An early morning start got us up and moving – our late night talks continue to leave us a bit on the groggy side as we start our days. We were greeted by Florence and three of the Esther Home girls. Today was our day of traveling to visit Esther Home families - a 2 ½ hour drive to the Mutra providence of Rwanda.
Our first visit was to the small village of Kibondo where Justin’s family lives. This part of the country not only supports agriculture crops but long horned cattle were found roaming the area. As we went deeper into the village we noticed that many of the people had not seen white people before – some were scared while others chased behind us – yelling “muzungo muzungo” (white people). We arrived at Justin’s home and were greeted so warmly by her parents and family. They live in a small three room hut with no furniture. We noticed that the main floor area was covered with new straw mats and there were two wooden chairs - which lead us to think that they had prepared for our visit. One by one more extended family members arrived. Neighbor children were crowded in the doorway staring in. Justin was excited to see her family as it had been several months since she had seen them. At one point, in an area of about 6’by 10’ there were about two dozen family members crowded together sitting on the floor visiting. The father, who was injured in the Ugandan war, and Justin’s mother, told us their stories and repeatedly expressed their gratitude in regards to Justin’s opportunity for continued education. Her mother’s name was Joyce and she was so excite that we shared the same name – many times she would randomly wave her hands in the air and in her native language express her appreciation and excitement. Justin is the first of her family to be educated through high school and now college.
Justin is the fourth born, first girl and the oldest living child of the family. There were 10 children in the family. Five of her brothers died – one was part of the RPF and was killed in the war the others died of disease. After the loss of her five brothers her younger sister died leaving only four children. At present the parents are raising two other small children from an uncle who recently died.
They wanted to prepare lunch for us, as we gracefully declined the offer; they served us a large bowl of bananas. Justin’s brother who is 16 years old is not able to go to school as he has no sponsor and the school in the village does not provide education pass primary class. It was sad to see many young boys just sitting outside their homes under the intense sun doing nothing.
We left with great joy in our hearts and it truly validated our scholarship project. Neighbors gathered as we were leaving – as I lifted my camera up to take photos of the children they would scatter - many of them had never seen a camera before. We said our goodbyes and then we were back on the rutted roads to the small village of Kabarore.
Our first visit was to the small village of Kibondo where Justin’s family lives. This part of the country not only supports agriculture crops but long horned cattle were found roaming the area. As we went deeper into the village we noticed that many of the people had not seen white people before – some were scared while others chased behind us – yelling “muzungo muzungo” (white people). We arrived at Justin’s home and were greeted so warmly by her parents and family. They live in a small three room hut with no furniture. We noticed that the main floor area was covered with new straw mats and there were two wooden chairs - which lead us to think that they had prepared for our visit. One by one more extended family members arrived. Neighbor children were crowded in the doorway staring in. Justin was excited to see her family as it had been several months since she had seen them. At one point, in an area of about 6’by 10’ there were about two dozen family members crowded together sitting on the floor visiting. The father, who was injured in the Ugandan war, and Justin’s mother, told us their stories and repeatedly expressed their gratitude in regards to Justin’s opportunity for continued education. Her mother’s name was Joyce and she was so excite that we shared the same name – many times she would randomly wave her hands in the air and in her native language express her appreciation and excitement. Justin is the first of her family to be educated through high school and now college.
Justin is the fourth born, first girl and the oldest living child of the family. There were 10 children in the family. Five of her brothers died – one was part of the RPF and was killed in the war the others died of disease. After the loss of her five brothers her younger sister died leaving only four children. At present the parents are raising two other small children from an uncle who recently died.
They wanted to prepare lunch for us, as we gracefully declined the offer; they served us a large bowl of bananas. Justin’s brother who is 16 years old is not able to go to school as he has no sponsor and the school in the village does not provide education pass primary class. It was sad to see many young boys just sitting outside their homes under the intense sun doing nothing.
We left with great joy in our hearts and it truly validated our scholarship project. Neighbors gathered as we were leaving – as I lifted my camera up to take photos of the children they would scatter - many of them had never seen a camera before. We said our goodbyes and then we were back on the rutted roads to the small village of Kabarore.
2 comments:
I am so proud of you both! You are making the world a better place by empowering these women and their families. The joy you are feeling by sharing with them exudes from your writings. May the journey continue.
Love, Eve
Joyce, can anyone ask for a better mother than you? You are such a mentor to all of us . . . so supportive of your daughter, Esther, your sisters in Africa . . . not to mention all of us here at home. We are all blessed to have your wisdom, strength and courage in our lives. Keep up all your hard, good work, and like I said, Nicole is so fortunate to have you there by her side. Much love, Tracy
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