Saturday, December 18, 2010

Books!



"There are many little ways to enlarge a child's world. Love of books is the best of all."
-Jacqueline Kennedy


I am trying to collect as many books as possible to take to Sonrise. Research shows that books are a vital instrument to a child's development and books are very important to children learning English as a second language. I am very excited and passionate about getting books into children's lives. I am hoping to start a school library at Sonrise Primary so that the students can check out books weekly. I am also wanting to put books in the classrooms and dormitories, both places that students spend almost all of their time.

Fort Smith women have jumped at the chance to help gather books. A few months ago, Kyle Creekmore and Mona Eads collected books at their birthday party instead of gifts. Kyle has about 300 books ready to be shipped to the land of a thousand hills. Last Thursday, Martha Murphy hosted a book party and we collected about 320 books for kids like John Lambert, Gloria, James, Sofie and all my other little ones.
In Tulsa, Kendall-Whittier Elementary collected three boxes of books and puzzles. I'm so fortunate to have their support!
Thanks, mom, for letting me take over your house with books!

Murakoze cyane to everyone who gives love and support to the students at Sonrise. You are a blessing as you help us build the future of Rwanda!


"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." -Dr. Seuss


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Baby Elizabeth

In August, Pastor Celestine told me his wife had a baby girl. He asked me what they should name the child. I said, "Elizabeth. That is my name and it is also a strong name from the Bible." His other children are named Sara, Christine, Joseann, Ruth and Christian-all Biblical. His wife's name is Esther, which he gave her when they married.

Two weeks ago, Celestine told me that he and Esther had decided on the name Elizabeth! He also asked me if I would be Elizabeth's Godmother. This afternoon, I was invited to their home to meet Elizabeth and have lunch. As soon as I arrived and greeted the family I held Elizabeth. She has curly dark brown hair and big brown eyes. She is beautiful just like the rest of the family. (The children are all beautiful!!) Esther prepared chips, rice and beans and Joseanne helped serve us. When lunch was over, Esther gave me a gift of a small gorilla. She said for me to share it with my friends and family in America since the gorillas are known in Rwanda.

We went outside and took pictures of the family and some with Elizabeth and I. Next, we all prayed and Sara, Christian and Joseanne prayed in KinyaRwandan. I said a prayer in English and Celestine ended our time together with a final blessing. I am honored and blessed to be a part of Elizabeth's life!

Celestine, Esther and Elizabeth
Sara, Betsy, Esther, Elizabeth, Christian
Ruth, Christine and Joseanne

Mama Esther and both Elizabeth's

The first born, Sara

Ruth, age 3





Sunday, October 24, 2010

A day on the water

Yesterday Tom, Blayne, Ronald, John Baptiste and I headed up to the village. We met at Christophe's house where we began our descent down the steep mountain to get to the shores of Lake Burera.
Our village family!

Bernard in his new pink shirt!

Baby carrying baby.

Walking down the mountain singing, "I am a soldier...because of education!" The kids all helped me because I kept falling. They would say, "Sorry! Sorry!" as I would be laughing at myself.

On the wooden boat about to cross the lake to go to the island.

Christophe and John Baptise on the boat.
A view of the village from the lake.

A woman and her child in their canoe made from a tree.

Muhurabura Volcano

The Island and a rainbow.

Christophe and I on top of the island.

200 people used to live on the island. Now there are 18.

That face holds so many stories.

Arkansas River Valley kids

Family portrait.


Children of the island. The boy in the middle wearing the yellow shirt is in charge of taking the children by boat to school and home every day.

Dreaming about kayaking and camping...

Our trusty boat which we had to scoop the water out of.


The climb back up the mountain to the village. Christophe referred to me as his daughter and helped me up the steep and slippery rocks.
Our friends waiting for us to get back.


Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Amazi...Maji...Mazzi...Water

“Water is life, and because we have no water, life is miserable.”
- a voice from Kenya

Today is Blog Action Day 2010 (blogactionday.change.org) and the topic is water. 1 Billion people do not have access to clean drinking water...that is 1 in 8 of us. This can lead to many challenges in a persons every day life. 5 million people die every year from water-related illnesses. There are about 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unsanitary living conditions. 90% of these deaths are to children under 5 years old. These 4,000 water related deaths per day are the biggest killer of young children taking more lives than malaria, HIV/AIDS and measles. At any point, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from a water-based illness.

