Democratic Republic of the Congo

During our time in Rwanda, the Italians that we stayed with planned to take a day trip to visit an orphanage just across the border in the Congo. The Congo isn't the safest of areas, and while the city just across the border, Goma, is generally safe, it's not the type of place that you want to spend an extended amount of time. One of the Italians, Alberto, had previously worked with the orphanage, and now had brought back six of his friends to visit and to donate clothes and toys. It was a Sunday, so our day was free, and we decided to tag along.

We met the head of the orphanage, Kizungu, as well as a high-ranking military official at the border. However, it turns out that they had changed the entry requirements for foreigners just 4 days prior, and we now didn't have the necessary visa to enter. Not even the colonel of the army could help us out. So we were sadly turned away, and had to re-enter Rwanda. Fortunately, the head of the orphanage was able to bring the clothes and toys back to the orphanage, but everyone was really disappointed that we weren't able to go.

Fast forward four days. We're gorilla trekking with two other people. They happen to have a guide in Rwanda who is from the Congo. He also happens to claim that he can get them in. So on our second to last day in Musanze, we woke up and joined our two friends and their guide to head to the Congo. The catch was that in order to get into the Congo, it was gonna cost us an extra $15 each. To, uh, sweeten the deal for the border official.

And voila! The border is open! As we crossed the border, the change from Rwanda was immediately noticeable. Goma is somewhat of a modern day Pompeii. It was destroyed in 2002 by a nearby volcano, leaving mounds of volcanic rock in place of roads and houses. The commercial center has rebuilt, but the vast majority of landscape around downtown is still dominated by the rock. The people have rebuilt to a degree, making walls and houses out of the debris, but the prospects of a legitimate rebuilding effort seem bleak.

Our land cruiser struggled over the uneven "roads" of rock. We were met by a joyful and grateful man named Kizungu, who was the head of the small orphanage. The orphanage only began several years back in an attempt to bring children down from the northern province, where civil war has been prevalent. The orphanage now houses 16 children in Goma, but there are still over 200 left in the northern province, all staying in a two room house. They're forced to sleep on top of each other at night.

Given their poor living conditions, you would expect a troop of beleaguered children just trying to survive. But when we approached the orphanage, the children ran out and sang us a welcome song in Swahili (see the post below). They were standing outside their one room house, where children and teachers sleep alike. Floors made of volcanic rock, tattered mosquito nets and overcrowded beds, yet they still exuded a joy that you can only see in children.

The kids are lookin' mighty fine in their new clothes.

The house to the right is the orphanage. However, they've rented the land from a woman in the neighborhood, so the new house is hers. If you look behind the new house to the left, there is a wall. Behind that wall, Cathy and Teste are helping to build a new orphanage.

They welcomed us into their house, and we spent time talking to Kizungu, and struggling through French with his aid Auggie. Since we were only there for the day, we didn't have the opportunity to work much with the orphanage. We did, however, bring some balls to play with and bought some sweets from the store for the children. In fact, we bought a a large pack of "Obama Pops." Each individual sucker had a picture of Obama on it. It was pretty hysterical. And to cap it all off, when the kids learned that Obama was our president, they cut his head out of the wrapper, licked it, and put it on their forehead. So we had 16 orphans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who happened to be the best dressed kids in town with their freshly donated clothes, all wearing Obama on their forehead.

The children, despite their apparent situation, are extremely fortunate. Cathy and Teste have helped an immense amount in building the orphanage, and making sure that it has the funds to continue. The children have balls to play with and new clothes, as well as enough food for two meals a day. Most importantly, they all have free primary education at the local school. For an orphan in the Congo, they are very lucky.

It was still all a very moving experience. The living conditions are bad. The kids have nowhere to play with their balls, because there is nothing but uneven volcanic rock as far as the eye can see. Nonetheless, they are an extremely joyful group and they have excellent teachers who welcomed us with open arms. Kathy and I hope one day to be able to make it back to Rwanda, and if we do, we will absolutely spend a longer time with the kids in Goma.

Working with the Musanze Community

Now that we're back in the US with a fast internet connection, I can catch everyone up on the details of our time in Africa. This post I'm going to focus on our time in the Musanze community in Rwanda.

We were extremely fortunate in Musanze, because we were invited to stay with Cathy, a Canadian woman, and Teste, her Rwandan husband. We had been in contact with Cathy, because we wanted to do some work with the preschool that she founded. When we arrived, we found that the preschool was actually in excellent shape, and that Cathy, Teste and their entire staff had done a magnificent job with the school. They fed the children during the afternoon, were teaching them English - as you can see in the post below, and gave them balls and toys to play with during the day.

