June 21, 2010
We have begun doing the interviews! On Friday, we interviewed one boy, Emmanuel, who went to the streets when he was around six years old. He lived there for five years before coming to Umuryango. I can’t imagine… Six year olds should be entering kindergarten, not begging for food and sleeping under bridges. I will write more about their stories when I have time, but needless to say they are all pretty eye-opening. It is really great to see how Umuryango has positively affected these boys’ lives—one of them wants to become a doctor and the other hopes to help other street children when he grows up. It makes me really want to help find sponsors for the boys at Umuryango. The organization would really like to expand and take in more boys.
June 24, 2010:
We have done a total of nine interviews thus far. It has been an intense experience. Each boy’s story is upsetting to hear, although it makes me really thankful that they are at Umuryango now. They are lucky to be there, and they all know it.
(names taken out to respect their privacy)
One of the newest boys, talked about how he didn’t know why but his father never lovd him. He would abuse him, and one time cut his lip with a knife. So, he decided to run away. This is one of the sweetest kids I have ever met. When you look at him, you can’t imagine anyone ever hurting him. He is always smiling, and always happy to give you a goohoeberana (hug). Another interesting thing about him, is that he is always the last one eating. He eats so much…whatever is leftover from others, he will shovel down…most likely has to do with his days living on the streets. Several of the kids talked about how they would go days without eating. I have been working on the stories and will try to post them when I get finished. Here are just two other things that have stuck with me:
One of the older boys told us about one of his earliest memories was being carried on the back of his mother and seeing dead bodies everywhere on the ground.
Last year, we nicknamed another boy the bulldog because he is really little and acts very tough, but has a huge heart. Last year, during Genocide Memorial Week, JP played a video on the genocide which we watched with some of the kids. Half way through, I was crying uncontrollably. Seliac pushed his way through the other boys and grabbed my hand and held it the rest of the movie.
On Wednesday, he told us about how he was abused and how there were many times when his parent would refuse to feed him. One day, he was so hungry that he decided to run away and go to the streets to try out his luck there. He was around six years old at the time and lived on the streets for years before coming to Umuryango… It certainly brings new understanding to his tough exterior.
On a happier note, tomorrow, our friend Pascalene is getting married! We just bought Rwandan fabrics so that we will have the right thing to wear! For our gift, we are going to take pictures and put them in an album for her. Weddings in Rwanda are a complex process. We are joining for part 3: the final ceremony and reception. From what I have heard, the last two were very long. We met some other kids from Florida State who are working to teach English to the teachers in the schools. On their first jetlagged day in Rwanda, they attended the first and extremely long wedding ceremony. I feel so much pain for them!
On a side note, this past year, the Rwandan government made the switch so that all classes went from being taught in French to being taught in English. Unfortunately, most people’s English is NOT good. Even the teachers do not know it very well, so I am glad that the other muzungos are helping there. I was hoping to help out with that, but we have gotten really busy between the art therapy groups and the individual interviews. Writing each of their stories is going to be extremely time consuming, but I hope it will be helpful for Umuryango!
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