it back to Gacundezi Primary school for a goodbye presentation by several students. The students played drums, sang, and performed several beautiful dances.

The girl pictured above lead most of the dances, did a solo, and even pulled some of the members from the Highlands team up (see below).

Becky, the FH Regional Coordinator, worked with the PBS film crew that was shooting the “Heroes of Hope” film series. She looks on (above) as the children are dancing and the film crew is hard at work.

One of the students, eager to find a better view, takes to the trees!

The Highlands Team representing the USA, Highlands Church, and white dancers everywhere. Well done everyone

It really was a beautiful goodbye. One that I’m sure no one from the trip will soon forget!

Highlands Trip Continued…The community based team

As I mentioned in the previous post the Highlands Team was divided into two groups to more effectively utilize their time in Eastern Rwanda. While the other team focused primarily on the government and business side of things, this group was keyed in on better understanding how to work alongside the local churches, health clinic, and schools. This group both investigated new areas to affect change as well as evaluate the success of partnerships already existing.

About a year and a half ago Highlands began a C2C  (community to community) relationship with the primary school in Gacundezi. This commitment started with sponsoring children in the school. Currently highlands has sponsored a little more than half of the kids in the school. It works like this:
Food for the Hungry enters into a community that they have initiated a relationship with. Field staff then work with local leaders and ask the local leaders to identify the children in the school that are in the most need. Those children are then enrolled in the CDP program (Child Development Program). Once children are sponsored the funds are pooled to aid the entire group of children enrolled in the program. For example. Highlands sponsors children in the Gacundezi primary school. The school has 1224 students enrolled right now of those about 450 are part of FH’s CDP program; of those 450, roughly 250 have been sponsored. Those that are sponsored correspond by letter with the sponsor, which is one of the personal ways this positively affects the children, the funds though, are used to aid all 450 kids enrolled in the program. This means that the more children who are sponsored, the more kids there are that benefit (ex: if a small portion are sponsored funds may be used to cover school supplies, but as more are sponsored medical coverage can be extended as well).

So, the sponsorship was one of several things being evaluated and looked at while the group was out. Continue reading below to learn more about this portion of the trip.

Gacundezi Primary School -Part of the Highlands Church C2C relationship

Outside the primary school Alicia, Ketan, Phil and Dave are surrounded by excited children, children who don’t see many visitors.

Bathrooms (pit latrines) outside of the primary school.

The need for more bathrooms is just one of the areas the school needs assistance. Currently the largest need here is that of classrooms. With 1224 students, coming either to a morning and afternoon session, and having only 9 classrooms, there ends up being 45-60 students per class. To compound this problem, several classes end up meeting outside underneath the trees. Other than obvious difficulties and distractions with having class outside, there is a major issue that arises when in rains. When it does rain, which is frequent, students have to join another class inside. This puts 90-120 students in one room which quickly puts a halt to any education.

This is one of many problems in which the team is evaluating and seeking positive and creative solutions.

Student outside the school

Flowers in the garden separating the primary and secondary school

Secondary school

Desks awaiting repair outside of the secondary school

Vicki talking with a secondary student. They were discussing reading. The young girl explained that she loved reading and learning English, but like many students, she has a very difficult time find books.

Kenna sitting between two of the sponsored children

Stephanie taking one of her great photos

The group meeting with the head of the local PTA

One strength in this community is the way people work together. As Westerners we have this tendency to enter into situations like this with a mindset that “We are now here, we will fix all your problems.” In reality poverty, in all uses of the word, is extremely complicated. In most cases the communities we enter, whether as individuals, churches or NGO’s, often already have a lot of positive things happening. In this community we have been encouraged with the pride people have in their community and their willingness to work together. This is evident in the way parents work with the school to better their children’s education, in the fact that the local churches have a council that provides open channels of communication, and in how the government is such an active member of the community.

Original building of the health clinic, constructed in the late 90′s by a Canadian NGO.

