Day 4: Let’s meet the Kiddos!

Today, we went to a place called Mindleap. The goal of this organization is to help single mothers and children improve their lives. They do this by providing resources such as support groups for the mothers and educational opportunities for the children. The program recognized that in a family system, if you help the mother, the children will have a better chance of succeeding.

Being with those kids today meant everything to me — it was truly life-changing. The way they connected with me reminded me of the positive energy I bring. My peers came up to me afterward and said, “Those kids love you.”

We went to visit some of their homes and families. The walk there was about four miles uphill lol — at least that’s what it felt like. My peers were struggling to make it, and the tour guide was dying of laughter, saying the route we took was actually a shortcut 😂. Embarrassing lol, because why were they that tired if we took the shortcut?

The first home we visited belonged to an 87-year-old woman whose family — her husband and 11 children — were murdered during the genocide against the Tutsi. She talked about how thankful she is to God for her life. She reminded us never to be revengeful and to love people even in the face of opposition. She also shared that during the genocide, when people came to her house to kill her, she gave them the little money she had in exchange for her survival.

The second house we visited belonged to a child named Beautiful. She’s 13 years old, has an older sister, and her favorite subject is chemistry. Once we arrived at her home, her mother welcomed us in and shared her story with us. Her mom is a hairdresser, and she provides for the entire family.

The final house we visited belonged to a child named Vanessa. She’s 16 years old and really quiet lol. Her mother seemed the same way.

All of their homes were similar.

Once we got back to the Mindleap building, we ate with the kids and started dancing. I really enjoyed dancing with them. You know how I sweat… I was soaked lol. They taught us there and we taught them one of ours, which was a line dance lol. I also modeled 😂 I would’ve ate you up on that runway floor.

What I Ate 🥙?

For breakfast, I ate at the hotel, so I just grabbed some fruit and bread.

For lunch, we ate with the kids. They prepared rice, cabbage, and beans. It was really good, and the servings were huge. I ended up sharing with my peer, Susan. We didn’t eat much of it, so we gave the rest to the kiddos, and they crushed it.

For dinner, a couple of other students and I went to a new vegan spot called SZY. The food was straight. It’s owned by two Americans — the man is from Alabama, and the woman is from Texas. They said they came to Rwanda on vacation and fell in love with it. The restaurant is beautiful.

What I Miss:

Beating you up…I think you should really take some kickboxing lessons or something while I’m away because I whip on you every time😂.

Random:

I’m starting to like Rwanda a lot… I could honestly see us 🤭 living here someday. The only thing that gives me pause is that homosexuality still isn’t socially accepted here. I asked someone about it, and he explained that LGBTQ people are often heavily judged, especially outside of Kigali. Hearing that was no surprise but the country is beautiful, the people have been welcoming, and the sense of community here is really special. That’s the only reason I would hesitate on moving here.

I love you Chink!

😘😘😘

• • •

• • •