We found that the preschool was in much better shape than the local primary school, where supplies were short and the learning environment was bad. Thanks to Cathy, we were able to organize an exchange of school supplies for report cards. Children from the primary school showed up with their report cards, and in exchange they received two notebooks and a pen or pencil for the coming semester. All in all, about 100 kids showed up.

Cathy and Teste also run a program for the street boys in Musanze that have no place to stay. Every Saturday, they get together, play some soccer and eat together. We played a little soccer with them and Kathy impressed so much with her goalkeeping that when we walked around town, the boys would shout, "Hey goalkeeper!" We bought a box of soap to distribute to the group, so that after they ate, each boy was given a bar of soap for the coming week.

One of the coolest things we were able to do was distribute goats to families in need. A goat is an invaluable possession for a family because it provides a consistent source of food, and when the goat gives birth, money for the family. Teste took us to the local goat market to buy ten female goats. Of course, being the only mzungus (white person - think gringo) at the market, we were swarmed by everyone in sight. Apparently, they thought that we were rich. Little do they know that we're poor students. Teste then worked his magic and bargained with the goat owners, periodically walking back to me and handing me another goat. By the end, I had ten goats in hand and Teste had saved us 60 dollars with his bargaining. In total, each goat cost around 25 dollars, including transportation of the goats back to Musanze. We went to market with 6 Italians who then bought 15 chickens. So by the time we went home, we had 10 goats, 15 chickens, 6 Italians and 2 Americans packed into the back of a pickup truck.

                                        


While the language barrier was wide when we distributed the goats to families, the hugs, smiles and kisses more than crossed that barrier. We were fortunate to work with Rwandan government that knows which families need help and which families just look like they need help, so we were able to know that our money was spent well.

Finally, we made a donation to buy 4 sacks of cement for an older woman who was getting a new house. She was waiting on a few more sacks of cement to finish the floor of her house, so she no longer has to sleep on dirt.

We have to thank Cathy and Teste for putting us up in their house, feeding us, and helping us find the best way to spend our money. It's very difficult for an outsider to know what a community really needs, and as a result, a lot of money is very poorly spent. Thanks to Cathy and Teste (pictured below, along with the family and part of the teaching staff), we can know that our money was spent where it needs to be.

And most of all thanks to the donors! You were the ones that made this all possible and we can't thank you enough. More importantly though, there are now many in Africa who can't thank you enough.

We will still be working to raise money in Rwanda. Our next goal is to raise enough money to build a sturdy house for a family without a home - about a $1500 project.

There's still much more to tell about our time in Africa, and I'll be sure to update you further!

A few videos...

Continuation of Charity Work

Now that we have made it back to the States, Luke and I have decided that we would like to continue our efforts. Our next goal is to raise money so we can build houses for people in desperate need. In Rwanda we know that it only cost $1,500 for a family house. We'll keep you updated on any further progress.

Also, Luke and I are in our final stages of completing the soccer uniforms but we still can't decide on a team name to put on the front. If you have any ideas feel free to shout them out to us!

Once again, a big thanks to every one who has supported and continues to support us!

Kathy

Pictures!

Here is a small taste of what Luke and I did in pictures!

We bought a box of soap to distribute to local street kids after we all played a game of soccer.

A few of the local kids that showed us their report cards in exchange for notebooks, pens, and pencils. 

Goats!

We handed out 10 female goats to the locals in need.

The children at the orphanage in the DRC showing off some of the new toys.

Although we didn't have the funds to build a whole house, we were able to purchase cement for the floor of this boy and his mothers new house. In the mean time they are living in the house shown in the back.  

Inside the house before cement. (More pictures to come when the house is completely finished!)

Distributing school supplies, goats and much more!

Hello all!

I have such a short time to explain so much! I'll definitely make a much more detailed post in the coming days when we have more time. Our time in Musanze, Rwanda is coming to a close and it's been incredible. Yesterday, we gave goats out to ten families, and their faces and hugs more than crossed the communication barrier. Later in the day, we had primary schoolers bring their report cards to us, and in exchange we gave them two new notebooks and a pen or pencil for the coming semester.

Today, we were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We visited an orphanage in Goma, which is much like a modern day Pompei. It was destroyed by a volcano in 2002 and hasn't recovered. The streets are lined with volcanic rock, and other than the city center, the town is in shambles. There are 16 orphans there that are fed and clothed and given a place to sleep. Unfortunately, there are 200 more about 75 km north in Masisi, a really dangerous area due to fighting. They're trying to bring them down, but now they just don't have the funds.

