SCHOOL DAYS

School days, good old fashioned school days. What is an old fashion school day anyways? Looking back I can remember the excitement in the air of buying school supplies. Of course then report card time which could come bringing dread if you did not do well or a special treat if you did. Myself, never the best student. I never really knew how to study or maybe I did not care enough . I did like to learn, but did not appreciate the opportunity granted me in attending school. For sure, I loved the snow days ,summer vacation and the vacations in between.

In Rwanda, and probably other countries as well school means something totally different. To sum it up in one word-HOPE. Hope for a better future.Hope to possibly get a job. For parents if even one child in their family can become educated there is hope they will be taken care of in their old age.

Living in Rwanda for over two years we have seen many things first hand. Adjusting from our culture we began to hear, see and learn. Poverty is not just a lack of money, it is a lack of resources. One can have all the money in the world, yet if you were out in a desert some place with nothing around you, what good would it do you? Even once educated; jobs are slim. Especially in more rural areas. But one must first hurdle getting to school and staying in school .

The hearts cry of every parent and every child is school. Their dream, desire, reason to live is to attend school. When a parent cannot send their child to school they feel as if they failed. But what happens when a child cannot attend school?

The child needs supervision, yet if the mother and father have any type of small job it means the child stays home with other relatives or even other siblings not in school. Children running all over the roads, far away from their homes is not uncommon. Many children get hit by cars and can be prone to be used in sexual situations. Even if nothing "bad" happens, the child is lonely, alone with no one to care for them. Their day can consist of cleaning house, getting water, eating very little, fighting sickness and worst of all-no hope.

The videos and photos we show above are from our early learning program. A program we began to be a help for those who could not afford school fees. Thus the name "The Help Program". We have some funny stories of when we handed out registration forms since we could only have 25 students and how the Mamas cornered Les to get one. Just to register, knowing over 100 Mama's were there yet only 25 slots could be filled.

Our first year we were to start with 24 and had 55. The second year 15 graduated and are now attending a good private school. The government primary schools are less expensive but may have 80 children in one class. The second year of the program we felt we could replace the 15 graduates and had maybe 10 more, this the 25 openings. We ended up with 98 children.

One can not explain the need. Having mother's knock on your gate saying "Kwiega Mama Muto" over and over. Kwiega means to learn. Tears, sometimes anger, lying pushing. Anything to give their child a chance for hope. Some mothers disabled, raped and are young children themselves with children. How many times did my heart break. I have lost count. Yet knowing what you do is only a drop in the bucket compared to the need. Yet if everyone does their drop the bucket would eventually get filled. Although we could not continue this program when we moved to another area due to some technicalities we know for a short time these 98 children learned and receievd hope for a sorttime at least. Out of the first 55 students 33 of them now attend private primary schools in our child sponsorship program.

So, school days in Rwanda. Different than our childhood memories. What is your favorite memory? Did you ever look at going to school as a burning desire for -HOPE?