Fun Fact Friday

FUN FACT FRIDAY 

I have a confession to make - I am ssssooooo nervous about going to Rwanda. I have traveled alone before, but this is the farthest I've ever gone by myself. Plus, there are a lot of things going on in Africa & every time I mention that I'm going there, people tell me how dangerous it is so after a while, you get a teeny bit nervous 

BUT

I am very excited to have found a couple of blogs about people living in Rwanda!!! Here are just a few - 

Living in Kigali  -  this is my favorite - 

from the blog

A Year in Kigali

from the blog

Portrait Rwanda

from the blog

OxFam Blogs

I decided to email the ladies from Living in Kigali and asked them a few questions. They answered right away and what they had to say was very relieving - 

*the Yellow Fever vaccine is the most important one to get (which I am scheduled to get in June)

*the weather is warm and dry (that's the type of temp I like) but can get cold at nights - and the culture is somewhat liberal for Africa so I can wear skirts/dresses - just try to make them below the knee (especially when traveling outside of Kigali) and not show too much cleavage - so essentially how I dress now - she said  some people even wear hotpants - and if I could find any, I'd probably wear them too

*there are no major issues in Rwanda - no dangerous animals or insects, very little crime, and not really that many malaria cases. She said it's one of the safest cities she's lived in and there are lots of good pharmacies and hospitals

That made me feel a little bit better just because she's living there now - it's not a story from the media or hearsay - it's a real person living in the country with hands on experience. 

Then, I read this article that I found on Inga's blog (a link) - 

Finding Rwanda's First Female Entrepreneur

After reading the article and just getting a feel for all of the good things going on in Rwanda, I got very excited. I'm so ready to go now!!! I think the thing that I have to remember sometimes is this - 

*We only know about other countries through what he see in the news and it's not in the news' best interest to talk about butterflies and sunshine

*People like to talk but most of them don't have experience in what they're saying. I would say that out of every one of my friends who has said something about Africa being dangerous has not been there. 

Which both of these things are fine, it's only when I let what other's tell me affect me in a way that creates fear and I don't' want to do that. So... 

Yeah for Rwanda!!

Namaste y'all!

FFF - Kony Style

FUN FACT FRIDAY

I am sure that many of you have seen this video this week -

When I watched it 

1. I cried because this is something I think about a lot  

and

2. I questioned it. 

I shared it but after sharing it, I immediately regretted doing that simply because I hadn't done my research. One thing I've learned in my lifetime is that you can never take anything at face value. There is always another side and I have learned to question everything I see. So what did I do? I did more research and this is what I've found - 

This article, Huffington Post, was the best rebuttal I saw. It gives a personal account for the happenings in Uganda and the story seems to have some validity. 

All to often, I see something that upsets me because I know it's wrong and my solution is to throw money at it. It's like, if I donate money, it'll make me feel better about what's going on in the world but I don't take the time to do research to really see where my money is going. 

On the other hand, there is also always someone who wants to complain about something. So you can have the nicest, purest, most authentic intentions and someone will find something wrong with it. So how can you decide if a charity is worth your money? It really has to ring true to you. 

So what can I take away from the Kony video? 

1. This is really happening in Africa. And it's not just in Uganda. One of the reasons that the movie, Blood Diamond, made such an impact on me was the fact that children are being kidnapped by militia groups for different purposes. Some are rebel forces, some are for the trade of diamonds, and it keeps going. Women are being brutalized and raped. So, is this video bad? No. I think that we, as Americans, should be informed about what's going on in the world. 

2. Should we be careful in how we want to help? Yes. Sometimes, we want to place American ideals on the rest of the world and we have to remember that what we want and think is normal is not always right for another country. By helping, what I would like to do is make sure that we are helping people get clean water, healthy food, empowering people by teaching them a trade that can be used to support the family, help them get an education, etc. 

I think that it's important for me to be aware that people need help all over the world, and that I need to always consider there are two, maybe three, maybe four sides to a story before making an assumption and then listen to my heart because it will tell me what's right and guide me where I need to go. 

Fun Fact Friday

FUN FACT FRIDAY

Today's fun fact - an airplane ticket from Charlotte, NC to Kigali, Rwanda costs exactly $2,396.00 - I know this because I FINALLY BOOKED MY FLIGHT!!! So it's real. I'm going. There's no turning back. 

image

I'm not going to lie - when I finally booked it, I felt a little butterflies in my stomach. I do not know why. I guess I'm just a little nervous. I know that people take these trips all the time and they are always fine, but I still have some fear with traveling by myself, staying 2 weeks by myself in a foreign country and even just being a good volunteer. 

image

My flight schedule - 

	Location	Destination
Trip	Charlotte, NC	Washington DC
	Departs 12:35:00 PM	Arrives 4:03:00 PM
to	Washington DC	Brussels
	Departs 5:49 PM	Arrives 7:15 AM
Rwanda	Brussels	Kigali
	Departs 10:40 AM	Arrives 6:45 PM
	Kigali	Brussels
Trip	Departs 8:00 PM	Arrives 6:15 AM
	Brussels	Washington DC
Home	Departs 12:00 PM	Arrives 2:12 PM
	Washington DC	Charlotte, NC
	Departs 5:20 PM	Arrives 6:53 PM

I'm ready to go!!!! 

