Kelly is currently serving as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher to the students at Sonrise School in Musanze, Rwanda. Kelly made a life changing decision to spend a year in Rwanda blessing the students with her time and talent to help increase their English speaking skills and prepare those who have dreams of attending college. We asked Kelly to share her insights on the experience so far…

Q. Kelly, when did you join the B2R Borrowed Talent Team?
A. I moved to Rwanda January 16, 2010.

Q. What lead your heart to want to serve in Rwanda?
A. I was informed of the potential to serve as an English teacher at Sonrise School and visited Rwanda for one week to see if it would be a good fit for me. It took less than one week to see the opportunities for serving and being served, teaching and learning, and growing and growing and growing in Rwanda. The few students I met on my vision trip to Rwanda amazed me with their open minds and thirst for knowledge. I knew that working with them would be a rewarding experience. In short, I fell in love with Rwanda in one short week and knew it was where I needed to be.

Q. How did you discern your calling to serve in Rwanda?
A. Growing up, my pastor always said, “A need seen is an assignment given.” When I visited Rwanda, I saw a great need and was given a great assignment. The long chain of connections that led me to Sonrise School had to be a God thing. I just faithfully walked through the doors that were opened to me and haven’t regretted it for one second.

Q. What is the best part about serving in Rwanda?
A. The people. Hands down. The people of Rwanda are incredible. The relationships I have built with my students, my fellow teachers, the waiters at the local restaurants, and every other person I have come across throughout Rwanda have made my whole experience worthwhile. They have all taught me more than I could ever hope to teach them. The care and concern of the Rwandan people, along with the community they have, far surpasses that of any other culture I’ve experienced, and it has been the best part of my time in Rwanda.

Q. What are your top 5 favorite things to do in Rwanda when you’re not on duty as a volunteer?
1. Eating at all of the delicious restaurants in Kigali.
2. Spending the day on the beach at Lake Kivu in Gisenyi.
3. Swimming at the pool at Hotel Ishema in Musanze.
4. Running through the villages with hordes of children running barefoot after me.
5. Spending time with my Rwandan friends all over Rwanda.

Q. Has the experience of being a Borrowed Talent volunteer changed or transformed your life?
A. By all means! I have learned so much in my four months here. I have learned the value of resourcefulness and to see trivialities for what they truly are. I have discovered the universality of human nature, of love, and of pain. I have seen the value of truly getting to know people and learning from people who are very different from me. My eyes have been opened to the fact that just because something is different does not necessarily mean it is bad or wrong. My perspective on life has been forever changed by my life in Rwanda.

Q. From your perspective, what do you think is the greatest need in Rwanda?
A. Mental healthcare. The drastic shortage of mental health professionals in this country begs to be addressed. The issue is not only a lack of mental health professionals but also a lack of training for mental health professionals and a general stigma against seeking professional help for personal matters.

Q. What are some misconceptions that you had about Rwanda before going there?
A. I first visited Rwanda from Tanzania, and I was blown away by the differences. I expected two East African countries to be fairly similar, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Rwanda is clean and orderly. It is very safe and very regulated. The government pays people to pick up trash and landscape public roads. Rwanda is also not cheap. The fact that is landlocked increases prices on anything that is not local (like peanut butter and clothes).

Q. What do you think Americans can learn the most from Rwandans?
A. The benefits of community. Americans tend to be far more individualistic than Rwandans, and I believe it is to America’s detriment. Rwandans are very concerned about their fellow man and while it may seem a nuisance to answer 50 phone calls when you are sick, I will never take for granted the genuine care and concern of my Rwandan friends.

Q. If you could only pick one thing to change in Rwanda, what would that one thing be?
A. Rwandans are fairly closed and secretive and have obvious reasons for being that way, but I believe that being more open could prove to be beneficial for the Rwandan people.

Q. What are the top three things about Rwanda that you wish you had understood before you moved?
1. Rwanda does things differently, but not wrongly.
2. Putting things on the floor is disgraceful.
3. And of course, I wish I understood Kinyarwanda!

Q. What else would you like to share with us about your experience serving as a volunteer with Bridge2Rwanda?
A. My time in Rwanda has inspired me to pursue a graduate degree in counseling so that I can return to Rwanda to both counsel Rwandans and train Rwandans to counsel their fellow citizens.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that you have so much to offer Rwanda. I assure you that you will quickly see that Rwanda has so much more to offer you than you could ever hope to doffer Rwanda!