One of the focuses of the group was assessing available health care and identifying ways that it could be improved. Currently Gacundezi has a health clinic that services roughly 150 people a day. The facility has an older building, as well as a newer building that was constructed by Oxfam in 2008. While it is much improved compared to what it was, it still has some major needs. The first two major needs are power and water. As of now the clinic functions without either. They use lanterns at night and have a small generator that can be turned on to briefly run tests with the microscope. Water is collected from the roof in rains and reused. Water for medical purposes must be boiled to sterilize it.

From what we gathered from the Mayor, both of these issues should be gone by September. Other opportunities are still present. Currently the clinic has only nurses, no doctors. Any surgeries or complicated cases have to be sent to the closest hospital which is located in Nygatare. Unfortunately there are only 2 ambulances (cars) servicing Nygatare Hospital and they have 18 different clinics that they cover.

Some of the biggest health issues that people come in for are malaria, diarrhea (dehydration), and respiratory diseases. The clinic is also working with an NGO to establish an HIV/AIDS testing and education program. Currently there are no solid estimates to how prevalent HIV/AIDS is in this district (though compared to other areas of Africa, Rwanda has relatively low infection rates estimated in the 6-13% range).

The team will now assess this and an abundance of information gathered to assess how a healthy (excuse the pun) relationship might be entered into here.

(above) people wait to be seen outside of the clinic.
(below) a nurse dispenses medicines from the clinic pharmacy.

The Church

As mentioned, the church in the area seems to be on the right path in that there is already a council representing the majority of churches in the area. This council allows for open channels of communication, they take on joint projects within the community, and they work towards a common vision. There are opportunities still in the community, that the church would like assistance with. At this point while some of those opportunities relate to construction of churches (more finishing/fixing existing buildings), one of the biggest opportunities seems to be in training pastors.

So what now?

All in all this team did an amazing job in a short amount of time. Making a posotive difference in Health, Education and the local Church is no easy task, and certainly something that must be done by walking beside people (not in front of). All that to say, it will be interesting to see what steps are taken next towards furthering this partnership. God has been incredibly gracious in the people he has brought us into relationship with, we truly met some amazing individuals, and if that is any indication to whether or not He is active in what is being done. I don’t think there is any question that He is, it is now a matter of dicerning the current information and using wisdom and the guidance of the Spirit to step forward.

Highlands Trip Continued…the business team

Highlands team of 16 people was divided into two different groups while in the east. One team was focused on the business projects, the other, embracing and supporting the community through initiatives relating to Health, Church and Education. My next post will talk more about the latter, but here I will tell you more about the team that focused on creating opportunities for development within the culture through business projects.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had narrowed the focus of business opportunities down to three areas prior to the teams arrival.
1. Dairy
2. Cattle Slaughterhouse (meat & hides)
3. Tourism

The team met with various people from the mayor of the district, to the individual farmers. Read on below to learn more about the area and what the team did.

From left to right: Tyler (missions pastor at Highlands), Dave, Jim, Dwight (country director of Rwanda), Mugabo Wilson (Head of Rwimiyaga Sector).

The team discusses possible ways to increase tourism in the area. Their are a variety of ways that this could be done and multiple project possibilities were discussed. Mugabo is eager to work with the team in his sector. He is truly one of the men you can quickly identify as a pillar within his community. He was very gracious to the team and incredibly helpful in shaping a better understanding of the community.

Cows like the one pictured above, a African long-horn variety, are found all over the east. But in recent years the government has pushed for a more productive type of cow, a frisian cow. The frisian breed is similar to what we have in the states and in Europe. It produces a much higher volume of milk. Farmers have been selling off their local cows in order to purchase the new and highly acclaimed frisians, but this hasn’t happened without challenges. The frisian cow needs a different type of feed than the traditional cows. Left to graze in the area the cow usually doesn’t receive enough water to digest the grass, this can lead to low production, or worse health issues in the animal (some which lead to death). The remedy would be feeding the cows bailed, dried out grass; this too has issues since the milling industry here lacks enough raw product to run at capacity, and thus, there isn’t enough supply to create feed for the cattle.

