I'd Like To Buy a Month, Please.

It costs CUSO-VSO $30, 000 to send one volunteer overseas. Unlike other aid organizations the mandate of CUSO-VSO is to send people to train locals instead of sending things. People teach people and they teach themselves. It's the whole "teach a man to fish" type thing. As a volunteer, I will incur no costs to myself and will get a monthly local salary of $310 per month. So, I certainly won't be contributing to my RRSPs, that's for sure. Each volunteer is asked to raise $2000 for the CUSO-VSO. We don't have to, and certainly my work with the organization will not be compromised if I don't. However, I really believe in the organization and hope to make a difference while I'm there. There are a lot of people who might say, "there are a lot of people in Canada who need your help, so why go to Rwanda?" The answer quite honestly is simple - I'm a teacher. I became a teacher to help and teach and hope that my students will go on to create and live and lead and make the world a better place. I've only taught for 4 years but probably have taught 600 kids. Whether I teach in Calgary or Rwanda, I want my students to create and live and lead and make the world (not just Calgary, Alberta or Canada) a better place. The world is smaller than we all think. 

Where am I going with this? Well, I'm trying to convince you that this is a great organization and that you'll part with some hard earned money in times of a, eeek, recession. Here's my plan: I'm inviting you "buy a month" of my time away. This is how it will work:

• You give a minimum donation ($100) to buy a month.
• You can donate as a family, a couple, an individual, as a class or on behalf of your dog if you want!
• You can chose the month that you would like to be recognized in. I will be gone from September 2009 to August 2010.
• In that month I will feature your picture (if you chose), tell the world a little bit about you (if you chose) and why you wanted to donate to CUSO-VSO and I'll even send you a little something (ie. postcard) from Rwanda. (No guarantees with that last one as I don't know the postal situation in Kibungo)
• How to donate? Email me for a volunteer form and I'll send it your way or click on the links below.
• When you donate, email me your picture and a blurb and I'll post it on this blog.
• Remember, the money doesn't necessarily go to me or to Rwanda but it does go to fund volunteer projects like the one I'll be doing. 
• So - what do you say? Still have questions? Click on the links below to find out more information!

Sponsor a Volunteer! (Don't forget to put my name on this form)

CUSO-VSO

Republic of Rwanda - Ministry of Education

Ngoma District

Thank you in advance for all of your support and even if you can't donate now, pop onto this blog every once in a while or email me a "hello". Monetary support is great but your words of support mean the world to me.

Thank you!

Merci!

Murakoze!

Anna's Suitcase Goes to Airdrie

My suitcase has officially moved and I'll be a few days behind it. I'm moving into Aimey's house for the month of June. After that, I'll be staying here, there and everywhere! Aimey lives in Airdrie (a suburb of Calgary) and while it isn't  central and I swore I would never live in a suburb (Emily told me tonight that in our thirties we should be allowed to say "but I can change my mind"), there won't be the colourful characters that inner city living brings. Well, if I do see a man peeing  in the parking lot at her house, I may take that back! This week has been all about packing and lists and phone calls and organizing myself. I'm exhausted but enjoying the process. 

Thankfully, my work has been much less stressful because my students are working on a project all week (intentionally I might add) and are really engaged so I have no worries such as "is this really a learning opportunity?" They have formed a political party and are elected to government. They are now charged with the task of eliminating a 2.2 billion dollar deficit and justifying their positions. Below are actual quotes from actual junior high students:

- "Oh, wow! We really are on the left. We are socialists!"

- "You can't cut that social program. My grandma needs it."

- "We need to give businesses subsidies because they will end up paying taxes too."

- "There is so much waste in education"

- "Lets cut out the military completely. We have the USA to protect us anyway"

- "Ms. MacEachern, did you get a new hair straightener?" (Junior high girls are so astute)

So there you have it folks! Apparently my students are learning something and if they are not, at least they think I have great hair! :) 

Aimey are now thinking about going to Bolivia as part of our South America trip. It looks as though we'll stick to the southern jungle so that we can make our way there. Deanna has gone and really liked it. All it means is cutting out a northern Amazon trip to the jungle. We'll see the jungle either way. Plus, Aimey really wants to bike down the World's Most Dangerous Road. I'm not convinced I'll do it. It's not the bike ride that makes me nervous but the drive to get there. I remember back to Iceland, driving along the fjords in the back of the Red Wagon praying that I wouldn't die from driving off a cliff into the Denmark Strait. I usually blessed myself as I got in the van and prayed to St. Guilio that I would make it home from Iceland. (Guilio being our driver - I don't know if there really is a St. Guilio....) Well, I did make it back from Iceland (my mantra for my trip was "What's the absolute worse thing that can happen?") and I have a few pictures to show for it!

Those cliffs in Iceland really are dangerous.

Our trusty van and truck that I thought would wind up in the ocean.

If you don't manage to fall off a cliff, the views are spectacular.

