News from PREFER Preschool
Second Quarter 2011 Report
We are always glad to see April arrive.....it is the end of first term and all our students come home for a 3 week break. They change a little every time, a bit more worldly and self-assured. They’ve made their way in a new world and survived to come home and tell all about it. We've had some of these students for 5 years and they have become fast friends and earnest workers for any project we are implementing. It is a joy to watch them grow into young men and women who will become the "Movers & Shakers" of Rwanda.
April 7th is the beginning of our Memorial time. It is a somber time of reflection and respect for the million lives that were lost in 100 days.
Sonya, March 2008
One of the outings that we organize for our secondary students is a trip to visit the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. Many of our students lost loved ones, some their entire families, during that time and it is a challenging trip for them. It took them 2 years to convince me to take them to the Memorial; I was concerned for them, that it would cause great sadness. It does cause sadness, of course, but it leaves them knowing all the facts and there is great strength in that. After Emmanuel visited the Memorial he went back to his secondary school and started a "Never Again" club. The students met once per week and thought of ways to help others. They found a family that was in difficult times and the students pooled their money to buy seeds. The students spent 2 weekends out in the family’s field digging and planting seeds so the family would have food.
During this school break we decided to take down the eucalyptus trees that were causing problems with their roots and leaves. 2 months later and we are still sawing logs....we will have firewood forever!
We began construction of a house for Jennifer’s family. Jennifer and her two brothers have been with us since we first purchased the property and had that one sheet of plywood on the ground as our classroom. The family are all involved in the construction and anticipating life in the new house.
The Purchased Land, April 2010
We were able to negotiate a good price on another piece of land for the primary school.....4 more pieces to go and we will have the land needed for a primary school and boarding facilities.
We've entertained some guests at PREFER preschool recently. We were interviewed by a group doing research into charitable organizations working in the education sector. They had a list of 64 such organizations and found that PREFER stood out from the rest. Oscar Kimanuko headed the research team and as he was getting into his car to leave he said "this is heaven on earth". I was on cloud nine for a few days after that. Teste and I attended a 2 day seminar put on by the Ombudsman's office. President Kagame's government has zero tolerance for corruption and has begun offering seminars to educate the public. Gideon, the head speaker, had heard of our preschool and approached us. We drove him out to school, gave him a tour and introduced him to the children and teachers; we had a lot of fun when Gideon tried to teach the 5 year old class a new song, in English.
The School's Senior Class, December 2007
Ron, our teacher of the baby class, coach of the street boys and volunteer escort extraordinaire received his visa to visit Canada and left a few days after that! It’s taken the babies a while to accept that he has gone, they were a few babies checking around corners and behind doors to see if he was hiding. We are all ecstatic that Ron has been given this opportunity.
Construction started in the beginning of June of the preschool residence, which will house Teste, Keve and I as well as our volunteers. It will be wonderful to be living in the community; and, to be on site during the construction of the primary school is essential to ensure accountability of all materials.
Cockeyed Optimist, December 2007
Helen, Fiona, Lavinia, Martina, Lauren and Margaux arrived from Rome for a two week visit. It's Helen's 3rd visit to us and the 2nd trip when she brought 4 of her students with her. They visited Akagera Park to view elephant, giraffe and hippo; another weekend they were enjoying the beach at Gisenyi. They really deserved their outings.....our children kept them busy every morning and the Mamas and babies in the afternoon was non-stop. This class is so much fun; it reminds me of the baby sitting courses that are available for teens in Canada.....bathing, burping, applying baby lotion so they smell wonderful and feel like silk. Our intention was to have 10 Mamas and babies...then I stretched it to 15. We now have 200 Mamas and babies enrolled in our Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon classes.
Our little fellow with spinabifida came to visit and had a wonderful surprise for us....he can roll over onto his tummy and get up on his hands and knees to crawl around. The surgeries we have paid for has made a huge difference, and he still has more before it is all over. This little fellow has done nothing but sit his entire 7 year life. His family would place him by the fire to keep warm and his feet caught on fire...3 times! He got placed down somewhere and there is where he stayed. He told me he has never felt so free...it made me cry.
PREFER Preschool students, April 2010
Most of our street children are attending school but there are a few that just won't go back. These fellows are 17 - 21 years old, don't read or write and have survived a tough existence. One fellow, Eric, is a good kid. We hired him as our front gate watchman "zamu" and he worked out perfectly. We agreed on 10,000Rwf per month ($ 20.00usd) with meals included. In his 3rd month he sent a friend to tell us he had another job that paid more money so he would not be back! I was thrilled.....this is a community that used to distrust these children...now they are hiring them to protect their property. Maybe we'll start a "zamu" training program.
The baby girl who was burned on her chest, stomach, arms and face is healing beautifully...she still cries when I approach her...but her skin looks great. We've had another baby girl come for burn treatment. She splashed her arm in a pot of water, not knowing it was boiling hot. We are in need of flammazine or any burn ointment please.
We ended June the best way we know how.....with a FEAST!
The noises are the best...slurping and giggling..feast day is one of my favourite days. The children have plenty of time to eat and 2nd, 3rd and 4th helpings are available; as well as pepto tablets for those that had one helping too many The Italian girls loaded many photos onto Facebook for you to check out
While we were feasting away the PREFER Canada team was assisting Brenda and Barb in hosting a dance for us. I have heard rave reviews of the evening’s festivities and there is a video to check out on dance for Cathy's Kids".
Our primary school is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality.
You and us, working together, has accomplished miraculous things here in our "town". You have gone without your coffee to build a house, you have danced to build a school, you have raffled to supply us with food and medical needs, you have told your co-workers and friends about the children and collected school supplies to send us, and you keep buying goats.
Baby Goat In The Garden, November 2007
When I first came here children were dying.....of such preventable things....starvation, falling in a toilet, and malaria for just a few examples. We would lose 2 or 3 students in a year and in our community it may be 10 children per year or more. Because you see us, because you know we are here, those days are gone. It has been over 1 year since I have attended a child’s funeral. This is one amazing gift you are giving me.
For all you do for us we say .......Thank you very much!
You never know how far you can go.....unless you run.
Have a Rwandaful Day...love and hugs Cathy and the children.
