Get much more than one could possibly give

A truly life changing trip... great team, incredibly fulfilling time serving, can't wait to return.

BIG thanks to Scott, Sam, Dr. Christensen and the Lamberts, no drama, tons of fun, pleasure to work with day in and day out.
Double BIG thanks to Prince and Moise, so much more than translators and drivers... a part of the family.
Triple BIG thanks to George, our intrepid leader, the embodiment of servant leadership.
And finally, the BIGGEST thanks to the people of Rwanda... you grace, kindness and friendship sets you apart as a people.

Much love,
Heather & Riad

2 weeks, one pair of undies

All work, no play, makes Moise a very grumpy smurf.
So while we certainly worked our little tails off, we definitely took advantage to play... just a little.

We Ran
Dr. Christensen was a gazelle and we ran together a few times the first week in Musanze
The locals thought we were nuts... 7:00 am, two crazy Muzungus chasing each other down the road.

This kid saw us run by and took off like a dart, running with for a solid mile, at a 7:00 min / mile pace, in freakin FLIP FLOPs...

We Partied
Our two translators had an ole friend in Musanze and he invited us over for a catered East African dinner... kuryoshywa (kinyarwandan for DELICIOUS)

Mama whipped up a mean goat stew...

We have eaten and eaten well, time to bust out the Inanga (traditional Rwandan six string).

The man has mad rhythm and sick dance skillz.

We went commando
Take a good hard look... that is one, count'em one freakin pair of undies... my one and ONLY pair of undies for two weeks.

We Laughed inappropriately
Downtown Musanze, bustling morning traffic, tragic bicycle on potato violence...

We Exercised
Apparently there is no Rwandan word for burpie.

We Partied even more.
The bishop of the Huye Anglican diocese graciously invited the entire team over to his house for his small group meeting.
We prayed, and shared, and worshiped, and sang, and ate, and generally had a fabulous time.

There is always one at every party (and usually it is me)... a little troublemaker, but too cute to get into actual trouble.

He hijacked my camera and turned into Jimmy Olson, snapping merrily away.

A portfolio of his best stuff... wish I could have just left the camera with him... in 5 minutes he was taking better shots that I have ever, in my entire life.

Doing work (Huye style)

With the blessing of the local church leadership, the team went back to work...
1.presentation on eye care, nutrition and hygiene
2.delivery of super cool shades
3.reading tests and fitting reading glasses
rinse and repeat.

The team really found their groove, with everyone finding their optimal role and executing.
Heather, Sam, Prince and Moise worked closely with the local pastors to train and handle the tests and fittings.
George was the escalation point for any serious issues and referrals (cataracts, detached retinas, etc.)
Riad organized the glasses, delivering the specific requested power and coordinated the queue of people.
A finely tuned serving eye care machine...

Sam and Celestin explaining... if you can see Celestin's obnoxious orange shirt, then your eyes are likely OK.

Sam and Prince explaining... you can rock a ridiculous fisherman's hat, a clown straw visor, sweet sweet yellow shades and still be awesome.

Sam explaining the power of germs through glitter...

the Crew hard at work, reading testing, fitting glasses, changing lives...

A happy customer who insisted on a photo and a promise to post to the blog... "I want the world to know I can see again AND to check out this awesome outfit"

So as efficient and effective as we were, there were at least 200 people waiting first thing in the morning, every single day... there was some waiting involved.
Mr Jean NGirabaganwa sat patiently for 4 hours for his turn. We successfully fitted him for a new set of readers (and some wicked cool shades), but he still seemed a little out of sorts.
I asked him "Jean, my brother, what's bothering you?"
He said, "Riad, I missed my class at university and going to get into serious trouble".
My goodness, what oh what to do???
BAM, write a doctor's note...

Signed sealed and delivered, super official... Riad Bacchus, eye care consultant.
My work is done here.

Mr Jean, his note, and his favorite eye care consultant... I just wish I had a white lab coat.

I need more trumpet... more trumpet man

Having survived the arduous Ruli trek, we bid a fond farewell to Dr. Christensen and the lovely Lambert sisters, who had to head back to the good ole USA.
The team headed on to our final destination, the southern town of Huye (formerly Butare).
Huye is the cultural center of Rwanda, home of the University and all the cool kids.

Several years ago, one of the PEACE team members had an inspired thought to help facilitate the entrepreneurial spirit within the Rwanda people.
He created a small coffee shop, serving local source coffee and snacks.
The shop is staffed and managed by a group of young and driven Rwandans who have an opportunity to learn about creating, managing and expanding a small business.
The shop has been open about 6 months and is located down the street from the University (location, location, location).
Unfortunately, the shop opened without one critical piece of equipment... an industrial automated coffee bean grinder.
So our eye care team leader, graciously agreed to tuck in the grinder amongst the hundreds of pairs of glasses we shipped over.

when in Rwanda, carry stuff as Rwandans...

Master Barista Theosete, doing work...

An espresso and an iced coffee makes George and Heather happy happy happy.

