Possibly just humour me for a minute?

So this post is slightly different, one of the members of our team - Rachel - took a while and a moment to reflect on the time that she had spent here and how it has molded and changed the outlook she initially came with.

Possibly just humour me for a minute?

I’m no expert, I’m definitely not a life saver, I’ve not even graduated from University yet, but possibly just humour me for a minute?

Last Christmas, I was a term into the first year of my Law degree and honestly I was feeling rather hard done by. I’d gone into Law with this grandiose idea that Law was about justice and helping people; and, well, from the short time I’ve spent studying it, it appears to be a lot more convoluted and complicated than that. It’s not as simple as helping the little guys, and the heroes beating the villains. So I looked elsewhere – I mean I wanted to save the world right? Don’t we all?

Through my searches I stumbled across a government programme called ICS – International Citizenship Service – whereby teams of UK volunteers aged between 18 and 25 are sent overseas to work for ten weeks with NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in international development. “Wonderful!”! I thought to myself, “Sounds absolutely perfect – this is my chance to make a difference; I’m finally going to save the world.”

So I went through the application process: the online form; the interview; the dreaded wait; the acceptance (with God’s blessing and willing); and of course the fundraising; and then I was off. Only six months after I applied, I boarded a plane from Heathrow airport bound for Rwanda, not to come back for ten weeks. Jokily I bid farewell to my friends and family, with a wave and a “Just watch me! See what I’m going to do, the world will never be the same again”.

Before leaving for Heathrow airport with Mum and Dad.

And well, I suppose you could say I was right in some senses, the world is never going to be the same again. But it’s not the entire world that’s being changed – it’s my world. Coming out to Rwanda and working with Tearfund and their partners AEE (African Evangelistic Enterprise) has made me realise that this was never about what I could do. It was never about my knowledge, my experience, and my education.

This isn’t an ‘us’ and ‘them’ situation. It can be so easy to view what is going on here as a group of volunteers who will come to a foreign place, create a whirlwind – possibly not even improving things – and then leave, having not integrated themselves into the community. But that is as far away from the reality of what this is as is possible. The most important thing I have realised since being out here, is that it is about what we can learn as a combined unit. Not about forcing our knowledge, expertise, experiences, ideals and formulas. It’s coming into a new community and environment and through this I have just as much to learn from them - if not more - than I could ever offer back in repayment.

Leading a music lesson in a catch-up school.

Never in a million years could programmes like these have been so successful without them being a joint effort. There are so many things I never dreamed of learning and it’s only been four weeks; patience (definitely lots of patience!), understanding, empathy, and compassion to name just a few things.

It’s come as a realisation that this is about humbling myself, and being respectful of what has been set in place before me. The programmes and schemes that AEE have created are beyond amazing – they are sustainable, provide the community with dignity, and create relationships. I’m not here to compete with that – I’m here to enhance that. If that’s through utilising my English communication skills, my ability to write reports , or even just my general “have-a-go” attitude , then let’s make the most of it we possibly could.

I don’t need the glory of building a house. I no longer require the satisfaction of being able to look at an area and go “That’s where I made my impact, you can see my stamp in the sand” and I definitely don’t need to save the world single handedly.

We have so much to learn, time and time again over the four weeks I have spent here, I have marvelled at how far behind we are. We look at ourselves as a ‘developed nation’ because we have the right literacy statistics, the right percentage of our population is above the poverty line, and our economy is considered advanced. But there are so many places we fall down.

When was the last time you spoke to a stranger you met in the shop? When was the last time you invited your neighbour in for a cup of tea and a talk? When was the last time you joined together as a community to improve your area? I know these were things I never did on a regular basis. I’m not pointing a finger, I’m not saying nobody ever does these things, and I definitely don’t want to preach. All I’m saying is don’t you think England, the UK, would be so much better if we all took a step back from ourselves and looked around?

Being a community unit of all ages is so important, and so beneficial.

I’ve been astonished by the sense of community, friendliness and just complete openness of the environment I’ve entered. I’ve come here as a foreigner, and let’s be honest – with milky skin like mine and a burnt red nose I stick out like a sore thumb! Yet people still greet me, they still ask how I am, and they’re interested in what we have been up to.

I might have come out to Rwanda to single handedly save the world, I may have been naïve and  optimistically unreasonable but I genuinely believe WE will save the world. It’s started with my own personal world being completely and utterly shaken up – not only have I met some of the most fantastic people of my life, who encourage me in everything I do, but I’ve learnt that I am not important. In the grand scheme of things I’m just a 19 year old Law undergraduate who is going to spend ten weeks – one summer holiday – in a developing country.

Two of the many fabulous people I have met since coming out here - Chinwe and Beth!!

But when joined together with other young people, trained professional development workers, members of the local community, a strong support system back home, and a committed charity and programme – WE really will make a difference. The difference will be made out here in Rwanda and back home in the UK. Because, we do have so much to learn whether we like it or not, nobody and nowhere is perfect.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is this:  I’ve gone from being a rather frustrated undergraduate who felt she’d been promised a world that was fair and just – to a girl who knows what she has to do, what she has to learn, how to make a difference, not as an individual but as a team, a unit, a collective. And I think if maybe, just maybe we all took 15 minutes of our time to ask that person in the supermarket, or our neighbour round for a coffee, or spent one night a month in the local food bank; we really would change our world, starting from home and working outwards. Who knows what we could all achieve?