Africa Time

10/1/10:

Slept well, and needed to. I saw that I repeated myself last night. I write notes in Word & then copy & paste here since you can never count on how long the internet will stay up. I obviously wasn't very focused.

Sleeping under mosquito netting is like being in a princess bed. The energy feels fresh & deep here. The hills are covered with adobe small houses, red dirt & a few trees. The American Embassy stands out immediately as being the largest & whitest building in this part of town. Breakfast was great with veggie omelet, African tea (like Chi), banana & something like a passion fruit (we didn’t eat the peeling).

We had our first example of Africa time—last night Ben had said we would all meet this afternoon. Rev. Thoms came at 10:15 AM with Lori still in wet hair. We ate breakfast at the meeting & she participated, complete with video, as she was. I learned that you do not brainstorm while using a translator. Be specific & concise or they get lost. All of the people I have met so far really want to cooperate & please us. Lori informs me that is not always the case here. I think part of the difference is that we make it so clear we want to hear what they need, not just impose our agenda.

Rev. Thoms was obviously moved by the gift of the computer, & amazed & excited about Skyping. There are many reasons his students do not do well on tests—almost no books & materials, no internet & only one computer, constant emotional reminders of their trauma, & having no schooling at all for the year of the genocide. If the seniors in high school do not pass the state tests, they cannot go to a university, they cannot continue to live at the orphanage & there is usually no work for them. They end up on the streets. In the past only 10% of them passed. We are going to work to do as much as we can in a week to improve their chances, and to set up more help at the school for future seniors. The Center we are creating is intended to fill the gap for those orphans who do not go on to a university. By the way, students at universities have to learn everything in both French & English.

One thing about Africa—there are many opportunities to be reminded about what we have to appreciate in the US. It takes two minutes to delete more than one e-mail & you never know when you are going to lose the internet altogether.

We met with Ben in the afternoon & he told of his sister-in-law & her severe problems due to PTSD from the genocide. She is not an orphan, but the whole family has issues that make their lives difficult which are directly a result of the trauma. He said there are so few counselors here that no one even thinks of getting help—there’s no one to give it. The churches are the main treatment centers. We go tomorrow to the mountain orphanage with Rev. Thoms for a celebration. I can’t wait to report on that.