We have not had a ton of time to BLOG because we are only here for a month and so our schedule are more than full. It feels like we have covered this entire country already. We are back in Kigali, and actually went for a few beers last night at Des Mille Collines (Hotel Rwanda).
We spent several days in Musasa district in a town called Ruli, on top of a mountain. It was really awesome few days, we were giving some donations to the orphanage and interviewing some youth about their stories. We also went up north to Ruengeri but only a quick one night trip. We had supper with the mayor of that district and met some amazing people from project Rwanda who are changing the world with bikes, google them.
We also seen our 3rd memorial site yesterday and I think it rocked the entire group again. It is still hard to imagine something so catastrophic could happen in such a peaceful and relaxed country. We have another interview in a few hours, I thought I would throw a Blog up well everyone ran off to the bank.

Africa, sitting on a dusty road not needing to say a word because everything is in front of you. No job to hide behind, no chaotic paced life. Working simply to feed our children, work to live. It is impossible to fall victim to false identity in a world that is so cut and dry.

There is all the time in the world to truly explore personal growth at its deepest level. There is no mark that must be met; there is no system of ideologies that must be followed to be someone. Instead you breathe the dusty breath of air and thank God for it in silence.

For years we fight, we kick and scream desperate for purpose, desperate for understanding. We are convinced that no one truly understands our circumstances. There must be some substance in this mundane life of going through the motions.

Over eat, over buy, over excess but under paid, under compensated and un-fulfilled. It takes almost all-remaining energy to put the fake smile on. So instead we retreat to our own thoughts, our own problems that no one can possibly understand.

Maybe it is just not that complicated. Maybe sitting in ragged clothing not waiting for something is not so bad. Maybe we are rushing towards a deeper un-fulfillment at unhealthy speeds.

It is not wrong to have possessions. It is not wrong to be successful. It is however about priorities. Faith, love and hope have taken a back seat to greed, lust and hate. We will work overtime but we have no time for a family member in need. We can take over priced vacations but we cannot manage 35 dollars a month sponsorship to keep a human being alive. We can have anything our heart desires but it seems to continue to result in a deep un-fulfillment.

So I step off my 10-hour bus ride from Uganda to Rwanda and breathe the same African air. There us not one thing I could want more, other than not to experience this alone. So I introduce myself to the humble African whom I share the air with.

From the heart of Kigali Rwanda,
Shawner.

The team is safe and sound in Nairobi Kenya. We have spend time together over goat and beers last night.

We have a down day getting over Jet Lag so we will spend the day exploring downtown. After this we are making our way to Jinja city in Ugnada ( I hear rumors of bungee jumping?).Tomorrow we will break out the cameras and begin film work. Sorry for brief update, still half out of it.

P.S.
These pics are from Amsterdam

We have been busy getting everything ready for Rwanda in a couple weeks. It was good to spend time with the team and get to know everyone a little better. We already have filmed several hours of pre-trip footage and are looking forward to see what this journey brings…

There is new film work updated!! A collaboration of photography, poetry and music from Sammy Golom, Kate Moignard and myself. Stream the video in projects.

We will be hosting an evening event to share some of the experiences we had and take you on a journey of Rwanda and DR Congo. Please come invite someone, especially if they haven’t heard of Bridges Of Hope before.

Date:

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Time:

7:00pm - 9:00pm

Location:

1303 13th st North

City/Town:

Lethbridge, AB

We are proud to team up with a Non-Profit organization based out of Saskatoon called, “Room For Improvement Youth Development.” The mission of Room For Improvement is to foster social development for youth in disadvantaged communities, focusing especially on health and education.

www.philanthropyworld.ca

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Here is some information about the documentary project this August…

Objective

Our mission is to carry out an experiential learning project through the perspective of 10-12 multidisciplinary students. We intend on using the Ruli community in Musasa, Rwanda as a model, compiling and sharing our experience with the public in the form of a documentary.
The goal of the project is to understand the opportunities and threats facing youth in Rwanda and how we (young Canadians) can help them improve their situation.

Time Line

The Rwanda project will take 25 days from the beginnig of August 2009 to the end of August 2009.

Throughout September of 2009, Participants will share their experience with the public through presentations, articles and interviews.

Production of documentary

Documentary Premier nightIn February 2010 the organization will partake in the University of Saskatchewan’s International Week on the model of the project and how it can be applied to understand other global issues in other regions of the world.

Bridges of Hope is now offering child sponsorship to Rwanda and the DR Congo. Our team was working on helping move this process forward and train the people in these countries how they will organize and do this. I was very blessed to actually get to meet my sponsor child David Bizimunigu.

It truly is a powerful thing to change the life of someone. I encourage anyone who has thought about sponsoring a child for $35 a month to do so. It a crutial time as Bridges of Hope begins to grow their reach into several countries. The start of these programs are very crutial and sponsoring a child will help in a large part to grow this hope.

http://www.bridgesofhope.ca/