Another issue with bringing in the new cows is rooted in the mentality of the farmers. In the past wealth was shown in the amount of head one has in his heard. The government is asking farmers to have, for example,  maybe 5 frisian or hybrid cows instead of 25 head of traditional cattle. Though the frisian and hybrids produce more milk, this has met resistance because of the mindset ingrained in farmers throughout history. A huge challenge here is moving focus away from quantity and onto quality.

While we weren’t focused immediately on initiatives that were directly related to agriculture, the industry makes up 30% of peoples income in the East. Thus many of our conversations brought us back to a point of understanding how people farm, what opportunities have not been exploited, and how we can assist in that development. One of the team members, Rob, has a strong background in farming and proved to be invaluable to this process.

A large portion of the teams time was spent better understanding the dairy market, and looking at the potential of a newly assembled dairy plant. The plant (shown above) is the only one in the east, an area that produces the majority of Rwandas milk. In fact, dairy accounts for 40% of households incomes in the Eastern province. This plant wasn’t without issues, and dairy as an industry faces a very unsure future. But the team left with a great deal of information and several relationships that will allow for further investigation into ways the team may integrate out vision with this industry.

Pictured above: Dr. Jackson and Rob investigate the packaging machinery at the dairy plant and consider cost effective improvements.

One of the organizations that we spend time with was EADD (East African Dairy Development), a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This team of qualified staff from all over Eastern Africa provided us with great insight into the dairy and farming industries. One of the initiatives of this organization is to educated and empower local co-operatives like the one above.

This tractor was purchased by a farming cooperative in Gacundezi. The farmers each pay a portion of the tractor and then it is used to rotate through and plow the crops of all the farmers. Currently this one tractor is not enough for the cooperative, but the fact that they made the purchase and are organized in using it shows their willingness to develop and improve their crops. It looks as though there is already an opportunity for the highlands group to assist in this process by further educating the farmers on the cost/benefit to various types of farming equipment; something we plan to do in conjunction with what the EADD is already doing in the area.

Pictured above: Rob discusses various farming topics while Phil and Nathan attentively listen on.

Pictured above: The team eating at a restaurant I frequented in Nygatare.

Pictured above: Phil, a valuable member of the business team and pastor at Highlands Church,  contemplating the depth of a conversation that had ended moments before, revealing an inside perspective on the genocide.

The Next Step

The team left with a great deal of information, a better understanding of the current situation, and a wide array of connections that they hope to develop into long term relationships. Over the next weeks, months and even years we hope that this time will have proven to be one in which seeds were planted. With time we will see if and how they grow.

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.” -Jeremiah 29:5-7

Time to catch up…

It has been over a week since I have had an opportunity to update my blog. As you can imagine, a lot has happened during that time. So, I will be doing my best this week to update you on everything and share some of my photos as I do. This is Part I with additional posts soon to follow!

Highlands Team

The Highlands team has come and gone. The week was, in my opinion, successful in that it provided a more tangible direction for the development of the next steps and phases of the partnership. I’ll try to update you more on what this will mean, but for now I’ll just tell you about the teams first couple days that were spent here in Kigali.

After everyone arrived on Saturday, having only lost one bag (which was quite quickly recovered), we took the team out to dinner at the “New Cactus.” A great little restaurant with a nice variety. One thing I appreciated about this team was how seamless the team seemed to integrate. People were quickly sharing their stories and identifying common bonds. Much of dinner was conversation which did just that.

18 people crammed in to the van. Highlands team…welcome to Rwanda.

