Our Cup Runneth Over: A very Challenging Week

 How I found the engine of my car when I went to the mechanic to get an estimate on the damage.

I realize what a cliffhanger I left in last week’s blog when I received more comments than I have ever received for any single entry.  If this were a series it would have been a good season finale and you could expect reruns for the next 3 months. 

But, for anyone waiting in suspense, I am happy to report that I am alive and well and currently writing from a plane heading to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).  Which is to say that I have survived the adventures and misfortunes of the previous week only to be ready for more this week and the week ahead.  Actually I am enroute with the whole family, David snoozing beside me, and Lyn Longenecker, my travel companion of the past week with us as well.  We will be in Addis Ababa tonight and then head on to Kinshasa (DRC) tomorrow.   As usual, in order for us to get from Central Africa to the West Coast of Africa, we have to fly all the way to the East Coast and then double back.   I guess I am used to this by now.

The past week was so full of activities that I do not think I can possibly remember it all.  I was writing last Monday from Kigali where I had arrived (towed by a wrecker) in the late afternoon.  I did find Lyn at Ruth and Krystan’s house and we had dinner with the group that evening.  The next morning we began our field visit at our partner Friends Peace House that runs a kind of trade school for street kids.  While Lyn was visiting there, I was called away for a consult with the mechanic who was working on my car.

I was slightly horrified on my arrival to find that the entire engine was out of the car and completely dismantled down to he pistons and cyclinders.  He told me the overheating had done extensive damage and the pistons would need to be replaced along with numerous other parts and gaskets that had melted.  I asked if he could get parts and do it and he assured me he could.  I asked about the possibility of just buying a new motor and he told me there were none available in Rwanda and I would have to order it from Dubai or Japan.   Faced with no good options I agreed to let him do it and gave him about $1800 for parts. 

Labor will probably not be more than a couple hundred dollars here.  That is one big difference between here and the States.  I don’t know how many mechanics would choose to rebuild an entire engine over replacing it if the car was not some sort of vintage automobile.  But here in Africa, little, that is made of metal is ever wasted and I have no doubt this guy has done it  before.

I realized I would have to entrust the car to Ruth and Krystan at that point because Lyn and I had a tight schedule and planned on seeing two other projects on the way back to Bujumbura.  I also realized that our trip was going to get a lot more gritty as we would need to go by matatu (minibus) and taxi instead of in a comfortable 4X4. 

Welcome Committee at the Hope School

So the next morning at 6 am we got on a minibus to a town across the bprder in Burundi called Kirundo.  The van would have sat 12 comfortably but we managed to squeeze in 19 along with a ton of luggage.  Despite being squished it was not bad and the border crossing did not take long which was a blessing.

In Kirundo we were met by Innocent, the coordinator of our partner UCEDD who runs the Hope School for the Batwa.  He picked us up in his ancient Toyota Carina and drove us the last 2 hours to the Hope School.  Fortunately it was not raining or we would have never made it over the dirt road under construction that runs to the school. 

There we found there was a huge welcoming ceremony prepared for us complete with drummers and dancers.  (Obviously they considered Lyn to be quite a ‘big man’ in our organization.)  This was followed by a productive meeting with the teachers and administrators of the school. 

By the time we were finished we were very beat and feeling pretty grungy after the trip but did enjoy walking with the setting sun down to the seminary at Burasira where we were staying the night.

We had a nice dinner and met Jodi Mikalachki there as well who greeted us and shared dinner with us.  We had a decent night’s sleep after a cold shower.  The next morning we went to the 6:00 am mass then had breakfast and returned to the school.

Lyn is the coordinator of education programs at MCC so Innocent had arranged for him to meet the student committee and parent’s committee for the school.  We met the students first who were moslty from the secondary school.  We had a good exchange with them and had the chance to ask them directly what the biggest challenges were that they faced in trying to succeed, especially in the national exams.  Overwhelmingly the response was hunger (because they usually do not eat more than once per day) and light (because they have no candles or electricity to study after sunset when their chores are done.)  It was interesting to hear this and discuss solutions with them to these problems.  They also expressed an interest in having some kind of small trade school  as an alternative for those who felt they could not succeed in the national exam. 

Parents Committee at the Hope School

The meeting with the students lasted about 3 hours and the thought of repeating the same thing with the parents right after seemed daunting.  We did go in to meet them though and I have to say it truly enlightening to sit with the parents and talk with them.  This was mainly because of how different it seemed to me than a similar meeting I attended at the Ecole Belge for Oren on Parents day. 

These were peasants.  I am not being derogatory.  They were rural folks with no formal education whatsoever.  I could only imagine the hope and anxiety that might be wrapped up in sending their children to school, a place which they probably could not really understand as I am certain none of them could even read.  Even communication was a challenge as they only speak Kirundi.  I can manage some very rudimentary conversation in Kirundi but Lyn knew neither Kirundi nor French.  So we had to do a 3 part translation from Kirundi to French by Innocent, and then French to English by me.

