DAY SEVEN
Hi everyone, Andrew here.
It's Saturday morning & like sardines being packed for the cannery, we squeezed another person in the van and bumped our way along the dirt track. We were on our way to assist in building a mud brick house for one of many thousands of child headed households here in Rwanda. The Hiace rolled about like a boat in a storm creaking & moaning as the 15 “Muzungus” (Kinyarwandan for “foreigners”) sat ready with bags, cameras, old clothes, gloves & another stash of balloons to share with the swarm of beautiful wide-eyed children about to descend on them. As I stepped out of the van I was immediately drawn to the mud bricks that were being laid, the first rows showing that this was to be a simple house, by our standards. I'm not sure if the surprised look on the 15 or so Rwandan men’s faces was due to me laying my first block or the 15 or so Muzungu ladies offering to help. The ladies were all kitted out with gloves, some eagerly jumping into the mud pit to stomp the mortar up & down while others went to fetch heavy cans of water from down the hill, and return like ants from a nest.
I'm sure I felt as nervous as them as I started laying the blocks to the familiar sound of men’s chatter on a building site & although we could not understand each other, I could tell the way they used the word “Muzungu” we would need to prove our worth. By the time we had laid the second course of bricks, the joy I was already feeling turned to delight as the man at the other end of my string line was smiling with a thumbs-up saying “good work”. Cameras clicked to the sound of excited chatter as everyone busied themselves in whatever way possible.
Once again a crowd gathered to watch the funny Muzungus, children from everywhere parading their new balloons & gifts, and as we came to leave, we prayed a blessing over the child headed family, hoping that our love helps them to carry their burden a little easier. Waving goodbye a piece of our hearts is left behind, our emotions again in turmoil. Good work team!!! What a privilege to serve these beautiful people together as a team and do something practical together..
- Andrew
Hi everyone, Andrew here.
It's Saturday morning & like sardines being packed for the cannery, we squeezed another person in the van and bumped our way along the dirt track. We were on our way to assist in building a mud brick house for one of many thousands of child headed households here in Rwanda. The Hiace rolled about like a boat in a storm creaking & moaning as the 15 “Muzungus” (Kinyarwandan for “foreigners”) sat ready with bags, cameras, old clothes, gloves & another stash of balloons to share with the swarm of beautiful wide-eyed children about to descend on them. As I stepped out of the van I was immediately drawn to the mud bricks that were being laid, the first rows showing that this was to be a simple house, by our standards. I'm not sure if the surprised look on the 15 or so Rwandan men’s faces was due to me laying my first block or the 15 or so Muzungu ladies offering to help. The ladies were all kitted out with gloves, some eagerly jumping into the mud pit to stomp the mortar up & down while others went to fetch heavy cans of water from down the hill, and return like ants from a nest.
I'm sure I felt as nervous as them as I started laying the blocks to the familiar sound of men’s chatter on a building site & although we could not understand each other, I could tell the way they used the word “Muzungu” we would need to prove our worth. By the time we had laid the second course of bricks, the joy I was already feeling turned to delight as the man at the other end of my string line was smiling with a thumbs-up saying “good work”. Cameras clicked to the sound of excited chatter as everyone busied themselves in whatever way possible.
Once again a crowd gathered to watch the funny Muzungus, children from everywhere parading their new balloons & gifts, and as we came to leave, we prayed a blessing over the child headed family, hoping that our love helps them to carry their burden a little easier. Waving goodbye a piece of our hearts is left behind, our emotions again in turmoil. Good work team!!! What a privilege to serve these beautiful people together as a team and do something practical together..
- Andrew
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