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Eric on his trip to Uganda (continued...part 3)

Another thing that made the trip so great is how clearly grateful all the Educate! Students and their families were. For example, after I met one of the students we sponsor in Rwanda, Uwera Trifine, at her school she told me that her family had prepared a little welcoming for me. So we hired bicycle taxis called "boda-boda's" to take us to their home. The bicycles took us for many miles on a dirt road through the beautiful hills of rural Rwanda until we finally reached a small home that had about 50 people waiting in front of it.

When we arrived a group of traditional Rwandan dancers gave us a welcoming dance. Everyone was singing and clapping. As it turns out all the people who were waiting for me were members of the rural village that Uwera lives in. Those people have farmed for hundreds of years on the same hills of Rwanda and now that a member of their village is being given the chance to go to school thanks to Educate! they all came to show their thanks. They gave me basket after basket of their crops of beans, sorghum, and soy beans (the traditional Rwandan gift) in addition to beautiful wooden sculptures of giraffes and gorillas that they had made to show their appreciation.

It was truly the most amazing experience I have ever had to see how much love existed in that village and how thankful they were for Educate!. There are many more stories and adventures from the trip that I will never forget.

Overall the trip was a huge success. I could not feel better about the position Educate! is in presently and the potential we have to expand in the future. The trip also proved that the Educate! Internship is not only feasible but also will be an amazing experience for students of the US involved in running Educate! to see life in Uganda and Rwanda, meet the Educate! Students and see first hand the incredible influence Educate! is having on young men and women in Africa.

Eric gets a present from Uwera's family



The welcoming dance

Eric and Uwera

Eric gets another present from a member of Uwera's village