I have to run, but I'll update you all more in a few days, and will have some great pictures of goats and kids (ba-dum-ch), and even one with 10 goats, 15 chickens, 6 Italians and us two in the back of a pick up truck!

Cheers!

Work in Musanze

We're in Musanze, Rwanda now, and have been working both with the local preschool and the local community here. On Saturday, we worked with an organization for street boys, who had no family otherwise. We played soccer with them, fed them and also donated a box of soap for the kids.

Tomorrow, we will be going to the goat market to buy between 5-10 goats for families in need. While a goat may not seem like the biggest need, here it can sustain a family for years if taken care of.

We also have been meeting with a village soccer team that has no equipment for their upcoming tournament. Their first game is Tuesday and we'll have some fresh cleats ready for them!

Sorry that this post is so short. I'll be sure to update with more detail soon, but I've run out of time on the internet. Also, we're having trouble uploading pictures bvut they'll come soon!

Rwanda Genocide Museum

Yesterday, Kathy and I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda. Today, we're buying supplies for a primary school and preschool in Musanze, Rwanda, which is very exciting. However, yesterday we stopped at the Kigali Memorial Museum, and it was one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had. I've been to the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. as well as the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, both of which are extremely moving. But perhaps since I knew so much less about the Rwandan genocide than about the Holocaust, it was striking.

Just 15 years ago, the streets outside this internet cafe were lined with bodies that had been hacked to death with machetes or worse. In fact, most likely everyone here with me has some connection to what happened. I guess I should start with a historical outline of what happened. During colonization, first Germany, and later Belgium came to Rwanda. They were interested in the physical differences between the people, and theorized that certain races were superior to others. In their opinion, the Tutsi people, who were more educated, were superior to the more numerous Hutu people. So Belgium chose to rule through existing power structures, but gave all the power to the Tutsi people. Of course, resentment grew among the Hutus, and it lead to some extremist ideologies. When more Hutus became educated, the Belgians realized that they were becoming more powerful, and chose to "right their wrongs" and gave power to the Hutus. However, genocide ideologies had been spreading throughout the Hutu people and was becoming increasingly popular. There was a lot of genocide propaganda against the Tutsi people, and more and more of them began to flee to neighboring countries.

After some time, the RPF, a group of mostly Tutsi refugees began to gain power in northern Rwanda. As they began to threaten the current regime, the president was forced into a cooperative agreement with them to share power and grant the Tutsis a safe return to their homes. However, very few believed that a president that had spewed genocide ideologies could have such a sudden change of heart. Shortly after the agreement was made, the president's plane was shot down, most likely but Hutu extremists.

Almost immediately, the country erupted into violence. Death lists had been coordinated prior, so the killing was remarkably quick and efficient. Any Tutsi was to be killed without question, along with any moderate Hutu that had any association with the Tutsis. In 100 days, more than 1 million people were killed. The most terrifying part is that they were not carted into mass gas chambers, but were killed one by one. Many paid the militia just to shoot them. Some were thrown into latrines and then stoned death. In some cases, a mass of people were thrown into a latrine and eventually trampled each other to death. Towards the end of the memorial, there is a section called wasted lives, and it remembers the children who were mercilessly killed. Underneath a large picture is a list of favorite foods, personalities, sometimes last words, and how they died. Most were killed by machetes, some were shot, a two-year old child was smashed against a wall.

The worst part is that there was a UN presence at the time, but they simply did not have the manpower to stop the brutality, and the UN astoundingly did not grant them it. It's hard to castigate one's own country or own people, but in this case it seems that the UN and the United States turned a blind eye to what was happening, and as a result of ineptitude and indecision, people were killed at a rate 6 times as fast as the Holocaust. And in more brutal ways.

Throughout the entire museum, I had to stifle back tears through video testimonials and vivid pictures of machete wounds in the head. We think of ourselves as civilized creatures, but it's remarkable how quickly we can descend into madness. Maybe one claims the Rwandans were not as civilized as we are, but that does not explain the Holocaust. There are some very powerful quotes from survivors, perhaps the most powerful being, "After the Holocaust, when they said "Never again," did they mean it for some and not others?"

The end of the memorial is dedicated to genocides that have happened across the world, from Cambodia to the Holocaust to Bosnia. It's an extremely well done memorial and one that is a must for anyone visiting Rwanda.

