On 8/12/2009 4:53:30 PM Deborah Ripka wrote

Rwanda Trip Summary
Deborah Ripka

Editor's note: Deborah Ripka, wife of Command Sergeant Major Mark Ripka, senior enlisted leader for U.S. Africa Command, is a gifted resource teacher in the Norfolk School District in Norfolk, Virginia. The following blog, which was submitted by Mrs. Ripka, documents her trip to Kigali, Rwanda in July, 2009, where she visited local schools and educational sites and attended events for Rwanda's Liberation Day.

I had the privilege to accompany my husband, Mark, to Kigali, Rwanda from July 2-8, 2009. The trip was filled with a wide spectrum of experiences from celebrations of Independence and Liberation Day to tours of local schools and other Rwanda sites. This trip will forever be embedded in my heart and soul. The people of Rwanda showed me the spirit of a nation that has endured such atrocities and yet is aspiring to find ways to heal and move forward.

July 2, 2009

We arrived in Kigali, and our first event was an Independence Day celebration at the United States Embassy. Since Rwanda's Independence Day is the 1st of July, this was a celebration for both countries. There were speeches by United States Ambassador Stuart Symington and Rwanda Minister of Health Dr. Richard Seiziber. One theme from the speeches was "Out of many--one." I left there feeling that the United States is part of a global family.

July 3, 2009

This morning we visited the National Genocide Memorial in Kigali. It is hard to describe the feelings that overcame me as we finished this visit. It is a beautiful memorial to the people who were killed in Kigali during the genocide. There is a section that is dedicated to the children of the genocide, and this was very emotional for me. The life sized pictures of children as young as nine months brought tears to my eyes. Under each picture was some kind of summary of that child's favorite foods or pastimes. This, more than anything, helped me understand the loss that this country has suffered.

From here we met Major Chris Hurlburt, the United States Defense Attache for Rwanda, and his family for lunch. The Hurlburts have just arrived in Rwanda and I was able to share with Annie, Major Hurlburt's wife, some of the resources that will be available to her through the United States Africa Command Family Readiness Group. She is very excited to participate in the next Africa Command Families On The African Continent (AFOTAC) Quality of Life Conference
Next we were given a windshield tour of some of the landmarks of Kigali that included the Hotel des Mille Collines (featured in the movie Hotel Rwanda), the memorial dedicated to the Belgian soldiers, and the countryside hilltop where General Kagame led the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) into Kigali on July 4, 1994 which is now called Liberation Day.

That evening we attended a small reception at Ambassador Symington's home. As we discussed the events of the day, I realized that the people of Rwanda want us to remember what they have gone through, but more importantly they want us to know where they are now and where they want to be in the future.

July 4, 2009

If yesterday was a day to recognize and understand the pain and losses this nation has suffered, today was a day to celebrate the spirit of the people of Rwanda. We had the great honor of attending the 15th Liberation Day celebration at the Amahoro (meaning peace) National Stadium in Kigali. "Kwibohora " (Liberation) was spelled out in the national colors by the seating arrangement of 4000 youth from Kigali. The events included a full military review with speeches from Rwandan President Kagame, Ugandan President Museveni, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Zenawi. President Kagame awarded these men top honors for their contribution to the struggle for liberation. Miria Nyerere, the widow of Tanzanian leader Nyerere, accepted the award of behalf of her husband. The National Ballet performed as well as a girls' choir. As the young girls sang of dignity as their strength, I could not help to think that these young ladies were a part of the future that so many of the people I had met have been talking about.

(Click here to see a photo of the Amahoro National Stadium.)

July 5, 2009

Today was a day of no scheduled activities, so Ambassador Symington encouraged us to use the time to see the beauty of Rwanda. He helped arrange a trip to Volcano National Park where visitors can take a trek to see gorillas in their natural habitat. This is the same habitat that Dian Fossey did her long-term study of gorillas and the basis of the movie "Gorillas in the Mist." This was one of those once in a life time experiences as our "trackers" blazed a trail to the gorillas' area that day. The hike there through the hills and valleys was breathtaking!! Between the hike, the gorillas, and the drive there, I believe we did see the beauty of Rwanda.

To arrive at Volcano National Park in time for the trek, we had to leave Kigali around 4:15 am. As we drove up to the mountain this Sunday morning, there were already people from the villages headed to the market with their products. I was in awe of the strong work ethic of the people from this country. As we drove back, we also saw village genocide memorials. The genocide never seems to be too far from the minds of this country, even as it works toward healing and restoration.

July 6, 2009

The next two days were filled with visits to schools and other educational sites around Kigali. My escorts were Charles Bentley and Melissa Simpson, USAID interns for the U.S. Embassy. They helped plan a schedule that was packed with what I enjoy the most--children learning and enjoying life!!

We started the day meeting Meredith Pike-Baky, Senior English Language Fellow for the Ministry of Education, for a background briefing on education in Rwanda. English has been declared the official language in Rwanda, and this has caused some challenges in education. Many teachers do not know English, so teaching teachers has become one of the highest priorities of the Ministry of Education. Meredith has developed a curriculum called "English for Communication-English for Teaching" to help with this process.

