Looking to the Future

Every morning, as soon as I hear the students say “Good Morning Teacher Sarah”, all exhaustion, frustration, and worry is pushed to the back of my mind, and the students smiling faces are all that I see. This morning was no different, I was so tired and hadn’t slept well and was still feeling the emotion of going to the genocide memorial yesterday, but as soon as I saw my students, I remembered why i’m here. I’m here to build relationships, i’m here to encourage those shining students, i’m here to help build a stronger future for the kids and for Rwanda. We got to see another example of this idea of looking to the future this afternoon. Our entire group went to visit Ivuku Arts, which is an art studio with painting, dancing, drumming, and jewelry making. We watched some students dance, learned how to make paper beads, and I spent a majority of my time holding a precious little boy. It was so encouraging to see a group of people working together to better their community and their future. We went from Ivuku Arts to Hotel des Mille Collines, which is where the movie Hotel Rwanda took place. We sat by the pool and ate dinner and I couldn’t help of thinking of all of the people who had taken refuge in this place. To be able to see the past and the future side by side this afternoon really helped us to see Rwanda as a whole, to see what has shaped who they are, and what they want for their future.