However, the situation is not without hope. Kigali has made a remarkable recovery. !5 years ago, dogs had to be shot en masse, because they had acquired a taste for human flesh. Today, Kigali shows no traces of what happened, and has become a surprisingly cosmopolitan country. Election are being held Monday, and it seems almost certain that Paul Kagame, the man who led the RPF and overthrew the genocidal government, will win in a landslide. It amazes me how quickly a country could recover from such merciless violence. However, I'm sure the people have not.

My apologies about the brutality of some of this post, but I think it's important to know how terrible mankind can be in order to prevent it in the future. We all know of the Holocaust, but this happened when I was 8 years old. Some of those children would not even be out of high school.

In other news, we'll be sure to keep everyone posted on our work in Musanze! And stay tuned for some of my thoughts on the current situation in Africa. After several months here, I'm finally able to see a glimpse of the underbelly of Africa.

On our way to Rwanda!

We leave for Rwanda today and will be on the bus for the next few days, before arriving in Kigali. Once in Kigali, we'll be buying supplies for a preschool that we are visiting and arranging everything for the Rwandan soccer team that we've been in touch with. We'll keep you posted as much as we can!

Nota Bene

Hey all!


We're in Central Zambia right now waiting for our 48-hour train to Tanzania, where we'll be able to visit our first school. Very exciting! Also, we've contacted the captain of the Rwandan soccer team, David, about visiting in 3 weeks. They seem very excited about our arrival, as are we.

Also, as a nota bene, we wanted to make sure there was no confusion about our travels. While our entire trip is not a charity effort, all of the money that you donated will be going to the schools that we visit. All of our overhead costs (transportation, food, accommodation, etc.) is coming out of our own pockets, as well as all our sightseeing, of course. 100% of donations are going to the kids!

Public Transportation

After 15 hours on minibuses that carry a maximum of 15 passengers, yet still find a way to hold 24, I think I´m about done with public transportation. Not that I dont enjoy being smashed between a bare all breastfeeding mother on my right and three hundred pound man who, despite his profuse sweating, refused to remove his wool sweater and winter hat - not to mention a live chicken at my feet. I, however, was the fortunate one, because a chicken that was strapped to the roof relieved itself on Kathy´s bag. Unfortunately, we have a long ways to go on this deranged system that we actually pay for.

Nonetheless, the people we have met have been extremely friendly and helpful and still haven´t failed to point us in the right direction when we´re lost.

In other news, we have contacted the director of the Mwasama Primary School in Tanzania and are currently organizing a date that we can work with the school. We´ll be sure to keep you posted on any more news!

Quick Picture

Sorry guys. I tried to upload like 20 pictures including pictures of penguins, baboons, watch out for baboons signs, and some more World Cup action, but internet is dreadful here. This is the best I could do for now!

Updates from South Africa

Hey All!

We're sorry we've been so incognito, but this is the first time we've been able to use the internet for an extended time. So updates. We were in Jo'burg for a few days and it was nonstop. Jo'burg is a very spread out city and there's a resounding excitement over the World Cup. It was really exciting to see South Africa tie Mexico! People were erupting when they scored their first goal.

However, Johannesburg is also a dangerous city, and because it's so spread out, you need a car to drive around. So we rented one. No one really walks around, since there is no city centre, and absolutely no one walks around at night. Every house is wired with electrical fences surrounding the property, as well as security doors and a constant patrol of security guards. But now we're in Cape Town. We're staying through couchsurfing in this really large house, and as we were watching the matches today, we saw that there were peacocks outside! So we went to go take pictures, and as I was talking with Kathy, we lost them. Turns out, they had gone inside! So we had to try and chase them out of the house! We got them out, but not before they had pooped on the floor...

The World Cup is also amazing! I hope we can update you with some pictures soon. The British fans showed up in good support, but we pulled out a lucky draw against them. The US looked good, and our fans were great! I got into it a bit with some Brit fans over whether its called football or soccer, but all in good fun.

We are getting in contact now with our first school in Tanzania and will be there within the month to start our charity effort. We'll be sure to keep everyone posted on this front of our trip! It will be very exciting as we have already seen the widespread poverty in a country even as rich as South Africa. It's cliche, but it's very humbling to see tin houses packed side by side within a large fence. It's very sad, and its something that seems very difficult to fix. There's so much poverty, anything that we can do is only a drop in the ocean. But perhaps little by little, Africa can turn things around.

Anyway, keep us in your prayers and I'll be sure to update with pictures soon!

We've Arrived!

