Katherine Goes to Africa

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My friends write much better emails than I do. Here's one from Katey Chapman.

Hi Katey! How was Africa? Did you come back safe and A-OK?
bye, Nick

Nick,

The trip was incredible. Rwanda as a country is beautiful in terms of the topography and landscape. It partly reminds me, at least near the capital city of Kigali, of the bay area in California. Hilly, green, smells like Oleander...but that's about it. The country is so poor Nick and we went into the heart of the poverty.

We spent most of our time in the area of Ruhengeri which is about the elevation of 40 some hundred feet, I think about like Boulder, CO. Very tropical but not rainforesty. Driving through the hills and valleys, the land looks like green patchwork fabric that drapes in folds and pleats through the hills...this is because almost all of the land is being cultivated on tiny square plots of land. Its a very very agrarian society and I cannot believe how these people can grow corn, potatoes, carrots, peas on such steep hills!

We worked with World Vision which does work in what they call ADPs, area development programs, where they take an area that they decide to focus on investing their resources which are primarily through the child sponsorship program and donations, they provide healthcare and education to sponsored children while also building the community.



We went to many homes (which are essentially mut huts with no doors or windows as we know them, just holes to see out of or walk through. they have nothing inside but a bench and a chair maybe, and the people sleep on the hard dirt floor, or maybe a straw mat. It was really hard to see). Many of the people living in these conditions are orphans from either the genocide or hiv/aids. It is pretty common to have a family of four where both the parents have died, the older brother whos lets say 17 is working the .5 acre of land they have, the sister whos maybe 15 stays home during the day to help him, and the younger sibling is sponsored maybe, so she can go to school and then maybe a little one. These people have nothing. Makes you grateful for not all you have materially but also just as an American.

On the way there I was able to spend an entire day in London which was a blast too. We went to the Establishment and I met up with some friends who are living over there and then we went to the National Portrait Gallery. You forget how crappy the American museum experience is here in the states compared to the way its set up in Europe. And its all free.

K