Some Of My Favorite Experiences

Meredith Shepard
Cornell University Sophomore

When people ask me why I first decided to come to this country, I cite my father’s reaction to the name “Rwanda”. He had said, ”Rwanda? That country must be filled with orphans.” I had a vague idea of wanting to “help” somehow, but most of all I wanted to see what a country that had gone through a civil war and genocide just thirteen years earlier would look like. After spending a month here at an orphanage for genocide and AIDS orphans, I felt that I never wanted to leave.

I was working in a country saturated with recent death, but I was living with survivors. Every time I fell into a sadness about the scars on a kid’s back, or about the bloodied clothes at a memorial, I would picture the faces of the children at the orphanage, whose smiles were even more alive because of their improbability; and I would feel safe somehow in the knowledge that no matter how deeply the world falls into darkness, there is something else resisting that fall with the tenacity of God.

Teaching at Kagugu with IEE has been an opportunity for me to exercise my love for this country and for children, particularly survivors. My goals this summer are many, but above all include my desire to create a sustainable program that does not rely upon the presence or fiscal aid of outside sources. To fully achieve this type of sustainability, I believe that it is imperative to observe, listen to, and respect the Rwandan culture itself…even the parts of it that we are trying to change.

My favorite experiences in Rwanda last year, and so far during my time with IEE this June, have been the moments when language barriers and “otherness” cease to exist, when I can relate to Rwandans as equals and as friends. As one of the Kagugu teachers said to his class about another volunteer, “Just because she is a different color doesn’t mean that she is not our sister.”

My hope is for IEE to realize that mentality as much as possible throughout its time in Rwanda, by emphasizing the concept of “exchange” and by showing the Rwandese people that we are not here just to give but to take, that we too are hungry to learn, and that we too are starved for another type of understanding.

Time in Rwanda is different. We’ve been here only three weeks now, but the IEE has already gone through a number of stages in terms of our teaching strategies at the school, how we perceive our community and the Rwandans, and how we relate to each other as volunteers.

Having lived once already in Rwanda, I was very interested in how my experience with the IEE would compare to my time here last year. Kigali, in comparison to the mountain village I lived in last year, is clean, classy and cosmopolitan. I feel safe here, and comfortable to the point of frustration…I miss the more rugged terrain of “Real Africa”. That said, coming home to this safe, clean house in a hilltop neighborhood overlooking the city is a joy and relief at the end of a long day.

As for the organization itself, the IEE is full of potential. It has accountability, long-term and realistic goals, financial and manpower support, increasing publicity, and a diverse support network. This summer, working at the grassroots level is both a challenge and a joy.

The three of us here in June are currently facing the manifestations of deeply rooted problems: teachers who cannot speak English because their own educations were limited and interrupted by the genocide, students whose priorities outside of school are based more around survival than on homework, crowded classrooms and limited supplies due to the paucity of financial support given by the government. At this point, we cannot even begin to attack the roots of these problems, but we are noting them, and in the meanwhile addressing the issues that we can make a difference with: improving teacher’s teaching methods, involving the students more in the lessons, and emphasizing English.