Africa Changes You

I have TONS of movies saved on my laptop, and every week I scroll through the list to see what the movie of the week (or day) will be.  I've passed by the movie Out of Africa on many occasions, never giving it so much of a second thought, but for some reason, this time I stopped when I read the title, hovered my mouse over the icon, and double-clicked.  I had never seen this movie nor did I have any idea what it was about, but once the movie ended, I couldn't have been more pleased at my choice.  It's a fantastic movie and more or less captures the gist of what Africa is really like.  Notice how I said "more or less,"  there are some inaccuracies, seeing how the movie was set in the early 1900's, however I think a vast amount of what was shown is exceptionally reflective of what I've experienced in my short time here.  And that is this: Africa changes you.

For those of you who have never seen the movie (or heard of it for that matter), it's about a woman who lives in Africa for several years, running a coffee farm with her estranged husband.  When she first traveled to Kenya, she was afraid, as she didn't quite know what to expect.  She was mistrusting of the people and when they came too close, she would tell them "Shew! Shew!" while swatting her hands as if they were more flies and dogs than they were people.  By the end of the movie, though, this same woman had grown compassionate for the people of Kenya.  Her best friends became the people who worked on the coffee farm and her favorite companions became those who initially helped her adjust to life abroad.  Her new friends looked out for her, as the people of Africa tend to do, and she in return, looked out for them.  By the end of the movie, the coffee farm had been destroyed and the inhabitants of the land, including the woman, would have to move elsewhere; she to her original home in Denmark, and the Kenyans to--well, nowhere.  At this point, the baroness, as they called her, made a great fuss and made sure the Kenyans who lived on the land and depended on its yearly harvest would still have a place there once the land was replenished.  This last part of the movie really moved me.  The baroness went from shewing these people away to fighting for their land and their rights at her own expense.  In her mind, they shifted from savage, untamable animals to a kind-hearted and genuine people.  And this is what triggered my thoughts that Africa changes you--really, it does.

When I think back on the reasons I came to Rwanda, they are vaguely similar to my reasons for staying.  I came to

Christmas Terror

My colleagues Christmas tree. Dec 2013

Let me start by saying this Christmas was by far one of the best I have ever experienced.  Of course nothing can compare to the holidays spent with family, but this one definitely comes in close second!  Christmas Eve and half of Christmas were spent with one of my coworkers and his family, and the other half of Christmas was spent with a few of my fellow volunteers.  Each celebration filled me with more joy than my little heart could handle...all except for one moment...my moment of Christmas terror! *insert horror music here*

It was on Christmas Eve that I traveled with my coworker to the city to spend the first part of the holiday with his wife and daughter.  They were having a "party" on Christmas day, however I didn't want to be alone on Christmas Eve so I opted to stay the night.  Like Rwandans tend to do, they treated me as nothing less than a guest of honor, tending to my every need (against my wishes), and even gave me a Christmas present, which was an all expense paid trip to the neighborhood bar for akabenzi!! (a yummy pork dish).  I had been talking to my coworker about akabenzi for the past year and he and his wife made me the happiest meat eater alive when they took me out for my first taste of pork in TWO YEARS!  Long story short, Christmas Eve turned out to be a great time, that is until we made it back to their house, well after dark, and I asked to use the bathroom.  There was a slight pause after I asked the question, then my coworker and his wife looked at each other and responded "yes" in unison.  I didn't think much of their hesitation at the moment, but I soon figured discovered why they should have told me  no...or at least added on a disclaimer after they responded yes.  I then

Carpe Diem

The first two visitors I had here made me question whether in-country visits are a good thing or a bad thing.  I can't deny the good time I had during the visits, but when each visitor left, especially my sister, I was left feeling empty, counting the months, and then the days, wishing they both were drastically less.  My mother came to visit for Thanksgiving and my birthday and I'm not sure I can say the same thing this time.  After being here for so long, I kind of grew numb to the experience--I've forgotten to live in the moment. Rather, I have been living in tomorrow, musing at the life I'm "missing out on" in the States.  My mind has slowly begun to ignore the beauties that, before I grew "bored," had the ability to hypnotize me each time I looked far off into the distance.  However my mom was able to bring back the excitement for me.  Every time she looked off into the distance, she was scrambling to retrieve her camera so that she could capture every wonder--every beauty.  And each time she fumbled with the zipper of her purse, I chuckled inside at the thought that I too was once this excited about being in Rwanda and just had to capture everything within the lens of my hand held digital.

During her time in Rwanda, my mom had a chance to

Global Handwashing Day

If we're friends on Facebook, you probably know by now how great the Global Handwashing Day festivities went in my community.  After months and months of stressful planning and not so promising preparations, we did it!!  The community and kids had a blast and we were even on the radio.  Woohoo!  I guess what they say is true...hard work really does pay off!

Village children dancing during GHD celebration 2013.

The day was complete with dancers who composed and sang a song about hand washing, which they danced to tirelessly until members of the audience got up to join them in all the fun.  Next up was a drama performed by the secondary  school GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Club, where they acted out scenes of a family with very poor hand hygiene, a child dying from the effects of her family's unhygienic practices, and a hygiene class where families were taught various ways in which the spread of hand hygiene related illnesses and child deaths can be prevented.

Of course the day wouldn't have been complete without Keza (me) making a speech in the local language, which always turns out to be

657 Hand Washing Stations! #done

Guess who's on a natural high!! Yours truly!!

And guess who's project is a HUGE success!! Yep, you guessed it...MEEE!!!!

Mother and child washing hands with newly built tippy-tap.

Mysteriously, (and very magically, might I add) myself and my fellow villagers were able to meet our goal of building 657 hand washing stations!! And it only took two weeks! We have met our goal of increasing the number of hand washing stations in the community by 20%! Woot woot! Now before I go getting ahead of myself, the project is coming together nicely (after a whole year), however there are still some challenges that I am facing that maybe YOU can help me with.  I've spoken with my Rwandan colleagues, Peace Corps Administration, and fellow PCVs, however I am still at a loss for how to successfully tackle one BIG challenge.

You see, my project is one that deals with behavior change; getting the people in my community to improve hand washing behaviors that they learned as children and have carried into their adult lives.  Had I known behavior change would be so hard, I may have tried to tackle another issue, but anything worth anything takes a little bit of a fight right?  And when the project does succeed in all respects, I will be that much more proud of myself; not only for taking on such a challenge, but for tackling it with persistence and unmatched dedication.

And I digress.

Here is my issue.