Banda! We've arrived....

Hello all! Sarah here. Long time no talk. Well….so much to discuss and where to start. We live in Banda now! As I am sure you can tell because we haven’t updated or responded to anything in some time. Man, things are soooo different here. Not wrong, just different. We do not have electricity of any kind. We have flashlights, lanterns, & head lamps. Woo hoo! We don’t have running water; we have water that is drawn about every other day. We do have gorgeous mountains, valleys, & animals. The beauty of this place is like a paradise! I can’t describe it any other way. Every time I walk out of my front door I feel like I’m in paradise, the garden of Eden-ish. Seriously.

Aside from the beauty there is something else I’m experiencing that I never have. Poverty. Beyond any level that I could have ever imagined. We have two little girls that are our neighbors and so far we’ve been here one week and they have had the same little dresses on that are completely ripped up and so dirty that I don’t know what the original color was. The women wear the traditional Africa fabric, t-shirts and most do not have shoes. They farm, walk and do pretty much EVERYTHING bare foot. It breaks my heart. The children are so malnourished. Their little bellies stick out farther that you could imagine while their arms and legs are absolutely TINY! It is so heart breaking. The day after we arrived I saw some kids outside our gate playing and they seemed so happy so I went out to see what they were playing with and one of the boys had a “pure white refined sugar” bag and the other had “plastic great value wrapper”. Both of which had come from the trash I had thrown out the night before. They were so happy to play with something they’d never seen! A plastic bag and wrapper from dish soap. I nearly started crying. They also have a huge problem with alcoholism. Not bigger than any other country in the world but more serious in our village than around Rwanda because well lets face it, they have nothing better to do. The government has issued some rules stating they have to stay out of the town in the mornings until 2 when everything can open due to the fact that they will sit around and drink all day otherwise. It’s really such an issue in our tiny village. All I know to do is talk to God about it. I can’t understand why I have been so blessed and places like this have such a hard life.

But….and that’s a big but….our organization is working SO hard to turn this place around and they are doing so many wonderful things here. Kageno (kageno.org) is an NGO started by a returned Peace Corps volunteer. They are housed in New York but started their program in Kenya. Kageno is from a Kenyan dialect meaning “Place of Hope” and it truly is. They started a preschool for the many youngsters running around here. It has only been open for 3 months and they have 301 children. Some of them are being sponsored by Americans. They had a sponsor donate money recently and they are building a PLAYGROUND for the children. It’s so cool! They have a health clinic that sees many patients every day. (Although the only nurse was recently killed in a car accident so you can definitely be praying for his wife and child as well as the organization to figure out what to do next). Kageno has put in water spigots all over the village with clean water for people to draw. They have started an eco-lodge that will eventually bring in money. They have a cooperation that makes mats, baskets, earrings, necklaces, candles and does book-binding for Americans to order to bring money to the village. I know I will talk so much about them over the next 2 years but wow. I wish you could see all the things going on here. This organization is really working hard here and they could definitely use your prayers! As Americans, all of us have so much to offer them whether that is prayers, financial support or actual giving of our time. It’s truly amazing.

I am so thankful to be part of something so much bigger than myself. This is what Peace Corps is all about. Right here. In Banda, Rwanda! We are offering our hands to help build something so wonderful. I can’t wait to share more with you. Have a wonderful day and I’ll write more soon. Miss you all. (Ps….dad-been thinking a lot about you! Miss you so much!)