We did talk to them and I told them that I was a parent myself and that I felt like I wanted them to think of me as a parent as we discussed together the challenges of educating their kids and the importance of encouraging their kids to stay in school.  When we talked to them about the challenges the kids identified, they agreed with the children’s assesement, of the major challenges and added that feeding them regularly was hard in their community.  Their crops were not sufficient to feed the family and they try to hire themselves out to neighbors for extra income with little success. 

It was sobering as I consider the challenges I face with our kids in school and have never considered feeding them to be one I have ever considered seriously.

By the time we finished, I realized we had been in meetings for 6 hours.  We left the school and headed to our next destination, Gitega.  We went in Innocent’s car again, which really did sound like it would fall apart at any bump, but despite the fact that he took a route full of shortcuts that virtually cut down several hedgerows and foot paths, we did get there in one piece in about 2 hours.

Women's Group at Bukirasazi

It was late afternoon by then and I contacted Yolanda, our service worker who met us at the guest house where we were staying.  We told her our saga and while she was sympathetic, she probably could not help feeling a bit of karmic justice to see the country rep. having to get around the country by public transport the way all of our service workers are required to do. 

Yolanda is seconded to our partner UCPD whose project was the last on our 4 day tour.  The next morning we went over to UCPD headquarters where we met Jean Pierre and other UCPD personnel then proceeded by taxi to Bukirasazi where they have their projects.  MCC is supporting a new program to give youth technical training through an apprenticeship program with local artisans, namely taylors, carpenters, and masons. 

We began our visit with a meeting with a representative group of women from about two dozen women’s groups formed by UCPD.  They do various projects together but also helped come up with the idea of the project and will be responsible for selecting young people who will participate in the program.  We had an informative talk with them, again using the 3 part translation from Kirundi through French to English.

After visiting with the women, we made several more stops in the commune to see a local authority and several artisans, to wit: a taylor and a carpenter.  I was particularly struck by the carpentry shop where the carpenter worked with little more than a hand saw and a hammer. 

Last taxi home

We returned to Gitega about 2 and headed down the hill in a taxi, again packed with passengers and cargo and headed down the mountain.  We were back in Bujumbura by about 5pm on Friday.

I have to say, it would be hard to imagine that the weekend could be fuller than the week but it really was.  I arrived to meet our new service worker Jennifer Price.  She arrived from the US on Wednesday to begin a 3 year assignment with our partner Help Channel in Bujumbura.  It was exciting to finally have her arrive and to meet her.   Rebecca had been hosting her at the house since her arrival and starting her orientation. 

That same evening we took Jennifer, the kids, and Lyn to a potluck hosted by our South African friends Tim and Jeanette.  It was a nice party and we had a chance to see a lot of friends and introduce Jennifer around.  We were particularly glad to see Naja and her two kids as their family is going out of town to South Africa for several weeks.

Lyn Longenecker and Jennifer Price at Club du Lac T.

Saturday began as usual with yoga.  We had a fairly big group with Lyn and Jennifer joining in.  After class I took our guests and our kids to the beach, for some lunch and to swim.  The other reason was to give Rebecca 6 hours of uninterrupted time to prepare a sermon she was to preach on Sunday.  She had been feeling very stressed about not having any time alone to prepare as she had charge of the kids and Jennifer while I was upcountry.

The time alone seemed to do the trick as she delivered a powerful sermon on Sunday based on Mark 14 and 15, the story of the Last Supper through the betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane.  The approach she took that really seemed to awe the congregation was to tell it as a narrative from the point of view of Simon Peter.  She spoke as him in the first person and took us through the entire story.  It was very effective and well done, and people actually applauded at the end. 

It was very affirming for her to receive the appreciation.  That afternoon, in our small group we had another opportunity to discuss it and again there was great affirmation of her gift for telling a story.

David with giant millipede

Small group was not the end of the day though; after our group left we welcomed Janelle, our SALTer and her whole family over to dinner.  (Mom, Dad and brother).  They actually came to visit her in Burundi for a week.  I think it was really exciting for her and actually her family will stay in our house this week while we are gone.  (They were going to use our car as well but it will not be back for at least another week.)

We packed until about 11pm (Rebecca until 2 am) and did our best to leave things completed during our absence for the next 2 weeks. 

I wish I could say that Monday morning was stress free, but the truth is we did not feel well prepared to leave.  We are going to Kinshasa for a week of regional meetings then return back to the East Coast of Africa and vacation for 5 days in Zanzibar. 

Our cook called us first thing in the morning to say she was sick, then our cleaner came in with a sprained back.  With both of them out, we are not leaving the house in an ideal situation for guests. 

Janelle and family at our house

Nontheless, when the cab came at noon, we got in and left.  (Jennifer actually came with us in the car Help Channel gave her as we did not have enough room in the cab.)  Lyn Longenecker is also accompanying us to Kinshasa before heading back to the US.

At this posting, we have arrived safely in Addis Ababa where we will stay the night and leave about 9 am to continue our journey.  It has been a hard but not entirely uninteresting week.  We are definitely excited by a change in routine and a chance to get out of town and take a long deep breath.