Superbowl and Motivation...



Tara's team won!

 

Sunrise after the Superbowl



Go Steelers! Unfortunately the Superbowl did not end up the way my dad would have liked it, but nonetheless we stayed up ALL night at the embassy watching the game as avid supporters. We even tried to find some superbowl snacks before heading there....unfortunately couldn't find any dip or sour cream, but did manage to find some potato chips and cheese puffs for our munchie needs. After biting into the first cheese puff, we realized how different the recipe must be from the one at home since they tasted like someone had already had them in their mouth and put them back into the bag; very stale. The chips turned out to be pretty tasty, and the embassy even had some salsa we could dip into! The snacks were no comparison to my dad's usual spread of chicken wings in a variety of homemade sauces, multiple dips, and sandwiches, but we enjoyed every minute of it anyway. Luckily the embassy had a fully stocked bar, so a little night cap (or two) kept us going through the night. The part we missed the most were the commercials, since the game was only airing on ESPN. As part of her first Superbowl experience, Amy missed out on all the over-the-top commercials, but we explained the rules of American football and some of the guys explained background about the two teams (I'm clearly not the biggest football buff).

So for a work update--we are feeling MUCH more positive about our volunteer work in Rwanda after the past few days of meetings and time spent with the women in the Gender Based Violence Program. We met with two American girls who are starting a business over here, working with different women's cooperatives across the country to develop products for the American market. They also helped set up a store in Rwanda where the crafts from the cooperatives are sold. They generously came to our organization to meet the women, discuss their skills, and learn more about what they make and how they sell it. The American women discussed things like how to determine the price of a good, profit, materials, and time taken to make the craft. The local women were very grateful and hopeful that they may have new markets to sell their goods, and improve their families' lives. After the business meeting, we also discussed with the women who did and didn't have health insurance. Over here it is 1000 Rwandan Francs to receive a public health insurance card, or under $2 US dollars per person per year. So we took count of who wasn't insured, and thanks to all the generous people on Nantucket, I will be using some of their money to make sure all the women in the cooperative and their families have health insurance. Some of the women are HIV positive and need medication and others have ongoing medical problems that have been put off for years because of the cost. We also recorded how many kids each of the women had, and how many attended school. We will also look further into sponsorship for the kids that aren't able to pay their school fees, and therefore not able to attend school; about $50 US dollars per year. In addition to learning more about these women, we have met with other inspirational organizations that are doing all different types of work with women nationwide. One of them, called Pro Femmes, acts as an umbrella organization to all NGO's that work in women's empowerment. We met with a woman working for them, Emma, who explained in detail the variety of projects they are involved in. From visiting rural communities and talking to women about money management and saving, to delivering family planning education to other rural communities, to providing assistance to HIV positive women and families who aren't able to afford medication, they are involved in influential work all over the country. They also liase with local and national government on projects and work with the Ministry of Gender and Family to identify different needs nation-wide. We also met with an organization called Women for Women International, who have a year-long program for the poorest women in specific regions (identified by local villages). The program teaches the women skills such as hairdressing, tailoring, and craft-making, along with allowing them to attend literacy and business classes. Each specific Rwandan woman is sponsored by an American woman for a certain amount each month, and the two exchange letters and photos through the mail. Women for Women also helps each local community of women in the program to form cooperatives, which they then assist to find markets (one of them being Kate Spade!).

After the frustration at the beginning of our project, and the difficulty in adjusting to the slower pace of life (and work!), we are feeling much more hopeful and motivated about our time here and the impact we can make before we leave!

xo Cait

P.S. Two weeks tomorrow with no water at the house (it came back on for one celebratory day last week, then slowly trickled away again)...back to sponge baths...