And on those cliffs are these cute little puffins! (So cute, Icelanders eat them with blueberry sauce)

Munyaneza Found Guilty

Munyaneza was found guilty last Friday. Reading about his case and the genocide in general gives me pause. In my reading and my research Rwanda is exotic, beautiful and exciting. I bet many VSO volunteers have similar thoughts as they prepare to leave. I have to keep perspective as I prepare to leave. Rwanda has been crippled by the genocide and by IMF policies. This is a country that is doing the best it can to recover from its history. Its education system has suffered greatly as a result so as I go off on this "big adventure" it would do me well to keep in mind my real purpose. 

Verdict expected in landmark Rwandan war crimes case

From CBC this morning.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/05/21/montreal-rwanda-munyaneza-trial-war-crimes.html

Now that the fleas are gone...

So, I'm sitting at my parents house to use their Internet and get a few things done. I thought I'd come by this afternoon watch their mega-huge t.v. (with a bazillion channels), update the blog and do some banking. I had a dentist appointment in the area and so it is pretty convenient. But I don't know how to work my parent's television. My mom texts and my dad knows how to use PVR. What is the world coming to? And more to the point, how will they survive in Rwanda when they come to visit?

I have had a great few emails the past days from Tina who is working in Kibungo as a teacher trainer also. Actually, it is her whom I will be replacing in August but she has asked to extend her placement until December. So, essentially there will be two of us doing the same job which is great. She can show me the ropes and I'll feel less alone. It looks like she'll also be my roommate for the first while. Her emails were so informative. Actually, I think a little too informative! I heard all about rats in the kitchen and tarantulas in the bathroom and "now that the fleas are gone, you can sit of the sofa!" My thinking is that it can't be worse that pine beetles and silverfish in Lethbridge but as you all know, I am scared of spiders. I guess I have no choice but to get over it. Anyway, Tina's blog is posted on this blog so have a look!

Update

I emailed my advisor and accepted the position! I'll be going to Kibungo! I was laughing with my mom because Gitarama sounds like something you hear about in the Simpsons. I'll be in the East. I should hear official confirmation before the end of May. Here we go again!

Third Times The Charm

May 15, 2009

Once again my placement has changed! I have spent the last night dreaming about Gitarama and reading “brucesrwanderings” online to find out as much as I could about southern Rwanda. I was soaking it all in. Today I got an email saying that the girl I was to replace as extended her stay another year. I guess I can’t blame her. It sounded like an amazing posting and it must be to extend your term. So, I was sent another posting for a town called Kibungo which is in East. The job is the same, the country is the same, the location is just different. From what I can tell (which is not much), it’s a bit more rural but still a town of 45,000 people. It seems to be at a lower altitude – which makes the risk of a malaria a bit higher. The job seems just as great and really, it’s still in Rwanda. I feel slightly disappointed for no reason other than I thought I would have “Gitarama” in my postal code. Honestly, Anna, that’s the reason? I know nothing about anything so what’s the difference!! I think my school is getting frustrated with the lack of firm plans but I keep trying to explain that this is volunteering in a developing nation where “firm plans” is sort of an oxymoron. So, I have yet to decide but I’m thinking it sounds great.

In other news, I passed my photography course. How could I not ? The test included the answer key! I felt guilty “cheating” so I marked myself honestly and got 80%. I just can’t do the conversions for ISO film  and for f-stops / shutter speed exposure. I keep forgetting the jumps. My photographs were a hit in class, though.  I went out on Thursday with my brother and had a heart to heart about happiness and life and all the wonderful things that people discuss over pints of beer. Actually, I celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the Cesar with one. We met Aimey after and were planning to go out with Em, who is in town. But Em and Laurel ate too much to move so we postponed. So Pat, Aimey and I went to see Brent Tyler play at the pub and celebrated the Cesar some more! The packing continues. I sold my table and bookshelf to a doctor who has spent some time in Africa herself and fell in love with it.  I had a second round of Hep B shots (still bruised from stupid Typhoid) and now I only have a few left. I’ve registered in my motorcycle course.

 

Lately I’ve really been enjoying my students. Teaching grade 9 in May and June has mixed emotions. We’re all totally tired of one another, struggling to stay focused until the final exam and ready to be done. On the other hand, they continue to mature and you can have sophisticated discussions with them. For example, I told them that while in Peru, I would be visiting Lake Titicaca. Yes, very mature. We were all laughing hysterically when the principal walked in! He was curious as to what the students were totally engaged about. I explained that we were talking about public versus private health care and how I have to pay for my travel vaccinations (private) but if I need my appendix out it won’t cost anything (public) when a student gave it away and explain we were actually talking about Peru and a great lake there. Today, when I asked them to recap the last lesson the ONLY thing they remembered was Titicaca. So, yes, the maturity abounds and I give into it. I swear, the longer I teach junior high the more immature I become!

 

So, that’s the update. I don’t have television, internet or a land line until I move at the end of the month so I’m writing this in Word and hope to just insert it into my blog. I think that’s how I’ll have to go about it while in Africa given that internet and electricity is unreliable……

When in doubt....golf.