Fun Fact Friday

We're here to learn some other facts about Rwanda!!

FUN FACT FRIDAY

I just had a friend send me some information about Rwanda and some of the things I need to know before going there. The thing that was most interesting to me was the vaccination list. It turns out that the most prominent illnesses are Malaria, Yellow Fever, Meningitis and Tuberculosis. Good news, we have vaccines for those so here is a list of all that I will need - 

This is an excerpt from the state department's website about Rwanda and vaccinations - 
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1007.html#medical

"There are periodic outbreaks of meningitis in Rwanda, and the meningitis vaccine is recommended if you are traveling during the dry season, May-October. Yellow fever can cause serious medical problems, but the vaccine is very effective in preventing the disease. The yellow fever vaccine is required for all travelers over 9 months of age, and travelers who cannot show proof of vaccination will not be permitted to enter Rwanda.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an increasingly serious health concern in Rwanda. For further information, please consult the CDC's information on TB.

Malaria is endemic to Rwanda. You are strongly encouraged to take prophylactic medications to prevent malaria. These should be initiated prior to entry into the endemic area. Many malaria prophylaxis medicines are not available in Rwanda and, because of possible counterfeit of antimalarial medications, these should be obtained from a reliable pharmaceutical source before arrival. Multiple outbreaks of Ebola have been reported in neighboring DRC in 2007 and Uganda in 2008, but none within Rwanda. Rabies is present throughout the country. All bites, scratches, and licks should be taken seriously and post-exposure rabies treatment sought. Pre-exposure rabies immunization is recommended for long-term travelers, and those adventure travelers who will be more than 24 hours away from reliable post-exposure treatment.

Schistosomiasis, transmitted by waterborne larvae that penetrate intact skin, presents significant risk throughout the country. All fresh water lakes in the area should be considered contaminated. You should avoid swimming or wading in Lake Kivu and all freshwater exposure.

You can find more information on vaccinations and other health precautions, on the CDC website. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the infectious diseases section of the World Health Organization (WHO) website. The WHO website also contains additional health information for travelers, including detailed country-specific health information"

The larvae eating the skin thing sounds kind of nasty, so I won't be swimming anywhere :). The biggest thing for me is just trying to figure out where to get these vaccines and how soon to do so. I'm still in the process of trying to book my stupid flight!! AAUUGGHHH 

Fun Fact Friday

FUN FACT FRIDAY

Today is Fun Fact Friday where we discover new information about Africa! Since, that's what I'm doing right now, raising money for a trip to Africa. I thought today might be a good day to discuss how I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go to Africa and volunteer. 

Here is a timeline of events that took place - all little things that I felt like were signals. 

2001 - While taking a Non Western Civilization class at Greenville Tech, my teacher discussed a recent trip she took to Africa. I don't know why, but the subject really interested me. I listened very closely as she described the things she did there and I thought, I DEFINITELY want to go to Africa one day. 

2004 - I took a Race, Ethnicity and Class sociology class at Clemson. We studied the genocide in Rwanda. We read a book about the devastation in that country and all of the things leading up to it. Out of everything that we studied in that class, the holocaust, the aborigines in Australia, etc, Rwanda intrigued me the most. I FELT a connection with that story, that history. 

2007 - My husband & I take a trip to visit his family in Detroit. His cousin, with whom we stayed, had recently taken a trip to South Africa where she volunteered and helped bring medical aid to children in South Africa. I was again fascinated by the pictures. The little kids were so cute and the people looked so interesting. I felt that connection again and just wondered what it would be like to see that continent, to do something to make a difference. 

The timeline gets a little muddled here because I can't remember when exactly the rest of this took place but between 2008-2011 - 

*I met the Boughners who had not only done mission work in Kenya, they were also in the midst of adopting a baby from Ethiopia. 

*The Boughners had one of the leaders from Kenya come visit and I had dinner with them. We talked about Kenya and what it's like to live there. I KNEW I would be going to Africa one day after that visit. 

*A friend was giving a speech about herself and she was talking about this strong desire she had to go to Africa. 

*A guy I worked with at Abercrombie raised money and went on a year long mission trip in Kenya

*In my running group that I lead, there was a lady who was from Kenya. 

