Determination

This month marks 19 years since Rwanda’s genocide, during which approximately 1 million people were slaughtered in 100 days (read: an average of 10,000 people per day), often times in brutal fashion. It’s a sad story, and one that most times frames Westerner’s perception of this country. Through this horrific event though, Rwanda has been able to show the world that it’s a country filled with hope, optimism, and determination to move forward. The struggles that we complain about in the U.S. pale in comparison to the daily struggles that locals in any village in Rwanda face, yet they persevere.

In my service to date I have gone to many friends’ houses and, regardless of their social standing, have always been treated as a welcomed guest and offered great hospitality, from friends with houses made of clay/mud with dirt floors and no electricity to houses that rival upper-middle American houses. The other day I invited a friend over for dinner to teach him how to make curry. I’ve mastered the single size portion meal and just doubled the amount of food for two. When we put all the food on our plates my friend asked why I didn’t prepare more, in case someone came to greet me. The thought just never occurred to me that I should prepare for an uninvited guest to come to my house. But that’s how they are here. They might not have much to offer but what is there is there to share.

Today a different friend came over and shared his experience in the genocide with me. This friend, who I’ll call Theogene, was four years old when he saw his grandfather murdered in front of him, machete to the head and to the throat, with most of his family eventually also being murdered. His family was quite well off before the genocide but after everything happened his mother earned maybe 200RWF a day (which at today’s rate is around 30 cents, but back then it was probably next to nothing as Rwanda had become one of the poorest countries in the world after the genocide). Struggling to find money to pay for something as basic as salt, Theogene would sometimes miss an entire week of school to help his mother search for something to eat. Even when he went to school it was a strain on his body to concentrate when he was so hungry. Theogene had to repeat three separate years of school because of the toll poverty had taken on him. He eventually received assistance from organizations in Rwanda that offer support to genocide survivors and went to a good school in the region and now has a scholarship to study in university.

Not to belittle those in the U.S. who do struggle to make ends meet or have had traumatic experiences, but in general we have it so good and don’t understand what it truly means to suffer, and I include myself in this. Even the worst things I’ve experienced in my life, or will experience, cannot compare to what Theogene had to go through when he was 4 years old. When he was able to find some semblance of stability he seized the opportunity to learn as much as he could, yet I would complain that school was boring and I didn’t want to do homework. Going to university in Rwanda isn’t a certainty for everyone, especially if that person doesn’t receive a scholarship. In the U.S. we complain about not getting into our top choice school but fail to realize that we even have a choice. Maybe it’s not Harvard or MIT but the fact remains that if you want to go to college you can find one that would accept you.

One of my concerns about returning to the U.S. at the end of this year is that I will lose sight of the fact that I don’t have to make the tough decisions that plague so many people in Rwanda and a large part of the world. I certainly don’t want to turn preachy and higher-than-thou-because-I-served-in-Africa but I just don’t want to take for granted the life that has been afforded to me simply because of having been born into such a stable society. I want to have the determination that Theogene has to better my life and the lives of those around me.