On Sunday the team all went to a local church service here in Kigali. It was a beautiful service, taking a deeper look at the Holy Spirit and how we as Christians allow ourselves to be impacted by the Spirit. It was an appropriate reminder for the team prior to our heading east. Following the service we went to the genocide memorial in Kigali. It was my first time to the memorial, an experience that is both enlightening and crushing. The memorial is made up of various displays composed inside a museum of sorts, all which educate people on the different contributing factors, outcomes, and consequences of the genocide. Surrounding these buildings are various gardens and burial grounds for memorial victims, one which holds the remains of over 200,000 genocide victims. I can’t speak for the team as a whole, but for me, it was a dark reminder of the capacity within humans to engage in evil, which unchecked, can breed into death on all levels…utter catastrophe. I spent a fair amount of time contemplating the ramifications to this and the implications for how we can learn from the genocide. Further, what does it mean to experience (from a distance) such darkness as a Christian, how should we respond? What is our place? I think most of the group left asking similar questions. Sunday evening we went through a briefing of how our week would be spent, followed by a fantastic dinner hosted by a couple here in Rwanda that has ties to Highlands.

Monday morning the majority of the group visited the FH office while a few went to the nearby IJM (International Justice Mission) office to learn more about their ministry in the area. IJM is working diligently to bring justice through the legal system to the people of Rwanda. While much of this used to be related to the genocide, now, the majority of the issues are related to land ownership and the education of local leaders specifically related to the law. After that the team enjoyed lunch at the Jackson’s, graciously hosted by Dwight and Brenda (Brenda is an amazing host and fantastic cook).

Rwandan Proverb.

By about one in the afternoon we loaded up and headed east to the Nygatare district. On the way we stopped at a small restaurant on  Muhazi lake to grab drinks and use the restroom. It was there that I saw the bird below, a great crested crane, the national bird of Rwanda. We enjoyed the break, and several people also enjoying the opportunity to get some great photos. We then loaded into the vehicles to finish the final leg of the trip.

We arrived in the Rwimiyaga sector and after being welcomed to the area by the head of the sector we proceeded to the primary school where team members were able to meet their sponsored children. It was a bitter sweet time for most of the team. Though  a lot of joy came with the time they spent with their sponsored children, there were questions raised about the other 1200 + kids at the school and 250+ children registered in the CDP (Child Development Program) but not yet sponsored. All and all it was a good experience for the team. Following that we went to the Blue Sky Hotel in Nygatare and got all checked in. The first 48 hours had been good, more was soon to come.

Cover page to the PowerPoint I am putting together for the teams briefing

Highlands/FH Rwanda Project

I’ve been working a lot this week! The Highlands team is arriving here in Kigali beginning Saturday morning and I have a few more things to take care of in preparation. I am excited to have them finally arriving. This week will really reveal, at least to some extent, how successful my time hear has been in cultivating the grounds for this project. I have spent most of the week this week in the office, which has been a big change of pace after being in the field for a month.

This week, along with planning out the teams schedule, taking care of logistics (lodging, transport, food etc.), and budgeting the trip, I have also worked on two different tools to help prepare to the team for their time here. One is a PowerPoint that will be used in the briefing of the team prior to our departure to Nygatare and the other is a field guide, with details from all of my meetings as well as goals/objectives for the group. To help mix things up I spent some time working on different covers for the projects and ended up with the two posted here. Playing with pictures and designing them helped to preserve my sanity amidst the presence of nemesis-logistics.  Hopefully both of these tools provide to be fruitful for the team.

Cover page to the field guide and project overview I prepared

Film Crew

Another bit of news that I haven’t shared thus far is that PBS is partnering with Food for the Hungry to produce a documentary short on the work FH is doing here in Rwanda. Highlands and this project will be spotlighted in the piece. I have been, to whatever extent I can, assisting a coworker here in making preparations for the film crew as well. I don’t know when the short will air, but it is part of a series called “Heroes of Hope.” You can check out what they’ve done thus far by visiting their website here.

Other

In addition to all of that, things have been really good. Busy, but good. I’m feeling healthy and haven’t had any issues with my stomach since the second hospital visit a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to everyone for their prayers. I do have some more pictures and some interview type conversations I had with some families out in the east that I will try to post soon! I leave you with this quote from Mother Terresa, with everything that’s going on with Food for the Hungry and Love God Love People right now, it resonates with my own thoughts on money:

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness,
of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the
Kingdom of God – the rest will be given.”