You know, I feel like my life is starting to come together and fall apart at the same time. There is just a lot going on and a lot of figuring out I need to do. I have decided that I need to consider first, me. Second, everybody else. Is that wrong? That's why my suitcase is going to Rwanda. That is the first step to doing something for me. Of course, there are going to have to be a million little steps before then to get my suitcase on that plane around the world. So - what did I do? Went with my family for a round of golf. Open air, sunshine and time to think. Of course, I was also on a mission. I have a photography assignment due on Wednesday. I bought this fancy pants camera to document the suitcase journey but upon some (great) advice from my photographer friend, Ronaye, decided to figure out how it REALLY worked. Not just look good using the manual setting! But, I've been busy and have not found the time to commit to using what I learned....until now. Below are some pictures from the day. Well, the best ones and the not-best-but-still-good-ones. Is photography just another activity to keep myself busy? Maybe...

Those needles were "ruff"!

We walked into the travel clinic today with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. At the counter was a sign with a little dog that said "Those shots were ruff!" Awesome....this was what we were in for! 

Aimey and I are getting ready for Peru and me for Rwanda so we had to have a consultation with a travel doctor. She went through the litany of vaccinations that are recommended and/or required. Yellow fever, Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, Rabies and the list goes on.....We settled on the Hep shots and Yellow Fever - which is required for Rwanda and Bolivia (lately we've been thinking of going there too). And so we met with the nurse and became human pin cushions. Ouch!!! The Yellow Fever shot was okay but the Typhoid one still hurts. We have certificates to go in our passports so some Bolivian border gu

ard can't take us into a dimly lit room and inject us with the Yellow Fever vaccine. But ouch! It hurt! I am going to try a 3 day test run of the malaria medication to see if I can handle it. I'm am little worried but we'll see how it goes...Here's the proof (we asked for dinosaur band-aids but the nurse said we were too old!)

Am I Really Prepared?

So, if it's not the malaria that's going to get me, it's probably a car accident or rabies. That, in a nutshell, was the message of my Preparing For Change course in Ottawa this weekend. Okay, not really - but it was memorable....

Friday, bright and early, I was up and on my way to the airport thanks to a good friend that was willing to bring me there before the sun was up. On the plane I got thinking that it was really the first step in a long and exciting adventure. My suitcase was tucked comfortably in the belly of the plane, I had my book (I'm reading World Without End and highly recommend it!) and I was watching live satellite television.

My cousin D'Arcy picked me up at the airport. He's a fellow teacher and is subbing in Ottawa. He took the day off to come and get me and before I had to be at the CUSO-VSO office his gave me a "drive by" near Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court. The buildings are more impressive in person. I know, I know.....you have all seen it, I'm sure. For me, it's where the magic happens - or lack thereof! D'Arcy dropped me off at the CUSO-VSO office so I could meet my advisor, Mikael. The meeting went well - I confirmed my posting (although I'm STILL waiting for confirmation from the Rwandan office), I gave him my passport and a few forms. And then he told me that yes, indeed, I would have to learn to drive a motorcycle!! I've been phoning around for lessons and will be looking to buy a helmet this weekend. VSO gives us $300 for a helmet and Mikael suggested white - given that in Africa the black helmets get really hot.

The PFC course lasted all weekend and was so informative. It was a mixture of travel tips, health information, counselling and dealing with loneliness and my international relations courses at the U of A. I felt like I was back in Keating or Knight's class learning about the IMF and World Bank. Eventually....when I have a moment, I'll give you a run down of why the IMF is evil and how SAPs have sucked the life out of developing nations and their ability to provide universal education. There were three concurrent courses going on and I was able to meet a few other volunteers heading to Africa. Of course, not everyone knows where they are going yet. One volunteer is going to Lima in mid-June and so Aimey and I will give him a call when we arrive so we can have a face to show us around! There was a Francophone group there too so while I'm still too shy to speak French, I had a chance to listen to a lot of it. 

One of the bonuses of the trip to Ottawa was that I got to see my cousins. D'Arcy and Blanka hosted me and I got to meet little Mary! They hosted a dinner so that my aunt and uncle and other cousins could come and say hello. It's always good to see family! So thanks for the great food and yummy coffee!

The course ended Monday afternoon and the 13 of us said our good byes, see you in June and let me know where you go. There was a sort of kinship to the weekend. Finally I was with like-minded people who were selling their stuff, putting their boxes into storage and bidding farewells to life in Canada for a chance to make a difference abroad. We bonded over the responses to friends and families when we tell them we are "going to (insert developing country name here)". I head back to Ottawa in June for the final cours

e called Skills For Working in Development. A few of the volunteers will be there for sure and the rest....well maybe I'll run into them again!

NEXT UP....FUNDRAISING....

Don't worry, I won't be banging down the door to get you to give me money to go to Rwanda. But it does cost $30,000 for CUSO-VSO to send one volunteer overseas. So, I may be "selling a month" abroad to an individual, family or group. You will get special recognition for your donation on this website for a minimum contribution of $100 to CUSO-VSO.