August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011

Today is why I came to Africa. 

I went to the office first thing in the morning to prepare for my first focus group with the girls.  I had surveys to print and items to organize, so I made sure I had all of my needed items ready to go.  Around 10am, I found myself loaded into a UN monster SUV, and we headed up to the field.  We weren’t able to go far, as the rains the last few days made our normal route inaccessible.  Michael, our trusted and deep laughing driver, took us through another maze of streets, ending in uphill curves and muddy roads.  Today, Michael made me realize that driving the truck is an art, as he maneuvered those roads with a grace and calmness of a general going into battle.  Although it is typically a situation in which I might be frightened, Michael’s consistent cool made me ease further into my seat, relaxing the entire time.

We arrived in Kabuyanda a tad before noon, and I went to the community center where we were to have our 2 o’clock meeting.  I set everything out and then triple-checked everything so that I knew nothing would be forgotten, and when I could do no more checking, I settled in to read a book that was recently given to me about teenage struggles.  I read and read until approximately 1:30 when I thought it time to start preparing for the girls.

2pm came and went.  2:15pm came and went. 2:30pm came and went 2:45pm came and went.  It was around this time that I realized no one would be coming to my first meeting.  I started putting things into stacks to be taken home when I noticed a tiny girl carrying an even tinier girl on her back outside the window.  I went outside to take their picture, and as I did so, seven or eight girls sauntered into the center.  SUCCESS!!

My dear community sector (Hilda, Irene, and Kenneth) had come through!!  We started the meeting with fifteen girls, but by the time it was time to go, we had 35!!  I was in awe.  They were very timid at first, not wanting to say anything, but I had planned a “name game” that forced the girls to say their name as well as others in the group.  By the time the interview activity began, I heard a steady increase in their voice. I hope more than anything it continues.

I will say the language barrier between the girls and me is something that I, too, will have to surpass, because every time I tried to say something in Runyenkori, they would laugh and laugh.  I think it made them feel even more comfortable in the setting though, because by the end of the meeting, I had girls coming up to me to ask for my phone number and to see if they could teach me songs.  I said I couldn’t today, but that they were going to see so much of me that they may get sick! 

I left ecstatic.  It is the very reason I have travelled this journey – to meet those girls.  I vow I will do whatever I can to help them learn, develop, and find their voice.  There was immense potential in the room with those girls.  I see it; now, I must put the mirror in front of them.