This brings us to Sunday... and Sunday in Rwanda is church day, and it is a big big deal.
We attended the local Anglican service both in English and in Rwandan.
The service was cool, pretty standard in terms of message and such but the worship... WOW... it was a party for JC.... and an awesome one at that...
These images and video certainly do not capture the excitement and electricity, but should give a little taste.

Packed house, ready to sing and dance.

Heather and I watched with giant smiles on our face... a pure, beautiful, dance party (sans glow sticks)... so infectious and fun.

I have to call out these two... love the pants, love the trumpet (his own, brought from home) and she owned the stage.

Have you ever heard of Ruli???

After finishing with Musanze, we packed the mini van and headed south to our next planned engagement, but not before an alleged "short" stop in a town "on the way".

Rwanda is called, the Land of a Thousand Hills... tens and tens and tens of thousands more like it.

The drive started out pleasantly enough, weaving through these beautiful, rolling, mist shrouded hills.

That wonderful elixir known as coffee... due to the climate and the nutrient rich volcanic soil, the colonials (ze Germans), brought the magic beans to Rwanda. They grow everywhere.

Where are these crazy Mzungus going?

Pretty typical road trip, with a random stop to help a guy with a bike full of bananas up on of the thousand or so hills.

Hours and hours and hours later, after some seriously gnarly roads, and several stops to ask directions (even the Rwanadans have never heard of this place), we rolled into Ruli... so why were even going to Ruli you might ask???
Our engineer Scott had been speaking with a group of German ophthalmologists who work the Ruli rural hospital, performing all sorts of wonderful eye care miracles.
The rural hospital was started ~25 years ago by a little Spanish firecracker who has dedicated her life to service, specifically the poorest and most far flung... which rural Rwanda certainly qualifies.

ze Germans named their facility a very German name... Krankenhaus. I bet they wake ever morning and cry out "It is time to unleash the Kraken.... haus!!!" I love ze Germans.

ze Germans definitely know how to make beautiful things... cars, watches, roadways, and the occasional rural hospital. The grounds were so well manicured, the facilities were "eat off the floor" clean.
If you had to be sick in Rwanda, this is definitely the place to recover.

Heather showing the locals not only how to wear shades, but how to look GOOD doing it.

Although the ride to and from the Ruli hospital was a nausea inducing ride over some of the worse roads in Rwanda, the hospital itself was wonderful to see and experience... it represented what the eye care team hoped develop (in partnership with the local churches).

On the road back from Ruli... a few ladies on their way home, in hands free mode.

 Emerald, sage, juniper, seaweed, mint, moss, pine, olive, avocado... How many shades of green exist? If this question ever keeps you up at night, then Rwanda is the place to start the catalog.

mmm sugar cane... a little late afternoon energy blast.

Doing work (Musanze style)

The Turks came through and delivered our missing gear the next day, allowing us to finally get to work.

Our team consisted of two specialized groups... 

1. Ophthalmologists and engineer: Dr. Christensen, Scott Rowe, Penny and Jen Lambert

These are the actual medical professionals. 

Their focus was on serious eye issues, such as cataracts and other damage requiring surgery.

They engaged the local eye doctor and nursing staff to assist with consultation, surgery and updating / maintaining the various eye care devices (like microscopes, etc).

Each morning, this team headed off to the local hospital to work with the single eye specialist in town, Dr. David Karama.

2. Reading test and fitting: George, Heather, Sam, Riad, Prince and Moise

These were NOT medical professionals. 

Our focus was on eye issues as a result of aging... the need for readers which are essentially magnifying glasses wrapped in a frame.

We engaged the local pastors and church volunteers to train and assist with simple reading tests and fitting reading glasses.

What differentiates the PEACE plan engagements with other NGOs for helping Africa, is that our teams are not there to "give them fish" but instead "teach them to fish" and by them, specifically the local church.

Everything is done through the church, allowing the church, NOT another group of "best of intention-ed rich Westerners", to have all the recognition and credit for any service delivered, any value gained.

After securing the blessing of the local church leader, in the case of Musanze, it was the Anglican vicar, Pastor Samuel, the team setup at the main church in town.

Every morning, we stepped through our program... 

1.Short presentation on caring for your eyes, including wearing sunglasses, eating well, and most importantly good hygiene.

2. Delivery of sunglasses to everyone

3. Conduct reading tests and if required, fit for appropriate reading glasses

In some cases, if there was a serious problem, we would capture their details for a referral to the hospital.

Rinse and repeat.

 Organizing the readers into powers... +1, +1.25, +1.5 etc.

Moise and Heather rockin' a Crest commercial... seriously, who has smiles like this???

Fluorescent green is the new black.

 Courtyard of the Musanze Anglican church... beautiful.

Heather, Moise and a very serious and intense Sam doing work.

Not surprisingly, the boys loved them some Sam and Heather...

Making Rwandans cool, one pair o shades at a time.

By the third day, the local church team were conducting the test and fitting readers... with great results...

Sometimes new glasses had a Clark Kent effect... who IS this lady in glasses, sitting where my mom just was???

The team with Pastor Samuel (the Anglican vicar), and Augustine, one of the trainer pastors.