In Africa, women and children are typically in charge of collecting the water. More than 40 billion hours are spent a year just walking for water. Most of the sources are miles away which prevents the women from holding a job and the children from attending school. To make matters worse, the water that they spend all day collecting will most likely make them sick. Around 1.8 million of the water-related deaths are because of diarrhoea. This lack of water and sanitation causes a parasitic disease called schistosomiasis. This disease is caused by a worm found in irrigation ditches and river/lake water that has been urinated or defecated in. Schistosomiasis causes 280,000 deaths to 88 million children under the age of 15 per year. This causes them to miss school due to illness and a total of 443 million school days each year are missed by children due to diseases. Attending to the family's water needs leaves little time for education which is vital to changing the future of developing countries.
The jerry cans that they carry weigh about 40 pounds. Imagine an 80 pound child carrying 40 pounds of water at least 3 miles per day. I have attempted to help a child carry their water jug and I hate to admit it, but it was extremely heavy and I wasn't able to carry it that far. Imagine again a woman with a child on her back, a 40 pound jerry can of water on her head and bunches of banana's under her arms for hours.

Different organizations are committed to building safe water wells closer to villages. This way, children can pursue their education instead of spending 6 hours en route to the clean well and women have more time to pursue opportunities to improve the quality of life of their family.

"We are also working to empower women around the world, because women who gain access to sanitation, who are freed from the burden of walking for hours each day just to locate and carry water, will find it easier to invest time and energy in their families and communities." U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said last March at the National Geographic Society for World Water Day.

The world's water crisis is something that we can all work together, around the world, to tackle. There is no reason why children are dying each day because they are thirsty or why a woman cannot get a quality education because she spends her whole day walking to and from a water well.

Most of this information was found on the following websites. For more information and ways to help, go to:
www.charitywater.org/whywater
www.endwaterpoverty.org/the_issue
www.stopchildpoverty.org/learn/bigpicture/health/water.php
www.unicef.org/support/index.html
www.blogactionday.change.org

“What if there are children who will suffer somehow because I failed to obey God? What if my cowardice costs even one child somewhere in the world his or her life?”
- Richard Stearns

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sponges



"Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats

I am sitting at Sonrise as I write this post. It is a beautiful day with a little chill in the air. I look out and see the great Rwandan hills in the distance. The rainy season has begun so everything is turning green. There is beauty everywhere.

I started teaching English on Monday to P1 students. The kids are ages 5, 6, 7, and 8-all in one class. Instead of their hour rest time they will come to me for English. Since it's the end of the year, none of them sleep anymore (except for the little girl in class yesterday!). I teach P1 A on Monday and Wednesday and P1 B on Tuesday and Thursday. P1 B has the youngest kids in the school who know the least amount of English. Their minds are like sponges. They are so eager to soak up everything I teach. We have been reading a book called, "Handa's Surprise". It is about a little African girl who is taking fruit to her friend and along the way different animals eat the fruit. The kids LOVE it! They love when I read books to them and shout out the animal names with every page. This is something no one does for them. They didn't grow up with a house full of books and there aren't even books in their classroom. I have been handing out books during the 2 hour lunch break and they are read all around the school yard. They soak up every picture, word and letter on every page.

I am also teaching Music and P.E. to P1 and P2. I have no musical background! I am teaching them different types of songs: silly songs, simple songs, songs about Jesus and many others. I can't carry a tune to save my life but for some reason they love when I sing to them. Teaching music is giving me a chance to bring out the creative side of the kids. They don't get much of a chance to use their imagination so I encourage them to draw a picture of whatever they like or get up and dance and go crazy as we listen to music. They really like listening to The Wiggles and Raffi from my laptop. P.E. has been a bit of a challenge. Usually their P.E. class is dividing up girls and boys and playing football (soccer) and that is all. They have a hard time understanding me so explaining games is difficult. I have taught them games such as Chicken, Chicken, Cow (our version of Duck, Duck, Goose) and a ball game named, Flinch. "Doggy Doggy Where's Your Bone" has become an instant favorite!


I have also taught them to walk in a straight line to P.E. by giving themselves a hug and catching a bubble in their mouth. The other teachers look at me in amazement wondering how I got 40 students to walk in a straight line being quiet. It's something that just isn't done here.

Everyday I get loads of hugs from the sweet little kids. They smile when they see me and I smile even bigger when I see them. They know that when they see my red and orange teacher bag that I have something fun inside just for them. These kids are the future of Rwanda. They will be the leaders of these green rolling hills and breathtaking sunsets. I am honored to be their teacher and love watching as they absorb everything I share with them.

"Children are the world's most valuable resource and it's best hope for the future."
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy