More about Rwanda

Here’s a little bit more about Rwanda.
Rwanda is a pastoral country consisting of mostly subsistence farmers. Rwanda has 10,169 square miles and nearly 10.2 million people (population density of 829 people per square mile). By contrast, Indiana has 6.4 million people in an area of 36,418 square miles (population density of 169 people per square mile). Hard to believe subsistence farmers can live on 5 times less land than we have here in Indiana. The GDP per capita is $898, while in the US it is $45, 850. That gives you an idea of how poor this country is.
The genocide that occurred in 1994 was related to ethnic tensions. There are 3 ethnic groups in Rwanda: the Tutsis, who are historically the dominant and wealthier group, and the Hutus, the more populous but not powerful group; there are also the Twa, or Pygmies, who are in the minority and play a lesser role politically. The ethnic groups generally lived in relative harmony until colonial times, when European influences pitted the groups against each other by preferring the Tutsis due to their more “European” facial features and height. Conflicts between the groups have arisen ever since. The 1994 genocide began when the moderate Hutu President was assassinated and the Hutus claimed that the Tutsis were responsible (although it is believed that the radical Hutus killed him as a way of legitimizing their cause). The resulting 100-day bloodbath, perpetrated by the radical Hutu Interhamwe group, left nearly a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead. The genocide and civil war ended when the Tutsi RPF, invading from exile in Uganda, took over the country. Many Hutus have been tried and imprisoned, and great efforts have been made at restoration. Now Rwanda is peaceful, but there are deep social scars and it is generally unacceptable to talk about ethnicity in Rwanda.
Uwezo Jean Paul would have been a very young boy at the time of the genocide. A letter or two from project workers have hinted that he was affected. I do know that he lives with both parents and 5 brothers and sisters. He loves soccer and singing, and sends me lots of Bible verses, usually Psalms. He studies (Auto?) Mechanics and is in his second year in high school (typical for his age in Africa).
The Nile River runs through Rwanda. It also has Lake Kivu on the west, which borders the Congo, a country with much conflict. I don’t think we will go anywhere near the border there because it isn’t safe. Rwanda also borders Uganda to the north, Burundi to the south, and Tanzania to the east. The main language is Kinyarwanda, but Swahili, French, and English are also spoken.

Getting Ready for my Trip!

I have been a sponsor through Compassion International for 24 years, and a volunteer advocate for children in poverty through Compassion since 1995. While I have been on trips to meet my sponsored children before, I have never been to Africa. Rwanda fascinates me, with its beautiful green hills and pastoral views of cattle grazing, yet its bloody history of the 1994 genocide. This young man I sponsor - Uwezo Jean Paul - is 19 years old, and may bear scars of remembrance of that horrible time. Surely his parents and older sister remember.
My husband and I have sponsored Jean Paul since he was 7 years old. Jay, my husband, had the opportunity to meet him in May 2000. He has grown a lot since then. He writes to us often, and in every letter he hopes and prays that one day we would be able to come back and visit him. I don't know what he will think when he gets me instead of Jay. Hope he doesn't mind too much!
I am planning lots of fun things to take him, things I hope will help a 19 year old as he nears the end of his high school and sponsorship career. My suitcase currently holds a wind-up flashlight, a battery operated cd player with rechargeable batteries, a polo shirt and fleece jacket, and some family gifts including a rug and some jelly beans. I am also so excited that I am able to take him a refurbished used laptop. Maybe he can use it in college if he makes it that far, or for a business or for his church.
I leave Friday morning Feb 6, and fly to JFK, then connect with the Compassion group (of about 20 people) and go on through Brussels, Belgium to Kigali, Rwanda. We don't arrive until Saturday evening. They are something like 7 hours ahead of us. The weather is supposed to be rainy, and 70's during the day and 50's during the night. Since it is 19 degrees here right now, that sounds pretty good. I am praying for good traveling weather.
I hope to be able to post messages while I am in Rwanda from my hotel computer to let everyone know how the trip is going. I probably won't add pictures until home. Please pray for me on this trip, that God will do great things for all the Compassion workers and children we encounter, but especially for Uwezo Jean Paul and his family!