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!