*I watched the movie, Blood Diamond and it made me cry for days

I'm not one who talks a lot about spiritual things and God in my blog, but to me, since I stopped drinking in 2000, God has been giving me signs. The message has gotten louder and louder until I finally realized that this trip is something I must do. I really thought Kenya was the place I was going to see, but after reviewing the trips, the Rwanda trip was the one calling to me. Ever since I made the decision to take the trip, the emotion that overtakes me when I talk about the trip is overwhelming. I'm excited, I'm scared, there are many things that I'm feeling as the trip approaches. But one thing is clear, I feel this is a trip that I must take because I feel called to do it. 

Sometimes, when I think about what I'll be doing, I think, how is this even going to touch the things that need to be done over there? I am basically going to be helping an orphanage run for 2 weeks with a bunch of other people. Is that really going to mean anything at the end of the day. But I read this, this morning and it really hit home - 

Daily Om

February 10, 2012
Taking It All In
Gemini Daily Horoscope

You may feel particularly philosophical today. Perhaps you are thinking about ways to make a positive contribution to your community or the world a better place. If you are driven to do charitable works, you may find yourself questioning how much of an impact your efforts will have. Consider looking at the big picture before you choose the best way to put your time and resources to use in helping those in need. You may discover that in broadening your perspective, you will begin to see that life’s small challenges are less important than doing all you can to improve the world. The contribution you make today, regardless of its size, will likely touch many lives and help others.

Focusing on the big picture can help you focus on the plight of humanity and making the world a better place. When your thoughts are focused only on the minute details of life, it can be difficult to see how your actions affect your community and the planet. Keeping the bigger picture in mind allows you to see how all people and all actions are interconnected and influence each other. You’ll be more apt to want to make a positive contribution to the world because the result of your work will be clear to you. When you concentrate on the big picture today, you won’t lose sight of your ability to change the world. 

So.... there is my answer. I love when God just blatantly sends me messages, don't  you? 

Fun Fact Friday

FUN FACT FRIDAY

Today is fun fact friday and it's time for some new information about Africa!!!

1. The current population of Africa is approximately 1 billion people

2. One quarter of the world's languages are spoken in Africa

3. Four of the Five fastest animals live in Africa: the cheetah, the wildebeest, the lion, and the Thomson’s gazelle 

4. Africa is the poorest and most underdeveloped of all the continents in spite of it's wealth of resources

5. Central Eastern Africa is believed to have been the origin of humans - specifically Ethiopia (right beside Rwanda)

6. Islam is the largest religion of Africa, Christianity being the second

source

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Fun Fact Friday

Today's FFF is more fun than last week's. Sorry for such a glum post but I really want you to realize the severity of the situation in Africa. There are a lot of things going on!!

FUN FACT FRIDAY

Today's information comes from Compassion.com

Education - 

"The typical school year runs from January to October. Education is free at the primary level for all children. According to UNICEF, 78 percent of students reach the fifth grade.

Rwandans view education as the only way for a hopeful future for their children, and parents are concerned about their children's education. Rwanda's educated live in towns, while the non-educated live in remote areas, often in situations of extreme poverty.

While the government has introduced free education at the primary level, most parents cannot provide the materials for children to go to school, including paper and school uniforms. "

Religion - 

"Disputes between religious groups are rare. The Rwandan Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, while the government generally respects this right in practice, it fails to prevent local authorities from abusing or restricting religious freedoms. There is no state religion.

The law provides for small fines and imprisonment of up to six months for anyone who interferes with a religious ceremony or with a minister in the exercise of his or her professional duties. The law regulates public meetings and calls for fines or imprisonment for those who violate these regulations.

The government permits religious instruction in public schools. In some cases, students are given a choice between instruction in "religion" or "morals." In the past, missionaries established schools that were operated by the government. In those schools, religious instruction tends to reflect the denomination of the founders, either Catholic or Protestant. Muslim private schools operate as well. "

Food - 

"Rwandans eat bananas, legumes, sweet potatoes, maize, cassava and potatoes.

Sorghum Porridge
5 cups water
5 Tb. sugar
1 cup sorghum flour*
1 cup milk

Put four cups of water into a saucepan. Put the sorghum flour in a bowl mixed with one cup of cold water. Stir until the flour and water are mixed. Pour the mixture in boiled water and stir immediately so it will not become lumpy. Continue to stir until it boils again. Let boil 15 minutes. Put in sugar and milk. Serves six."

Language - 

Here are some words in Rwanda's official language, Kinyarwanda. Some Compassion children in Rwanda also speak French or English.

Kinyarwanda

Mwaramutse. (Good morning.)
Bite? (How are you?)
Muraho (Hello) 
Witwande? (What's your name?)
Nitwa ... (My name is ...)
Murakoze. (Thank you.)