Meredith accompanied us today as we visited three schools. The first was Kacyiru Elementary School which is participating in the teacher training program. The school year was coming to a close, so many children were outside enjoying some free time. As we approached the office we were surrounded by the children. They all wanted to shake our hands and have their pictures taken. They also were trying out some of their English. If we said, "How are you?" Each time they replied, "Fine, thank you. How are you?" We found this at every elementary school we visited. We also found smiling beautiful children who seemed so happy to see us.

(Click here to see a photo of Kacyiru Elementary school children greeting Mrs. Ripka.)

Our next stop was FAWE (Forum for African Women Education) Girls' Secondary School in Gisozi. It was founded in 1999 in partnership with the Ministry of Education and is also supported by the USAID funded Ambassador Girls Scholarship Program. These girls are the top students in math and science from the area. They had just finished their yearly exams and were now studying for their October exams! The vision of the school is "to be the leading school of excellence in promoting girls' education both academically and socially." As we walked around the campus and talked to the girls, it was evident that these girls have caught that vision.

After lunch we visited the Ineza Women's Co-op where HIV infected women were making items to sell. There were purses, ties, oven mitts, and other cloth products. There was also a volunteer teaching English to some of the women. As I look back I again remember the smiles of these women as they worked on their creations.
Our last school visit of the day was Kagugu Primary School. This is another school where teacher training is provided. We were again surrounded by excited children as we made our way to the office. We were given a tour of the library, computer lab, and a classroom that had one laptop per child (OLPC). In this classroom students were learning how to take pictures with the laptop and write captions. They began to take our pictures and then we helped write our captions. Much of this technology was given by American donors, and there is a powerful painting over the computer lab door with a white and a black hand clasped together surrounded by the words "A gift from the American friends of Kagugu Collaboration grows Community."

(Click here to see a photo of students at Kagugu Primary School using their classroom laptops.)

A trip to a local craft market ended this amazing day.

July 7, 2009

Today began with a trip to Masaka Primary/Secondary School. Rosie Muniz, from the defense attach's office in the U.S. Embassy, accompanied us during this visit. This school is a DOD funded humanitarian assistance project with DOD providing the funds for the lunchroom, teacher's lounge, bathrooms, and soccer field. Our guide was very excited about these facilities. We take things such as lunchrooms and bathrooms so for granted, but this school has been operating without either one. Most of the students here were older than the students we visited yesterday, yet they still wanted to talk and ask questions.

(Click here to see a photo of Mrs. Ripka with students from Masaka Primary/Secondary School.)

From here we drove to the Gitarama area. The town was closed for the day because of the gacaca being held there. Gacaca is a court made up of villagers elected to hear and pass judgment of genocide perpetrators from that town. This system is designed to get to the truth and to begin the process of reconciliation. As we drove to one of the sites, we could see the people gathering in a large field behind a building.

We started the visit at the new William A. Kerr English Language Resource Centre at the Catholic University of Kabgayi. We met Florida State University students who are a part of the Global Peace Exchange, an NGO (non-government organization) based out of FSU.

These students have spent their summer here in Rwanda helping with the English initiative through teacher and student training. We were able to discuss some of the visions they have for their projects, and I was able to share some of AFRICOM's mission. In the end, the vision is the same-- to help the African people.

We then visited an orphanage where the FSU students also give of their time and talents. These children were living on the streets of Kigali and now live together under the care of superintendents.

(Click here to see a photo of children playing with an FSU volunteer.)

Lastly, we visited Bukomero Primary School were the FSU volunteers spent much of their time tutoring, mentoring, and helping in anyway needed. The classrooms have anywhere from 40-60 children, so help is always needed!!

(Click here to see a photo of students at Bukomero Primary School.)

That evening we attended a dinner at Ambassador Symington's home. Present were ambassadors posted in Kigali from around the world who gathered to say farewell to the U.S. Embassy-Kigali's Deputy Chief of Mission.

July 8, 2009

As we prepared to leave Kigali, I reflected on the last several days. Last year I had been in Namibia and although the countries are very different, there are still many things that are the same. In both countries, there are people with so little but working so hard to build a future; in both countries there are many agencies from around the world trying to help the African people achieve their dreams.

But again, it was the children who spoke the loudest to me - in both countries children with bright smiles and wild enthusiasm for life. Children make us look at the future and cause us to want to sacrifice to help them get there!!

I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have witnessed this in action!

On 9/13/2009 4:35:03 PM Anonymous in Unspecified wrote
Thank you for the blog ,and allow me to take again the sentence bright smiles of the children. It is a pity that is not the case now for Madagascar even it is starting year school, because the parents of the children are jobless because of the putsch, september 2009, and the putschiste want to drive Madagascar to a rogue state that means no school at all for many many children.

On 9/7/2009 4:09:07 AM Nancy in Virginia Beach, VA wrote
Thanks, Deborah, for sharing such a heart warming experience. You seem to have caught/depicted the true spirit of the people of Rwanda

On 9/7/2009 12:17:44 AM Jeanne Luse in VA wrote
I enjoyed your blog. The pictures were great...just wish there were more of them. You know, if you asked any students in the U.S. about what happened in Rwanda, there would be very few of them who would know what happened there. I think that's very sad. We take so much for granted in the U.S. Also, not enough good news about what the U.S. does throughout the world to help others improve their lives gets broadcast in the U.S. Thanks for posting this blog.