Rwanda tends to suck people in and never let them go. I’m afraid, but also delighted, to have been sucked in by such an incredible country!

Follow Kelly Simpson’s Rwanda experience on her blog: http://kellyuosdwis.blogspot.com/

Last Wednesday Mark, Griffin, and I went on quite an adventure. Griffin is the new Tour Manager for Ishema Hotel and is going to do amazing things for the tourism in Rwanda. We wanted to try out some of the activities available so that we can have a better idea of what to suggest to our visitors. Our day started out going to a Community Walk in Musanze. They walked us through the village and explained what the community would have looked like during the time of the last king in 1959. We dressed up and the warriors danced for us in the king’s hut. Then we visited the medicine man and he showed us different healing plants. I ground seeds and the boys shot off bow and arrows. We were given traditional drumming and dancing lessons and had such a wonderful time meeting the people and learning about their culture. They are so generous with their time and so inviting to their guests. We then drove out to Lake Barera to look into boat and fishing tours. We ran across a little restaurant and decided to order some food. As is typical in Rwanda, we had to wait a very long time for it to be prepared. In fact, they actually had to catch and kill the animals that they were serving us. In the mean time, we played with the little children that were swimming and fishing on the shore. You’ve never heard such contagious laughter. It was surreal to be surrounded by an area so untouched by western culture. Most of the boats we saw were dugout canoes and the fishing rods were just strings tied onto sticks. The restaurant kitchen was outdoors and the luckier rabbits were still hopping around outside. They pulled a crude wooden table and some beach chairs up on the shore while we ate. It was incredible!! It is moments like these were I look around and I am overwhelmed by the Lord that we serve. And humbled at how beautiful His creation is. I don’t believe that anyone can come to Rwanda and not feel God’s presence here.

All of our Borrowed Talent Blog about their experiences. Read their profiles and follow them by visiting, http://www.bridge2rwanda.org/get-involved/borrowed-talent/.

Jessi Files with her students from Estem Elementary.

A bridge connects two places in hopes of benefiting both sides. B2R’s mission includes drawing smart, humble, and committed individuals from around the world to assist in the development of Rwanda. This defines the term ‘borrowed talent.’ B2R knows that once ‘borrowed talent’ and others become involved with Rwanda, a contagious passion will arise and lives will be transformed at both ends. This past year, great examples of transformation have transpired, especially within young adults who have made commitments to be a voice for Rwanda.

 Jessi Files, a kindergarten teacher at Estem Charter Schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, visited Rwanda this summer and worked for a month at Sonrise Schools. While there, she was able to personally invest time by working with teachers and students, using her skills to ‘build’ a workroom. This new space houses curriculum material, a small children’s library, and shelves full of classroom supplies – all of which was donated through a 2008 B2R container project.

While there, Jessi was able to see the passion that Sonrise holds for education. In a landlocked country with limited natural resources, human capital and education are Rwanda’s keys to a successful future. Jessi wanted to find a way to bring this inspiration back to her classroom, and she has done so by making Rwanda’s story a part of her teaching. “My experiences in Rwanda are very beneficial to my class. I can teach them to be globally aware and also show them what students in another country are like,” she says.

This year, Jessi has told the stories of a kindergarten class from Sonrise and taught lessons about Rwandan culture. She plans to have her students write letters to the Sonrise class that they are learning about. Jessi hopes that her students will be inspired to learn through Rwanda.

Another story of transformation arose from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. OBU student Josh Groves did not expect a new roommate to bring inspiration to his life, but that is exactly what happened once Elisee Habimana moved in. Elisee is a recipient of a Presidential Scholarship and came to OBU from Rwanda. The two immediately became good friends and Josh quickly caught the passion for Rwanda. Josh says, “Elisee taught me a lot about the language, religion, and living conditions since the genocide.”

His new understanding of how Rwanda was moving from a dark past motivated Josh to find ways to bring awareness to his fellow students. Josh decided to host informational meetings and invited B2R to come present to a group of his friends and classmates. In 2008, he led a campus donation drive for supplies which were sent in the B2R container project. This past month, Josh and others organized an exhibition soccer game between the local Rwandan Presidential Scholars and the OBU team. The event raised nearly $700 and was a great way to spread awareness at OBU. Josh feels that everyone needs to know Rwanda’s story and finds motivation in Elisee and the other students who have a goal to make their country a better place.