Surprise Surprise ...

Before we got into the activities of the day we made our way back to the Minister of Gender’s office. The purpose of this visit was to bring Khadija a gift to thank her for all her efforts in helping us with the adoption process. She welcomed us with open arms. One could sense her disappointment about the process and she encouraged us not to give us. We enjoyed our visit and left her with big hugs and words of appreciation. We then, with a great attitude and strong confidence, directed ourselves to the office of the Minister. We had a letter of request to retrieve our original documents. It was only a few minutes after we entered the reception office that the Minister came in – she was stunned to see us and surprised at my return visit and to see that Nicole was there. One could see how uneasy she was at our presence. I introduced Nicole to her – told her that we received her response letter and that we acknowledged her decision but we were saddened and did not understand it. I then went on in conversation about how we were aware of a child just being adopted earlier that week where she made an exception. The stunned look in her eyes was so visible – she quickly responded in saying that she will contact us and get our number from Khadija. We said goodbye and made our way to the Van with a little hope in our hearts but a realization that she was just being political.

We now understand that in Rwanda it is who you know and how persistent you are. So with that in mind we have taken it to the top and today visited the Prime Minister’s office to seek an appointment. We met with his director and requested an appointment – he took our information and told us that he would be in touch. We have not yet been granted an audience with the Prime Minister and his schedule may not be able to accommodate us prior to our departure but we are confident that our persistency is worth this effort.

Once again – these two American women have made their presence known here within Rwandan Ministry.