After Long Silence, Patty Blogs from Comfort of her LA Apartment

hello from the land of hope and hot showers!
got back home last night. if anyone was concerned that I had been killed or kidnapped or eaten by gorillas, my apologies. our travels in rwanda were incredible, but internet access was difficult to find, and when available, our schedule didn't allow for too much free time to blog.

so here are a few highlights from the rwandan leg of the journey:

after flying into kigali and driving two hours to ruhengeri, we met up with the members of the board of the foundation (the people who are overseeing the management and funding of the imbabazi orphanage.) they are amazing people who are doing everything in their power to help not only the kids at imbabazi, but many communities in rwanda. their dedication to the people of rwanda is truly inspiring.

the next day we headed into volcanoes national park for our gorilla trek! after about an hour hike through beautiful hills then dense jungle, we spent an hour with a 25 member gorilla family. all I can say is that it was one of the most awesome (in the truest sense of the word) experiences of my life. you look into the eyes of these gentle creatures and you see curiousity and intelligence, and you can't help but feel a deep connection and kinship too. the gorillas were all around us. at one point I was about three feet away from a silverback (the alpha male gorilla who is the leader of the family) and a mom with a baby on her back almost knocked me over when they passed right by me. one of the young boy gorillas put on quite a show for us, pounding his chest then swinging from bamboo trees and wrestling with his younger brother. I'm telling you, it was unbelievable. you're only allowed to spend an hour with the gorillas, and it went by in a flash. once kevin and I go through all the pictures and video, I'll post a link so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about.

the next day we drove to the imbabazi orphanage (imbabazi means sympathy in kinyarwanda) where we spent five days with the 102 kids who live there. all of them were on holiday from school, so we had plenty of time to talk with them, shoot video and photographs, interview them for our website project, and try to learn a little of their language (which is called kinyarwanda, one of the most difficult languages in the world to master.)

right now, it's really difficult for me to summarize my experience at imbabazi because the kids had such a profound affect on me. they touched my heart in a way I was not prepared for. I met so many wonderful souls, all of them full of love and hope despite the horrors of their past. most of the kids (I say kids, but really most of them are teenagers) were around three or four years old during the genocide and witnessed the murder of their parents and other family members.

a little backstory: the orphanage was started right after the genocide by an american woman named roz carr who had been living in rwanda for 50 years. at the age of 82, after seeing these children who had no one to take care of them wandering the streets, she decided to turn her flower plantation into an orphanage. by 1996 she had over 300 kids living there. it's an incredible story and she was an incredible woman. she passed away two years ago, but during the 12 years she spent with the kids, she gave them nothing but love and kindness. she promised each child that she would take care of them until they were adults and provide all of them with an education. right now, the foundation (which has taken over after roz's death) is trying to raise money so they can fulfill roz's promise. kevin and I will be creating a website and fundraising videos for imbabazi to help the foundation raise money for the kids.

our five days at imbabazi were unforgettable. like most of the people we met in rwanda, the kids were so friendly and open. I have about 20 new penpals now and one of the girls made me a beautiful bag and told me that wherever I go, I will always be in her heart. (if that doesn't make up for the lack of hot water and grilled cheese sandwiches in rwanda I don't know what will.)

after imbabazi, we drove up to gisenyi, a resort town on lake kivu (about 5 minutes from the border of congo. yikes.) there, we spent a few days with the foundation members discussing our imbabazi experience and figuring out the direction for the website. we also got a chance to visit a center for disabled kids and adults that was started by two men who were raised at imbabazi. another incredibly inspiring story.

and now, after 42 hours of plane rides and layovers, I'm back home. I just caught up on all the episodes of the office and friday night lights that I missed. I really love dvr and america.