A brief note…

Wednesday we had a new experience! We spent the morning and the first part of the afternoon with the house mothers and aunties at SOS. House mothers and aunties are the amazing women who live and take care of the children at the orphanage.  Each household has about 10 children who attend the primary school. The mothers and aunties cook, clean, and provide for the students. 

Wednesday morning we were all paired up with a mother/auntie to do some of the morning work. I was paired up with a wonderful auntie, and after sharing a cup of morning tea, she told me that we would be preparing the meal for the kids. 

I spent the first hour or so peeling potatoes with a knife, honestly like a full sack of potatoes. I then chopped potatoes and carrots, and onions, and peppers, all while bonding with the house auntie that was working beside me. It was really fun to work with this wonderful woman for five hours. Although we could only slightly communicate, since she did not know a lot of English and I only know a few words in Kinyerwanda, we really created a bond that is hard to describe. :)

Today we were able to meeting the teachers at the Learning Center. They specialize in working with students on their English. We went out to lunch with them, and had some wonderful conversation. Then, I went into town with my professor and one other student. We are headed to Lake Kivu on Saturday, so we went to purchase the bus tickets. Afterwards, we went and had some coffee :)

While sitting and waiting for coffee, I noticed this huge book that was sitting ton the coffee table. Since I tend to embrace my curiosity, so I cracked the book open. Even though it was in French, I was able to pick out a few words. This book that was a at least 4 inches thick was the list of victims of the genocide. Each page had an abundance of names, peoples date of birth and in some instances the date they died, their sex, and the way that they were killed. I had known that the genocide claimed many many victims, but seeing it in this concrete and descriptive way really gave a name and numbers and thoughts to the actual people.  I was really taken aback, but I also think that it is something that maybe more people should see. I pains me to think that some people do not believe that it happened, and maybe this book can change minds, or at least get people thinking about it. 

Well, I hope to have more to say tomorrow. Friday is going to be a little different, we are running on a different schedule, so I am curious to see what will happen. I hope to update soon :)

With love,

Leah