We're here in South Africa! There's a constant buzz of excitement for the World Cup and of these really annoying horns that people won't stop blowing. We're trying to figure our way to our hostel, but it's proving more difficult than we thought. We'll keep you updated throughout our stay here in South Africa!

And We're Off!

We leave for Africa today! Our flight goes from Cincinnati to New York to Cairo to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and finally, two days later, Johannesburg! We'll make sure to check back with all of you when we're on the ground!

Article in the Cincinnati Enquirer!

We have an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer that will go to print tomorrow morning. If you'd like to check out the article, the link is here -

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100601/NEWS01/6020315/0/NEWS01/XU-duo-taking-soccer-balls-to-Africa

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Comments Section Fixed!

Our comments section is now fixed, so that everyone is able to leave comments. Sorry to those who were unable to do so earlier!

Big News!

So thanks to some very generous donors, we've raised another $1000! Which gives us a total of over $1700! We're very excited, and are looking into several more schools we can visit during our time there, including in Uganda and Somalia.

We're only 8 days away from our flight to South Africa. We're buying medical insurance, copying our passports, and doing everything else possible to be prepared! Today, Kathy and her nieces got paper bags to decorate, so the kids have a nice gift basket for their supplies.

17 Days and Counting

Hey guys!

So far, we've raised $685.90! Which means that we're almost halfway to reaching our goal! A big thanks to everyone who's helped us so far. You're donations are what makes this trip possible.

In other news, we're being interviewed this week for a write-up in the Cincinnati Enquirer. This should give our cause some great publicity and is very exciting. When the article is published, we'll be sure to post it here for you all to see!

Also, just so everyone is in the loop, we have a Facebook page named Soccer Balls for Africa that you can follow, as well as a Twitter account - SoccerForAfrica. You can follow us through all three for maximum coverage!

Just 17 days and counting before we leave for Jo'Burg!

Updates!

It's about time to update everyone on the progress we've made so far in our efforts. We recently held a bake sale at Xavier University, and raised $197! We're now that much closer to reaching our goal.

We've recently undergone a change in ideology. Rather than attempting to visit as many schools as possible, we are now focusing on providing the more aid to fewer schools. While we'd love to visit as many schools as we can, the funds are just not there! So we want to make sure we can do as much as we can for each school.

In addition to our original plan to distribute soccer balls, we are now planning to organize class sets of supplies for each student, including pens, notebooks, chalk and toothbrushes. Also, we now hope to spend up to a week with each school, building a more meaningful relationship with students, teachers and parents. We hope to maintain a long-term relationship with each school.

Our fundraising plans for the next month before we leave are several church fundraisers. We are also looking into a pretty unique fundraising idea. We may buy teddy bears, and sell them to families who can then decorate the teddy bears in any way they like. Afterwards, they'll give the teddy bears back to us and we'll bring them to children in the schools! If anyone has ideas or would like to contribute, let us know in the comments section! Any advice is good advice! Well, maybe not any. But you get the idea!

We're just a month out, but there is so much left to do! We will make sure to keep you all posted!

About Us: Kathy Moebius

I'm currently studying biology at Xavier University. I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio - home of ribs, strange chili, Graeter's ice cream, and other artery clogging cuisine. It's probably why I want to be a doctor - to save my family and friends from heart attacks. I have what some might call an unnatural obsession with dogs. I want to travel, because as great as Cincinnati is, I've heard that there are some other cool things out there. I've always had an attraction to Africa, and am very excited to have the opportunity to help.

One Thing I'd Never Travel Without: A spoon in case I find ice cream.

Favorite Thing About Traveling: Haha, trying new food.

Fun Fact: Once caught 73 straight oyster cracker in my mouth.

Favorite Moustache: Freddie Mercury

About Us: Luke Olson

I just graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio with a degree in philosophy. I hail from the great state of Minnesota, land of the cold air, and can probably give you 57 reasons as to why it's the best state in America (just ask me, I dare you). I was bitten by the travel bug during college, when I studied for a year at an Italian university in Rome. Studying, however, is a euphemism for traveling and eating. I just recently returned from a two-month backpacking trip through the Middle East with three friends. Now, before I go to law school next fall, I want to do something that could make a difference abroad.

One Thing I'd Never Travel Without: A good book, a pair of sandals and some heavy-duty underwear.

Favorite Thing About Traveling: Hands down, the people. Any place can be interesting with a local to show you around.

Fun Fact: Once drank 84 oz. of slushie in 15 minutes so that my boss had to call me "Slushosaurus Rex" for the rest of the summer.

Favorite Famous Moustache: Tom Selleck

Our Route

(Click to Enlarge)