All information for this post came from www.compassion.com

Fun Fact Friday

I was sitting here wondering what in the world I could blog about today until I realized that it's nothing other than

FUN FACT FRIDAY

Rwanda is a country that has had a lot of conflict throughout it's years. Honestly, the best thing you can do if you are interested in learning about the situation is to go here and read about the details. It's very complicated and there are many parties involved. I'm going to do the best I can to summarize the information into a short, informative but still interesting post. 

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Rwanda was initially colonized by Belgium which led up until the mid 1900's. During that time, favoritism was shown to the Tutsi's because of their light skin. Ethnic tensions began to rise and were only exacerbated by the Belgians who had each ethnicity classified on ID cards. Once the Belgians left, to sum it up in an easy way, the divide continued to grow, power changed hands several times and a lot of killing took place. The Hutu's took over in 1973, many Tutsi's fled to Uganda and militia groups were formed on both sides. 

That was the cliff notes version of the history of Rwanda. Again, to learn more, visit Wikipedia.

The Genocide - this event is important in Rwanda's history because it is something that has continued to hurt the country today. Many of the orphans in the country were orphaned as a result of their parents being killed in this mass murder.

image source

Again, to break this down in a very general way, there was a civil war that ended in 1993 that was started by Tutsi refugees, the President of Rwanda was killed, the Tutsi's were blamed which fueled a movement to eliminate the entire Tutsi tribe and any moderate Hutu's who supported them. Men and children were killed, women were raped and killed, neighbors were killing neighbors, people trying to escape the country were blocked and killed and somewhere between 500,000 to 1,000,000 million people were killed in a massive attempt at genocide. UN tried to give aid, but not enough to make a difference. Americans turned their heads, and only responded to rescue Americans living in Rwanda, and then fled without offering any help to the Tutsi's. The only end came when the Tutsi's rose up and regained control over the country. 

War has continued in the country even as late as 1996. 

image source

Some of the orphans that live in the village I'm going to visit are orphans because of this genocide. This was the first time I ever took notice of Africa and the troubles it has endured over the years. It was interesting to study the effects of European colonization and how differently it ended in Africa vs the United States. I honestly believe this was the first seed that was planted in me to visit Africa and do something to help. I'm not sure that just pumping money into the continent is the answer, but just an easy band aid solution that gives us an out to stay in our own little bubble. I hope to learn a lot from this experience. 

Fun Fact Friday

So now that I am into my full fledge fundraising, I am going to start

FUN FACT FRIDAY

I don't know if I'll be able to do that every time because that was a lot. Anyways, on Fun Fact Friday, I'm going to start discussing why I'm going to Africa. I don't want everyone to think I'd just like to travel and have you pay for it, there is a specific reason for my trip. The main reason is I simply feel called to go there. Sometimes, when I talk about it, I cry, which I know is kind of crazy, but what I'm saying is that I feel a very special calling to go there and help and who knows why or where it will take me, but I feel like it's something I must do. The cost is fairly significant but I believe that if I do the right action, God will take care of the rest so I'm just trusting that it will all work out. 

So since this is the first FFF, let's start with some basic information about the trip and where I'm going. I have mentioned this before so I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I am going to Rwanda. 

The Organization - 

This is not a mission trip. My goal to go here is to specifically help the people of Africa and while there are plenty of mission trips that do that, I wanted the only focus to be providing my service to an established organization and help with what they need. 

Global Volunteer Network is an organization that matches the potential volunteer with the organization in need. The organization that I've been matched up with is Faith Victory Assocation. They are building a community centre outside of Kigali (just outside) that will include an orphanage, staff houses, a school, a medical centre, a vocational college, etc. It's even an eco-friendly village!!! 

I will be volunteering in the orphanage and from what I understand, it's mainly helping with playing with the kids, cooking food, cleaning etc. Here is an excerpt from the website - 

"Orphanage

The after effects of the genocide led to thousands upon thousands of children becoming homeless. A high percentage of children have also lost their parents to HIV/Aids. It is estimated that approximately 150,000 people are living with AIDS in Rwanda, with 19,000 children under the age of 14. With this in mind we will build an Orphanage that will be different from others in Rwanda. There will be three 2 story Apartment Blocks each with four homes; these will accommodate 8 children and 2 caretakers – creating a family style environment. Each home will consist of 3 bedrooms, one bedroom for the careers with en suite facilities and two for the children with shared toilet & shower room, a sitting/dining room and a kitchen with store room. It’s our vision that every facility have solar energy provided, with rainwater harvesting during the wet season, this will be used in the gardens and homes on the project. Provision will be made for homes at ground level for children with Disabilities and those who have Special Needs.

We teach children to hope"

I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW EXCITED I AM TO BE HELPING IN THIS VILLAGE. It just feels so right and I am so happy GVN put me with these guys!! I am planning to book my flights next month, and then I need to research the vaccinations I need. Bleh!